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.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1876 | 7 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 10 |
| 1893 | 12 |
| 1894 | 10 |
| 1895 | 7 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1923 | 1 |
92 stories matching decept
- The Unwedded Wife of Seattle
A judge grants a divorce but leaves the second Mrs. Beard in a legal limbo, sparking a courtroom scene.
- The Political Row Over Huntington’s Land Grab
A fiery congressional clash over the Southern Pacific Railroad's vast land claims reveals the intense lobbying battles defining the American West.
- The Blurred Map of Seattle's Early Real Estate Boom
A local property surveyor exposes a deceptive mapping practice meant to obscure the true boundaries of land parcels during a heated period of development.
- The Wreck of the SS Umatilla
Local inspectors clear a ship captain of wrongdoing, citing deceptive coastal currents and a blinding snowstorm.
- State Cracks Down on Deceptive Dairy Practices
Food Commissioner McDonald orders grocers to pull or label condensed milk artificially colored to suggest higher butterfat content.
- The Montana Mine Deception
A Seattle woman sues her husband to recover $42,000 in property after he allegedly tricked her into signing over her deeds for a fake mining venture.
- The False Heir of Tacoma
A young woman's desperate scheme to secure her marriage leads to a surrogate child and a city-wide scandal.
- The Serial Lives of a Christian Scientist
A lawyer exposes the matrimonial trail of a man who left a string of abandoned wives across the American West.
- The Railroad's Grudge Against Old Yakima
A local resident warns travelers that the Northern Pacific is attempting to bypass and destroy the original town of Yakima to benefit their new company town.
- The Senatorial Deadlock in Olympia
Partisan maneuvering and 'dark horse' schemes stall the election of Senator John B. Allen.
- The Bunco Gang’s Wharfside Swindle
Two young women are fleeced by a sophisticated street-con artist on the Seattle waterfront.
- Four Drown Near Coupeville
A boat capsized in high winds while traveling from Port Madison toward Victoria, claiming the lives of four passengers.
- The Maid Who Stole the Hidalgo’s Gold
A young woman’s romantic deception in Quiggletown backfires when her maid decides to take the suitor, the dowry, and the partnership for herself.
- The Desert Blooms: Artesian Wells Transform Yakima Valley
A successful irrigation experiment promises to reclaim thousands of acres of arid land across Eastern Washington.
- The Trail That Wasn't: How Bellingham Bay Boosters Sold a Gold-Rush Route
A Steilacoom editor accuses Whatcom land speculators of luring miners and immigrants with false reports that the Bellingham Bay trail to the gold fields was nearly finished.
- The Bogus 'Happy Valley' Real Estate Scam
A swindler in Fairhaven has been selling plots in a 'Happy Valley' addition that exists only on paper and a mountain.
- The Fight Against 'Canned Water'
Everett labor organizers inspect local grocers to expose deceptive packaging and short-weighting in the canned fruit industry.
- The Eight-Month Deed Deception
A Seattle couple sues to correct a property deed they allege was swapped after they had already agreed to terms.
- The Mysterious Vanishing Snow of Mount Rainier
A Wallula newspaper reports a strange, massive slide that left a mile-wide track across the face of the mountain.
- The Gypsy’s Prophecy Was a Calculated Ruse
A young woman recounts how a chance encounter at a local gypsy camp shaped her romantic future, only to learn the 'fate' she experienced was actually a series of elaborate deceptions.
- The Revivalist Who Left Discord Behind
A traveling evangelist spent a summer working Puget Sound's Baptist pulpits — and the association's verdict was blunt: imposter.
- A Peoria Syndicate Tried to Turn Whidbey Island Into One Big Orchard
With $100,000 in capital and 10,000 acres, outside investors promised a prune empire, new roads, wharves and Eastern colonies — but insisted they were not selling a townsite.
- An Early Coastal Survey of the Quillehuyt River
James G. Swan documents his journey to the Quillayute River, describing the geography, the Indigenous stronghold at James Island, and the aftermath of the Southerner shipwreck.
- The Hidden Fortune of Captain Renton
Heirs of a sea-captain's forgotten partner sue the estate of William Renton, alleging decades of financial deception and a secret stolen legacy.
- The Oregon Land Agent’s Smear Campaign
When a rival state agent spread wild lies about 'timber forty feet deep' and 'streets of sawdust,' early Snohomish settlers fought back to set the record straight.