Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 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 |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 6 |
| 1876 | 52 |
| 1877 | 34 |
| 1878 | 30 |
| 1879 | 4 |
| 1880 | 10 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 36 |
| 1884 | 26 |
| 1885 | 41 |
| 1886 | 7 |
| 1887 | 35 |
| 1888 | 62 |
| 1889 | 101 |
| 1890 | 16 |
| 1891 | 66 |
| 1892 | 116 |
| 1893 | 88 |
| 1894 | 70 |
| 1895 | 113 |
| 1897 | 6 |
| 1898 | 13 |
| 1899 | 30 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 66 |
| 1904 | 20 |
| 1905 | 5 |
| 1907 | 3 |
| 1908 | 27 |
| 1909 | 61 |
| 1910 | 11 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 18 |
| 1915 | 20 |
| 1916 | 43 |
| 1917 | 6 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 20 |
| 1924 | 10 |
| 1925 | 11 |
| 1928 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
1,304 stories matching develop
- The High Cost of Distance
A local retailer highlights how exorbitant shipping rates are stifling the development of the Inland Northwest.
- The Tacoma Land Boom
A glimpse into the feverish property speculation of the 1888 Washington Territory and the intense competition to develop the city's future.
- The Dream of the Suburban Garden Plot
Developers in 1891 sold city dwellers on the 'choicest' acreages just outside of the developing Seattle core, promising a life of suburban gardens along the new Rainier Avenue electric line.
- Battle for Yakima Valley Water Rights
A state land dispute pits the Sunnyside Canal Company against the Yakima Development Company in a high-stakes fight for irrigation rights.
- The Buried Treasure of Seattle’s Industrial Future
A real estate notice reveals the immense value—and looming development—of a coal field near Lake Washington, long before the city’s urban expansion.
- The City’s Crumbling Infrastructure
Walla Walla's decaying water main system is thwarting local efforts to lower insurance costs.
- The Fight for Power on the Columbia
Settlers and a New York corporation clash in federal court over the future of the Priest Rapids dam project.
- The Boomtown That Almost Ate Bellingham
A look back at the competitive, high-stakes frenzy of 1890s Fairhaven, a once-separate industrial powerhouse racing to become the 'New York of the Pacific' before merging into modern-day Bellingham.
- The Unopened Wealth of Eastern Washington
University of Washington researchers argue that the state’s massive kaolin and feldspar deposits could transform Spokane into a ceramic powerhouse.
- The Battle Over Seattle’s History
Pioneer C. B. Bagley takes to the pages of the P-I to correct misstatements about the city's early development and street history.
- A Child’s Desperate Escape
A twelve-year-old girl pleads with a judge to send her to reform school to escape her abusive stepfather.
- 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 Rapid Rise of Palatine
A new industrial settlement along the canal route emerges as a hub of quick development.
- The Road to Prosperity or a Taxpayer's Trap?
Prominent Aberdeen citizens clash over a contentious bond measure for county-wide road development.
- Walla Walla's Water War: Springs, a Bank, and a $250,000 Bond
In December 1903, an editorial backed Councilman Glasford's plan to use Thomas Springs rather than buy bank-owned ranch land or bond for Mill Creek water.
- The Fight Against Mortgage Taxes
The Chamber of Commerce warns that taxing mortgages will drive away capital and hurt economic development.
- When Seattle Made Property Owners Pay for Street Grading
An 1878 ordinance reveals the early mechanics of Seattle’s urban development and the 'special assessment' taxes that forced property owners to pay for city street improvements.
- The Bid for a Government Power Giant
Senator Poindexter eyes Priest Rapids as the potential site for a massive $20 million federal nitrate and munitions facility.
- Copper World Extension Puts Hopes on a Smelter Test
After years of inactivity and economic hardship, local miners attempt to prove the viability of a massive, long-neglected ore deposit.
- Isaac Stevens Charts the Course for a New Territory
In his first address to the newly convened Legislative Assembly, Governor Isaac I. Stevens outlines an ambitious vision for Washington Territory, emphasizing infrastructure, land policy, and the need for defense.
- The Walla Walla Water Fiasco
A city committee braves a 'biting wind' to discover that their expensive new water development is just collecting surface runoff from irrigation ditches.
- The Mining Promoter Who Told Would-Be Miners to Stay Home
Col. W. Thomas Hart has bonded claims and cut a trail in the new Slate Creek district, but he begs the press not to inflate the strike: there is no work, no mill, and too much snow for prospecting.
- The Anthracite Rush in Naches Pass
A new coal discovery near the mountains promises to be the most extensive field on the Pacific Coast.
- Dreaming of the Priest Rapids Dam
Community leaders and residents meet to push for federal involvement in the massive irrigation project that promised to transform the river valley.
- The Niagara of the West
Promoters promise a massive industrial city and the world's longest dam, envisioning Priest Rapids as a global manufacturing hub.