Research the archive
Narrow 25,688 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 | 9 |
| 1858 | 6 |
| 1859 | 5 |
| 1860 | 2 |
| 1861 | 10 |
| 1862 | 8 |
| 1863 | 4 |
| 1864 | 2 |
| 1865 | 2 |
| 1872 | 17 |
| 1876 | 124 |
| 1877 | 95 |
| 1878 | 60 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 22 |
| 1882 | 18 |
| 1883 | 155 |
| 1884 | 55 |
| 1885 | 120 |
| 1886 | 60 |
| 1887 | 64 |
| 1888 | 72 |
| 1889 | 225 |
| 1890 | 32 |
| 1891 | 137 |
| 1892 | 403 |
| 1893 | 372 |
| 1894 | 342 |
| 1895 | 406 |
| 1897 | 13 |
| 1898 | 27 |
| 1899 | 99 |
| 1900 | 11 |
| 1902 | 3 |
| 1903 | 258 |
| 1904 | 191 |
| 1905 | 10 |
| 1907 | 10 |
| 1908 | 75 |
| 1909 | 222 |
| 1910 | 28 |
| 1911 | 20 |
| 1912 | 8 |
| 1914 | 31 |
| 1915 | 38 |
| 1916 | 90 |
| 1917 | 26 |
| 1918 | 8 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 25 |
| 1924 | 13 |
| 1925 | 9 |
| 1928 | 2 |
4,049 stories matching sever
- Trapped in the Gears
A farm worker is severely injured in a gruesome accident while operating a header in the fields near Walla Walla.
- The Heroic Kitchen Defense
When a kitchen fire threatened to raze her home, a Snohomish woman didn't wait for help, personally battling the flames until the structure was saved.
- The Contract Wife Who Would Not Be Shaken Off
Florence Bucklin Byers followed a wealthy Chilean consul to California, then returned to Port Townsend vowing to enforce their handwritten marriage contract—or sue him for divorce.
- The Man Who Owns Fifteen Townships Comes to Town
W. H. Babcock, back in Walla Walla after six months in Trinidad, is selling off Douglas County land he bought at 75 cents an acre — now fetching up to $12 — and keeping thousands of acres back for sheep.
- The Gray-Haired Con Man Who Left Newport's Saloons Holding Bad Paper
Posing as a copper-company man with money in local banks, William Andrew cashed worthless checks across Newport and Sandpoint—then vanished before anyone could collect.
- The Night the Chickens Sang Backup: Spokane’s Poultry Show
Spokane’s annual poultry exhibition drew hundreds of birds, a towering silver trophy, and an orchestra the chickens refused to let finish alone.
- The $800 School Contract That Smelled Wrong
A losing bidder says Seattle’s school board changed the bonding rules mid-bid to steer the South School job to a higher bidder—and cost taxpayers hundreds.
- A Potlatch at Neah Bay: Blankets, Money, and a Makah Celebration
A newspaper correspondent visits a Makah potlatch and finds hundreds gathered, a wealthy widow, and gifts of cash and blankets distributed to friends and relations.
- Bellingham Bay Burned While Puget Sound Choked on Smoke
Forest fires from the British border to the Olympic Mountains sent a pall over Seattle, slowed steamers and trains, and destroyed homes, a bridge and a thirty-room mansion near Whatcom.
- The Great Seattle Fire: How a Painter’s Fall Saved the City
In the chaos of the 1889 inferno, a worker’s tragic accident at a construction site inadvertently alerted the city to the approaching flames, turning a moment of horror into a pivotal warning.
- The Bay View Massacre: A Bloody End to the Labor Strike
A violent confrontation between striking freight handlers and authorities in Bay View leaves six dead and several wounded, marking a grim escalation in regional labor unrest.
- The Night They Burned the Bridges: Sprague Makes Its Stand
A mob stones the returning militia, torch-wielding strikers destroy trestles on both sides of town, and a governor wires back orders to 'use all force at your command' to disperse the rioters.
- The Absinthe Defense: How a 'Swissess' and a Headache Saved a Murderer's Life
In the high-profile Spencer trial in Spokane, witnesses testified that Edward Spencer drank absinthe to sober up before killing Ella Mundt. The court heard he was 'jolly' until the end.
- They Would Rather Grow Than Beg: Seattle’s Unemployed Turned Vacant Lots Into Potato Patches
In the depression year of 1893, nearly 200 Seattle men—most with families—were given free seed, tools and borrowed city lots through the Pingree plan and the Co-operative Industrial Society.
- The Soldier Who Missed: Why Seattle Is Rooting for a Court-Martialed Hero
Sergeant Mason’s attempt to assassinate the man who killed Garfield has turned him from a mutineer into a martyr, sparking petitions and subscriptions across the Pacific Northwest.
- The $12.50 Gold Rush: How a Railroad Rate War Flooded Seattle with Hope and Skepticism
As Canadian Pacific slashes fares to half the price of American lines, local merchants debate whether the coming wave of homeseekers will build the city or break it.
- The Dug-Eaters of the Yukon: A Philadelphia Man’s Starvation Story
H.C. Reifsnyder arrives in Seattle with a harrowing tale of survival on the Edmonton Trail, where his party subsisted on dog meat and dugouts after losing their provisions to the brutal wilderness.
- The Hangman's Verdict: John Thompson Convicted of Murder in Snohomish
A trial that captivated the entire Territory ends with a death sentence for a man accused of killing his friend during a drunken brawl over a card game.
- The $100,000 Estate and the Indian Marriage That Seattle Forgot
A daughter claiming the estate of pioneer Franklin Mathias says her parents were married by Indian custom in 1867. A federal judge must decide whether that marriage—and her legitimacy—counts.
- A Knife on Union Avenue: Newport Lunch Wagon Owner Chases Down Cook Who Robbed Him
H. McGraw, a cook at 'Red' Warren's lunch wagon, took the night's receipts and skipped town. Warren caught him, recovered the money, and then stabbed him between the ribs.
- The Judge Who Drank: A Local Magistrate’s Confession to the Grand Jury
In a stunning display of candor, Seattle Justice of the Peace John Mercer admits to his courtroom that he was frequently intoxicated while on the bench, blaming 'political enemies' for his drinking and accusing the city of turning a blind eye to saloon owners who ruin working men's wages.
- The Great Poker Heist: A Man Steals Glass to Escape His Debts
In a bizarre twist of justice in 1872 Seattle, a gambler fleeing a poker loss was caught stealing window panes from a saloon instead of cash.
- Ten Inmates Crawl Through City Jail Roof
A dozen prisoners rip the roof off the city jail, leading to a night of escapes, returns for more whiskey, and public mockery of the facility.
- The Banker's Scandalous Opera Alley Spree
A Coupeville bank cashier’s disappearance turns into a public disgrace as reports emerge of his lavish debauchery in Tacoma’s red-light district.
- The Gall and Wormwood of Olympia: Tacoma’s Defeat in the Senate Race
As Washington's first U.S. Senator is chosen in a bitter legislative battle, defeated candidate Calkins' supporters cry foul, while Jefferson County delegates secure the victory for Watson Squire.