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 |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1860 | 2 |
| 1862 | 7 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 42 |
| 1877 | 19 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 14 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 19 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 20 |
| 1889 | 18 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 42 |
| 1893 | 59 |
| 1894 | 35 |
| 1895 | 36 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
360 stories
- The Perilous Mistake of Captain Thomas Wilson
A small favor leads to a large legal headache when a Port Townsend steamer is accused of illegally transporting explosives.
- The Teen Bride and the Soldier
A seventeen-year-old in Port Townsend seeks a trade: her marriage certificate for a new license.
- The Shocking State of the Port Townsend Courthouse
A dangerous electrical grounding issue in the county building leaves water pipes charged with current.
- Drowning and Smuggling in Port Townsend
Court business is quiet, but a sailor goes missing, a steward is drowned, and a smuggler is fined in the latest local update.
- The Opium Smuggler of Port Townsend
A ship steward is arrested and held on high bond after customs agents discover a hidden stash of opium on his person and in his cabin.
- A Rough Arrival from Yokohama
The steamer Crown of England arrives in Puget Sound after a harrowing 23-day voyage marked by mechanical failures and a violent 26-hour gale.
- The Strange 'Living' Well of Port Townsend
A dry well dug in an addition to Port Townsend acts as a natural, pneumatic barometer, baffling local scientists.
- The Boomtown Delusion of Port Townsend
In the late 1880s, Port Townsend boosters scrambled to convince the world that their city was destined to be the 'Frisco' of the Pacific Northwest.
- The Unsung Patron of Port Townsend
A local priest takes to the pages of the Dispatch to set the record straight on who actually paid for the town's new church, insisting on public accountability for his private donation.
- The Price of a Hand: A Labor Settlement in Port Townsend
A longshoreman injured while unloading cargo from the steamship Walla Walla receives a court-ordered settlement, highlighting the physical dangers of 19th-century maritime work.
- Tragedy in the Bay: A Fatal Scuffle at Port Townsend
A playful afternoon turned fatal when a young sailor fell from his boat and vanished into the waters of Port Townsend Bay.
- The Mysterious Death of a 'Well-Known Character'
When Mary Todhunter was found dead in a locked room in New Westminster, her complicated past as an alleged heiress and runaway brought a dark local scandal to the surface.
- Smallpox Scare Hits Victoria
Conflicting reports over an outbreak in British Columbia lead to heightened health screenings at the border and anxiety in Puget Sound towns.
- One Customs Job, Two Promises, and a Party on the Brink
A federal patronage fight between John Collins and Hugh Wallace, layered atop a King County apportionment grab, had Republicans threatening an open row in Tacoma.
- The Bering Sea's Brazen Seal Poachers, as Told by a Port Townsend Captain
A sealing schooner back from five months in the Bering Sea describes a coordinated scheme of lookouts, false alibis and cached skins used to outwit the revenue cutters.
- A Port Townsend Lawyer Vanishes Without a Trace
Capt. George H. Jones, a constitutional convention delegate and Republican county leader, had been missing for days when his family's Puget Sound search came up empty.
- Legal Ruling Defines Validity of Real Estate Leases
A court case in Port Townsend clarifies the strict requirements for property leases, warning landowners that failing to notarize agreements can lead to disastrous litigation.
- Political Uprising at the Port Townsend Democratic Club
A planned 'indignation meeting' against the local customs collector backfires, leading to a party coup and the removal of the club's president.
- Port Townsend Vows Boycott Over Tacoma's Dry Dock Gambit
The Key City accuses its rival to the south of sabotaging its bid for a stationary dry dock — and threatens to take its trade to Portland and San Francisco instead.
- Offices for a Senate Vote: The Backroom Deal in Jefferson County
A Democratic leader offers Populists half the county offices — and a customs-house appointment — if they will help elect Hugh Wallace to the U.S. Senate. Even party regulars call it a disgrace.
- The Postmaster’s Patronage Problem: Civil Service Warns Port Townsend
Postmaster McNamara threatened to replace Port Townsend’s post office staff with loyal Democrats. The Civil Service Commission warned that patronage could cost him personally—and cited a Pennsylvania postmaster who paid $600 out of pocket.
- A Reader Says Smiles and Bows Won't Save Port Townsend
A letter to the editor takes aim at the sentimental notion that a town prospers on politeness alone, insisting that Port Townsend needs capital, labor and trade — not suave manners and boosterism.
- Man Overboard: A Desperate Rescue Off the Port Townsend Wharf
When a crewman is swept off the steamer North Pacific just after she leaves the dock, two boats race the heavy swell to pull him from the water alive.
- A Seven-Day Ordeal at Sea: The City of Panama Limps into Port Townsend
A midnight collision with a lumber schooner, a hurricane off the Oregon coast, and a pointed comparison to the steamer Pacific — which went down with more than 200 souls aboard.
- The Tumor That Ate Through a Man's Spine
A Port Townsend autopsy found that a long-growing aneurysm had eroded bone and pushed through the skin of the spinal column.
Download all 360 as a spreadsheet (CSV) · Show them on the map