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 | 3 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 6 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 7 |
| 1876 | 31 |
| 1877 | 24 |
| 1878 | 15 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1882 | 5 |
| 1883 | 26 |
| 1884 | 17 |
| 1885 | 9 |
| 1886 | 8 |
| 1887 | 7 |
| 1888 | 19 |
| 1889 | 38 |
| 1890 | 7 |
| 1891 | 30 |
| 1892 | 16 |
| 1893 | 16 |
| 1894 | 29 |
| 1895 | 30 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 7 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 20 |
| 1909 | 20 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 3 |
426 stories matching messr
- Moonlight on the Sound
A summer evening excursion by boating party offers a glimpse into the social rhythm of late 19th-century Seattle.
- The Blueprint to Bury Seattle’s Railroads and Sell the Tide Flats
The Dearborn interests pitch a grand scheme to replace ram’s-horn tracks with parallel underground lines, raise street grades, and turn the southern tide flats into a manufacturing and freight hub.
- The Cedar Trade Drives Pacific Northwest Expansion
A new shipment of cedar creates a lucrative market for Victoria and Washington territory mills.
- The Battle for Seattle's Soul: Who Owns the City?
As the Northern Pacific Railroad, wealthy speculators, and the City of Seattle clash in Olympia over a massive land claim, the future of Seattle’s streets and growth hangs in the balance.
- The Wharf War on Taylor Street
A legal tug-of-war breaks out as the Union Wharf Company tries to block the Hastings family from accessing the waterfront, setting a precedent for public street rights in early Seattle.
- A Massive Warehouse Blaze Leaves Yakima Scrambling
A fire of unknown origin at the Chappell & Cox warehouse caused significant damage to stored furniture, machinery, and agricultural goods.
- The First Railroad Built on 'Siwash' Labor
In a stark reflection of territorial labor practices, the first contracts for the Puyallup Valley Railroad have been awarded to Meeker & Mann, with plans to employ local Indigenous workers for four miles of track.
- The Millionaire’s Gamble: Ryan & McDonald Awarded the $3M Rail Contract
New York contractors secure the massive deal to connect Seattle and Spokane Falls in just two years, promising to unlock Eastern Washington's grain and timber wealth.
- A Hundred Ranchers Tried to Steer the Railroad Down Their Side of the River
Property owners from the Calispel valley packed a Cusick meeting to lobby the Idaho Washington Northern for a west-side route—offering cheap right-of-way and a pile of guaranteed tonnage.
- The Perilous Path to Union Bay
A steamship pioneer makes a daring, experimental voyage to prove that a 'long-ignored' channel could transform the future of Seattle’s local trade.
- The Ferry Fight on the Duwamish
A contest over a river crossing franchise exposes the competition for infrastructure and land rights along the lower Duwamish in 1876.
- A Night of Music for the Baptist Church
Fairhaven's local talent shines in a successful benefit performance at the Prosser house.
- Six Hours, Sixteen Thousand Feet: Puget Sound's Lumber Boom
A correspondent touring the Sound in 1860 marvels at new sawmills at Utsalady and Port Gamble, where wild country is being turned into lumber camps and the Territory is already boasting of a manufacturing future to rival the older states.
- Summer Days on the Sound
A lively report from a 1878 community on the Puget Sound, celebrating mill work, new infrastructure, and the social joys of the frontier era.
- Seventeen Citizens Pick an Entire City Ticket
Two caucuses, seventeen voters and a third ballot to break a tie: Newport's parties choose their men for council and treasurer in a campaign almost nobody seems to care about.
- The Judge Who Wanted to Join the Salvation Army
Probate Judge Wickersham faces seduction charges in Tacoma; his defense seeks a venue change as he jokes about his future with the Salvation Army.
- The Renton Addition: Seattle’s 1889 Speculative Gold Rush
As property developers paved the way for Seattle's expansion, one man's high-stakes sale of the 'cream' of Beacon Hill real estate signaled a city-wide frenzy for land and infrastructure.
- A Grand New Hotel Rises on Port Townsend's Waterfront
A three-story block with a saloon, reading room, and thirty sleeping rooms opens at Water and Washington streets—a brick-and-mortar bet on the town's future.
- An Hydraulic Solution to Snohomish’s Water Woes
Innovation at the eastern edge of town brings running water to the school house flat.
- The Man Who Hated the Number 13
A Seattle resident petitions city commissioners to change his house number because he believes the digit brings bad luck to his family.
- County Board Orders Isolation for Tulalip Reservation
As a smallpox epidemic looms, Snohomish County officials order the Tulalip Indian Agent to restrict movement to contain the outbreak.
- Four Men Spend the Night in a Boiling Crater: An 1883 Assault on Mount Rainier
A climbing party from Olympia reaches the summit of Mount Rainier and bivouacs inside the crater, where the ground itself is too hot to touch.
- Ione Wants to Incorporate — Unless the Sawmill Has to Join
Residents pushed for town incorporation, but the Panhandle Lumber Co. and neighboring landowners balked at being included; the saloon question hovered over the whole fight.
- A Mayor, a Rigged Lottery, and the Fight for Olympia's City Hall
A month out from the municipal election, the Tribune accuses Mayor J. C. Horr of quietly fixing his fences for a second term — and the drawing of lots that handed one councilman a longer seat looks to a good many people like a put-up job.
- Searching for the Wenatchee Mines
An expedition returns to Olympia after failing to reach the mountains, but reports finding vast, promising new territory.