Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 16 |
| 1909 | 11 |
| 1910 | 3 |
31 stories
- The Town That Owned Nothing: Metaline's Squatters Fight Two Companies for Their Own Ground
Fifty residents of an unsurveyed Pend Oreille River mining camp petition the Spokane land office for a federal townsite — after a silver-lead company and a cement-clay claimant both tried to patent the ground out from under their homes.
- The Battle for Sullivan Creek
A high-stakes legal fight over water rights and industrial development reveals the tension between speculative land-holding and the growth of the new town of Metaline.
- The Town That Can't Be Bought
Federal land withdrawals have frozen property rights in Metaline, leaving residents in a legal limbo as they wait for the government to clear their titles.
- The Morning Mine Cuts Into a 60-Foot Ledge of Galena
A company announcement claims the largest body of galena ore yet found in the Northwest, and the Metaline district suddenly has proof that its mineral wealth runs deep.
- The First Death in Metaline
A young mother dies within hours of falling ill, and a brand-new village buries its first resident — by steamer, across the water, to the cemetery at Ione.
- A Premature Blast Tore Apart 'Lead' Long's Face Near Metaline
A miner known across the district was badly hurt at the Wake Up Jim prospect when a blast went off early, and details were slow to reach Newport.
- A Million-Dollar Cement Mill Is Coming to the Pend Oreille
Backed by Lehigh Valley cement men, the Inland Empire Portland Cement Co. buys Sullivan Creek water and mineral rights and promises a 2,000-barrel-a-day plant—once the railroad reaches Metaline.
- Metaline's Mines Are Ready to Roar—If the Railroad Arrives
With the Idaho Washington Northern extending toward Sullivan Creek, Metaline district companies are staffing up, building mills, and betting on a shipping boom.
- Lost for Days, 'Scotty' Crawls Out of the Metaline Woods
A young hunter loses his way near Sullivan Lake and survives on luck, hunters, and sheer endurance—shoes worn through and fingernails down to the quick.
- Sullivan Lake's Summer Resort Dream Hinges on Roads and the Government
A new resort permit and a push to turn old trails into wagon roads promise to bring pleasure seekers to Sullivan Lake—if federal officials do their part.
- Five Feet of Lead and a Mining Camp's Big Break
Newport investors strike a rich oxidized lead vein in the Metaline district, with assays promising $31.68 a ton and a mill within 40 days.
- Two Lost Hunters Stayed Alive for Two Days Without Food or Fire Near Sullivan Lake
Fred Douglass and a companion wandered off the deer trail, soaked their matches, and survived by walking until they stumbled onto a miners' cabin at Happy Camp.
- Judge Carey Rules for the Silver-Lead Company in Metaline Claim Fight
A Stevens County court decision turned on whether assessment work had been done on valuable lead claims in 1905—and the mining district was watching.
- The Battle for Metaline's Land
A complex legal dispute over the Metaline townsite ends in a victory for a scrip claimant, though the fight is far from over.
- A Mining Boom Bites at the Metalines
New concentrators, a wagon road, a rich strike and a $1.5 million company put Newport at the center of a swelling lead-and-silver rush.
- The Silver-Lead Company Bets on Metaline
Ore assays, new concentrators, and a bunkhouse point to a mining camp shaking off its slow start—and Newport money is buying in.
- The Cave at the End of the Boundary Trail
A 1908 Newport writer follows a blazed trail north of Metaline into a limestone cavern of bath-like basins, a 'Guardian of the Baths' and a music room already being vandalized.
- A Saloonkeeper’s Fine and a Woman’s Reputation in Metaline
A Tuesday law-enforcement visit to Metaline ends with a saloonkeeper fined for selling liquor to a woman, a second woman fined under a moral charge, and a warning that Sunday closing and anti-gambling laws will be enforced.
- The Concentrator That Never Pounded
A $20,000 mining mill stood ready to turn mountains of lead ore into profit, but a $250 judgment, a $16,000 mortgage and a boardroom feud left Metaline waiting for a boom that never came.
- The Land Grab That Stalled at Metaline
A speculator tried to claim the Metaline townsite by scrip, but found the ground already occupied. The fight moved to the surrounding land—and residents began pushing for a government townsite instead.
- A $50,000 Concentrator Heads Down the Pend d'Oreille
Machinery for a 200-ton ore concentrator is bound for Metaline, shipped through Newport and floated downriver on a homemade lumber raft.
- Cement Plant Rumors Swirl as the Metaline Rail Extension Stalls
Company officials deny reports of an eight-mile I.W.N. extension to Metaline and a $125,000 water-rights deal, even as a cement plant remains likely.
- A Hunting-Camp Quarrel Ends With an Axe and a Jail Term
John Potter struck O. E. Talbot at Happy Camp on Sullivan Creek, then pleaded guilty to assault and was sent to the county jail at Colville.
- Metaline Wakes From Its Slumber as the Mines and Steamers Return
A concentrator whistle, new storefronts, and a faster steamer connection put the Pend Oreille River town within a day of Spokane.
- An English Syndicate Bets $100,000 on Stevens County Lead and Silver
A Chicago mining journal tours the Metaline district, where companies are sinking shafts, building tramways and waiting on a railroad to turn lead and silver claims into a boom.
Download all 31 as a spreadsheet (CSV) · Show them on the map