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 |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 9 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 22 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1891 | 9 |
| 1892 | 15 |
| 1893 | 25 |
| 1894 | 22 |
| 1895 | 54 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 8 |
| 1903 | 12 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 19 |
| 1910 | 5 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 5 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1923 | 4 |
| 1925 | 4 |
| 1928 | 1 |
261 stories matching messag
- The Phantom Fire-Starter of Tacoma
A mischievous prankster is repeatedly triggering false fire alarms, exhausting the local department and draining public funds.
- Seattle's First Poultry Show Was a Rooster Booster's Dream
The Puget Sound Poultry Club opened its first annual exhibition at Rialto Hall, with a California judge, silver cups, and homing pigeons that had just flown messages from a mountain expedition.
- The Divorce Dozen: Olympia’s Council Clears a Path for Broken Marriages
In December 1860, the Washington Territory Council processed a flurry of divorce petitions, including one from prominent local figure Carson D. Boren, revealing the fragile nature of domestic life in the frontier.
- When a Railroad Held the Territory Hostage: The 1877 Fight Over the Northern Pacific Land Grant
Governor Ferry's message to the Legislature proposes a 10-year extension for the Northern Pacific—but warns the territory will be crippled if the western terminus lands in Portland instead of Puget Sound.
- Homesteader Investigates Wailing Near Haunted Spring
A lonely settler discovers a long-hidden message in a bottle near a 'haunted' spring.
- The Vanishing of Ida Peak: A Seattle Restaurant Girl’s Disappearance Sparks a Search
Ida Peak, a waitress at the New York Wafer House on Cherry Street, vanished after claiming she was visiting her sister in Bellevue. Her family is left with only rumors and a missing person's description.
- The Court That Took Away Washington Women's Vote
Holding up Wyoming's eighteen years of women's suffrage as proof of its benefits, the Tribune condemns the territorial supreme court for reversing Washington women's right to vote.
- A Midnight Mystery at the Tacoma Opera House
A man is discovered near death with a broken neck in front of the theater, leaving police with nothing but a frantic, garbled message.
- A Frontier Tragedy
A man is accidentally killed in the wilderness near Kent, and the news is kept from his dying brother in San Francisco.
- Wireless Expert Disappears Following Mysterious Note
A Marconi Company employee vanishes after writing a cryptic message to his assistant.
- A Territorial Feud Over Public Printing
A scathing editorial from The Standard details a dispute between the newspaper and a Federal official over control of territorial printing contracts.
- The Tailor-Made Confidence Man
A clever grifter leaves a trail of unpaid bills and stolen suits across North Seattle.
- Who Gets the Reservation When the Indians Are Allotted
Eastern Washington settlers cheer the survey of the Colville reservation, expecting homesteads — but President Cleveland's message warns the surplus land may not be thrown open at all, and the paper has a barb for the waiters.
- Tragedy on the Okanogan
A young businessman loses his life in a horse-crossing accident, leaving his community in shock.
- Olympia prepares for Governor McGraw's inauguration
As Washington transitions from its first state administration to the next, the capital is bustling with political maneuvering and preparations for the ceremony.
- A Lonely Death in Everett
A young woman who arrived from Seattle is found dead in a lodging house room following a binge.
- The Snow Drove Twenty Elk to the Beach. A Hunter Killed Them All.
Near Brinnon, settlers formed a vigilance committee after an unknown hunter slaughtered a snowbound herd—and then burned his cabin.
- The Water Tank Romance
A flirtatious message left on a rural water tank led to an unlikely marriage between two strangers.
- The Governor Vetoes the Anti-Vivisection Bill
Washington's governor refuses to sign a sweeping ban on animal dissection in public schools, arguing that medical progress and anatomy lessons depend on it.
- Populists Clash with the Militia
Legislators demand the state militia disband after accounts of drunken revelry at the inaugural ceremonies.
- A Thief Pulled From the I.W.N. Train
A sleeping guest is robbed at the Newport Hotel; Marshal Bennett catches one suspect aboard an outgoing train while two alleged accomplices head toward Spirit Lake.
- One Day Late: The Veto That May Hang a Man
A clerk's date stamp, a messenger who cannot recall which day he ran an errand, and a condemned Italian at Tacoma whose last chance at a new appeal may have expired in the paperwork.
- The Mayor Walks Out in Protest
A standoff over municipal authority and debt forces the resignation of Yakima's top official.
- An Escape from Medical Lake
A patient from the state hospital for the insane sparks fear in a small community before his quiet capture.
- The Mystery of the Fremont Drowning
A witness reports hearing a desperate cry for help near the old boathouse, but the lake surface holds no answers.