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 |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 10 |
| 1892 | 9 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 11 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 7 |
79 stories matching foundri
- Post-Election Wheelbarrow Rides and Wharf-Side Pranks
Seattle workers settle political debts with public spectacles and humiliating bets after the 1892 election.
- The Bullets That Whizzed Through Commercial Street
A quiet walk near the foundry turns into a terrifying brush with death as three men open fire on passersby.
- The Riverfront Factory Boom
New manufacturing operations along the Snohomish River signal a growing industrial future for the region.
- The Growing Ambition of the Aberdeen Shipyards
With some of the longest ship timbers in the world, the local yards aim to become a premier shipbuilding hub.
- Charting the Grays Harbor Bar
The federal government sends a survey ship to study the treacherous Grays Harbor bar, hinting at the potential for massive economic growth if a jetty is built.
- A Seattle Foundry Rises From the Great Fire’s Ashes
After the 1889 Great Seattle Fire destroyed Moran Brothers’ Yesler Avenue works, the machinists rebuilt on the tide flats within a week—and soon won a contract for machinery in U.S. naval dry docks.
- The Iron Foundry vs. The Anti-Chinese Movement
A vigilante mob of Seattle ironworkers forces the departure of Chinese laborers on a steamer to San Francisco.
- Tacoma Pioneer David Lister Dies, Leaving a Legacy of Industry and Resilience
From the Great Peshtigo Fire to founding Washington's coke industry, Lister's life traced the raw beginnings of Tacoma.
- The Unlucky Wishkah Chief Surfaces
After sitting on the river bottom, the salvaged steamer proves surprisingly resilient, though its boiler remains missing.
- Turning Slaughterhouse Waste Into Gold
A new industrial plant on the Grant Street bridge aims to convert city scraps into exportable fertilizer for the Hawaiian market.
- The Iron Giant of Seattle: How a Local Foundry Fueled the City’s Rapid Rise
In 1876, Seattle’s industrial heart was beating with molten metal. As the Puget Sound Iron Works churned out rails for expanding railroads and coal mines, local leaders predicted a future where Seattle would rival San Francisco as a Pacific coast manufacturing hub.
- The Dream of Kirkland as the 'Pittsburg of the Pacific'
Capitalists promise that an industrial boom in iron production will transform the landscape of the Eastside.
- The Farmer and the One-Dollar Fee
A Stanwood farmer’s struggle to sell his own harvest in Seattle triggers an impromptu protest against city bureaucracy.
- Andrew Carnegie’s Advice to Washington
The steel magnate urges the state to showcase its vast iron ore deposits at the upcoming World’s Fair.
- The Political Promise of a Pioneer City
An 1888 editorial hails Benjamin Harrison's candidacy while touting Seattle’s rapid transformation into a booming industrial powerhouse.
- The Salvage Diver Threatens Dynamite in Seattle Harbor
A wreckage contractor, locked in a legal battle over a sunken steamer, vows to use explosives to clear the waterway despite an injunction.
- The Iron City of the Pacific
Promoters promise a new industrial powerhouse in Kirkland as rail lines expand and iron ore production begins.
- The Boss and the Mayor: Allegations of Graft in Walla Walla City Hall
The Evening Statesman launches a blistering campaign attack, accusing Mayor Hunt of illegal business dealings and cozy backroom deals with local bank executives.
- Aberdeen’s Five-Year Rise from Wilderness
A progress report from 1891 celebrating the rapid industrialization of a city carved from the virgin forest.
- Fire Ravages Port Townsend's 'Chinatown'
A morning fire levels several properties in the Chinese quarter, leaving the community to count their losses.
- The End of the Frontier Boom
An 1886 dispatch from the San Francisco Chronicle assesses the cooling of Washington Territory's economy, marking the transition from feverish speculation to steady growth.
- The Anaconda Goes Into Elliott Bay to Eat the Flats
The giant dredger that will dig the Lake Washington canal is launched at Moran's foundry tonight — and its pumps, chewed to honeycomb by Swinomish sand, hint at how hard Elliott Bay's bottom will fight back.
- A Painful Carriage Accident on the Shores of Lake Union
A local real estate developer suffers a severe injury after a team of horses is spooked on the outskirts of town.
- The Apprentice Who Chose Grime Over Gold
In 1872 Seattle, a young man defies his parents' expectations by rejecting his inheritance to work in a boiler shop—and finds his own path to dignity.
- The Rising Metropolis of the North
A traveler reflects on Seattle's explosive growth in 1883, from its coal-driven commerce to the 'Titanic' scale of its lumber mills.