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 |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 4 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 8 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
57 stories matching network
- The Iron Road Reaches Seattle
How James J. Hill bypassed government land grants to connect the Pacific Coast to the interior, permanently altering Seattle’s future.
- The Corporate Coup at Seattle Consolidated
An Eastern financial takeover of Seattle’s street railway system aims to consolidate the city's fragmented and unprofitable transit network.
- The Peril of Water and Wire
Electrical engineer A.L. Kasson warns that firefighters face a hidden danger when spraying water on high-voltage power lines during city fires.
- The Railway King Comes to Walla Walla
Henry Villard, president of the Northern Pacific Railroad, arrives in Walla Walla to a hero’s welcome and demands for new branch lines.
- The Banking Titans Building Modern Seattle
A look inside the financial engine driving Seattle’s rapid expansion in the early 1890s through the lens of a newly rising financial institution.
- The Shadowy Trade of the Sound
A Canadian steamer allegedly lands contraband laborers and opium near Olympia, revealing a thriving underground network of smuggling that has turned the city into a Puget Sound rendezvous.
- The Dogfish Oil Smuggling Ring
Federal authorities launch a crackdown on an illicit trade network that attempted to pass foreign-sourced dogfish oil as local Washington production.
- A Private Boost for Seattle’s Water Supply
A new tank on Union Street signals the expansion of early, private water infrastructure in the growing city of Seattle.
- The Great Alarm Debate
Walla Walla’s City Council considers whether to invest in a modern fire alarm system or rely on an improvised network of city telephones.
- The Centennial Vision for a Frontier Metropolis
On the 100th anniversary of American Independence, a local orator laid out a grand—and strikingly prescient—economic blueprint for the future of Seattle and Washington Territory.
- The Iron Road Rushes East
In 1892, railroad tycoon James J. Hill arrived in Spokane to finalize plans for a massive rail expansion that would forever link the Columbia River plateau to the transcontinental network.
- The Unbuilt Imperial Skyscraper
Tacoma business elites rally to fund a grand downtown skyscraper and a massive subway tunnel network that would reshape the city's topography.
- The Gold Rush at the Swinomish Flats
While miners chased gold in the mountains, early settlers on the Swinomish tide lands found that dyking and ditching the soil offered a far more reliable fortune.
- The Government's Bid for a National Telegraph
A proposed legislative act aims to link major cities, including Seattle, into a government-owned communication network.
- The Forger Who Could Not Outrun the Telegraph
A determined sheriff tracks a cunning forger from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest by leveraging a new network of law enforcement telegrams.
- The Unseen Cost of a Changing Railroad
A 1887 editorial warns that new federal commerce regulations could dismantle local trade networks in Seattle and beyond, favoring big cities at the expense of regional producers.
- Fireboat Battles Blazing Mill on the Tide Flats
McMaster's shingle mill, a sprawling wharf-side structure, is lost to a massive fire as the city's fireboat struggles to maneuver through a congested waterway.
- The Secret Game Under the Sidewalk
A reporter uncovers a network of hidden gambling dens and 'wire-puller' locks operating with total impunity under the city's reform administration.
- The Banquet That Built Seattle's Legal Elite
In 1903, the city’s most powerful lawyers gathered at the Rainier Hotel to honor Judge Julius Stratton, cementing a social network that would shape Washington State's legal landscape for decades.
- The Unfinished Ditch That Could Have Remade Seattle
An 1877 proposal to carve a channel between Lake Washington and the Sound highlights the ambitious—and forgotten—infrastructure dreams that once defined the city’s early development.
- The Corporate War for the Rails
How an early battle between express giants revealed the ruthless tactics used to control Washington's transportation networks.
- The Case for a 'Seattle the Beautiful'
A visionary letter to the editor advocates for creating a network of public parks before the city's rapid expansion makes such land unaffordable.
- The Temperance Union’s Grand Flower Festival
As Seattle grew, the local chapter of the W.C.T.U. organized elaborate civic events, revealing the powerful social network of women shaping the city's public life.
- The Streetcar Line That Paid Its Way—Until the Bonds Came Due
Seattle’s consolidated street railway reports that fares cover operations but not mortgage interest, while receivership leases and a city council refusal reshape the young transit network.
- The Asylum Ward’s Unseen Hunger
A patient describes the grueling conditions inside a Seattle insane asylum, where the sick are fed wormy prunes and bread meant for the refuse pile, while robust workers with influence dine on fresh milk.