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 |
| 1858 | 3 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1862 | 4 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1871 | 2 |
| 1872 | 7 |
| 1876 | 22 |
| 1877 | 20 |
| 1878 | 19 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 21 |
| 1884 | 11 |
| 1885 | 15 |
| 1886 | 13 |
| 1887 | 7 |
| 1888 | 28 |
| 1889 | 60 |
| 1890 | 10 |
| 1891 | 38 |
| 1892 | 31 |
| 1893 | 45 |
| 1894 | 27 |
| 1895 | 21 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 25 |
| 1904 | 10 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 12 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 7 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 3 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
515 stories matching specul
- A Sober Assessment of the Seattle Boom
A local businessman warns Easterners against the 'real estate sharks' and urges caution for those moving West.
- The Risks of the 'Shipper’s Order' Grain Hustle
A federal warning exposes how unlicensed speculators were clogging rail yards with hay and grain they couldn't afford to pay for.
- Was Newport About to Become Idaho? A Federal Boundary Survey Raised the Question
A Senate committee advanced a bill to mark the 185-mile Washington-Idaho line, and Newport residents began to speculate that the border might move west—or that Idaho land might become Washington.
- The Bold 1894 Single Tax Manifesto
A radical Seattle group calls for a complete overhaul of the city tax system and the end of speculative land hoarding.
- Accusations of Corruption in the Indian Department
Local outrage flares over alleged embezzlement of government funds intended for the Indian Department.
- The Uncertain Fate of a Convicted Killer
Edward Spencer awaits transfer to the Walla Walla penitentiary, sparking speculation about his potential work assignment behind bars.
- The Struggle for Water and Land
Senator Paris Gibson warns that current public land laws benefit speculators over families, urging a return to the Homestead Act to prevent the West from becoming a territory of landlords.
- Farmers Seek Seattle Tide-Water Elevator
Eastern Washington farmers arrive in Seattle to bypass grain speculators by building their own tide-water facility.
- Railroad Expansion Spurs Tacoma Industrial Speculation
Milwaukee Road's infrastructure plans for Tacoma ignite local real estate hopes for a new industrial suburb.
- The Great City Treasury Mystery
A skeptical newspaper accuses the Seattle city government of diverting public funds meant for the Lake Union sewer tunnel into private speculations.
- The Fight for Irrigation Control
A local editorial urges landowners to organize into a district to secure government water projects and neutralize land speculators.
- The Ghost of Tacoma's Original Downtown
Before the railroad turned Tacoma into a boomtown, the city's future was fought over by competing pioneers and land speculators.
- Farmer’s Protest: The High Cost of Living
A local columnist breaks down the economic struggle of the Kennewick valley farmer, blaming speculators and Wall Street for the price gap between producers and consumers.
- U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Private Tide Land Claims
A landmark decision solidifies the state's control over waterfront property, ending years of speculation via 'Valentine scrip'.
- The King of Oil Comes to Call: Standard’s Rockefeller Eyes Seattle's Future
John D. Rockefeller arrives in the Pacific Northwest, promising to train local workers for his new refinery and dominate the regional fuel market.
- Federal Ruling Kills Tide Land Speculation
The Secretary of the Interior rejects the use of 'Valentine Scrip' for public tide lands, dealing a blow to speculators in Seattle and Tacoma.
- The President's Visit: Roosevelt, the 'Mysterious Syndicate,' and the Fight for Pasco’s Soil
In May 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt toured Walla Walla, drawing massive crowds and sparking local fears of land speculators. While his speech at Whitman College praised pioneer virtues, a parallel editorial warned that a 'Seattle Syndicate' was hoarding arid land near Pasco, betting on federal irrigation projects to inflate prices for settlers.
- The Ghost Ship in the Surf
A speculative salvage mission seeks to recover a fortune in iron rails from a shipwrecked vessel buried in the sand.
- Senator Van Wyck Challenges Northern Pacific Railroad Land Speculation
Senator Van Wyck challenges the Northern Pacific Railroad’s grip on public land, exposing a pattern of corporate greed and tax evasion that spanned the Territories.
- The Trail That Wasn't: How Bellingham Bay Boosters Sold a Gold-Rush Route
A Steilacoom editor accuses Whatcom land speculators of luring miners and immigrants with false reports that the Bellingham Bay trail to the gold fields was nearly finished.
- The Real Estate Boom at Salmon Bay
A speculative land development promises a suburban future in Seattle’s north side, betting on railroad connectivity.
- The Battle for the Rails: Monopoly vs. The Public Good
A scathing editorial from 1885 outlines the clash between the Union Pacific’s 'business-first' model and the Northern Pacific's alleged strategy of political bribery and town-site speculation.
- The Hard Sell for Inland Empire Farms
Spokane boosters and Kennewick business leaders draft a regional campaign to recruit farmers for 'untilled' lands, pivoting away from the era's wild land speculation.
- Farmland Near Garfield Doubles in Two Years as Newcomers Pay Cash
A railway sells 9,600 acres in Adams County outright, and Whitman County farms that went begging at $15 an acre now bring $25 to $30 — bought to work, the paper insists, not to speculate on.
- Seattle Council Accused in 1889 Tide Land Dispute
Tensions boil over at the Washington State Constitutional Convention as delegates clash over who owns the city’s waterfront—the people or the speculators.