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.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1858 | 13 |
| 1859 | 25 |
| 1860 | 7 |
| 1861 | 5 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1904 | 6 |
| 1909 | 6 |
107 stories
- A Tragic End at the Asylum
The harrowing death of a former Stanford student at the Steilacoom asylum.
- The Schooner That Never Came Back
A Steilacoom resident and a captain vanish after leaving Port Townsend; a rumor from Vancouver Island speaks of a wreck and murder.
- The Steilacoom Gold Rush Fever
Reports from Colville suggest a new mining boom is drawing men away from the territory's established industries.
- A Territorial Power Struggle
A scathing critique of the Acting Governor's unilateral removal of a Capitol Commissioner.
- Settling Claims on the Puyallup Reservation
Superintendent E. R. Getty visits Steilacoom to resolve land disputes involving settlers on the Puyallup Indian Reservation.
- A Violent Encounter at the Ferry
A routine trip to the ferry turned into a violent confrontation when a man lying in wait attacked a local resident.
- The Land Company That Claimed Puget Sound — and the Settlers Who Fought Back
A federal surveyor's report from Olympia questioned the sprawling British land claims around Steilacoom and Fort Steilacoom, siding with American settlers who had built farms inside the company's alleged grant.
- The Battle for the Unsurveyed Frontier
A 19th-century court case in Steilacoom exposes the tension between local land speculators and the ideal of the 'actual settler' on the Washington frontier.
- Tragedy at McNeil Island: Guard and Prisoners Lost in Sound
A routine transport between the island and Steilacoom turns fatal after a sudden squall capsizes the boat.
- The Steilacoom Bubble That Burst
A grand, failed railway scheme proves that even the most ambitious 'railroad kings' can't build an empire without a single cent in the bank.
- The Forgotten Dreams of Steilacoom City
In 1880, a visionary booster pitched a grand transcontinental railroad terminus that he claimed would transform a quiet Puget Sound town into the 'metropolis' of the Pacific.
- The Desperate Struggle at the Steilacoom Asylum
A man awaiting commitment to the insane asylum attempts to take his own life in the halls of the institution.
- The Great Escape at Steilacoom
Five convicts at the state penitentiary staged a daring, daylight breakout, leading to a desperate shootout in the woods.
- Tales from the First Newspaper on the Sound
Looking back at 1855, when a Steilacoom weekly became the voice of a territory under siege.
- A Violent Escalation at the Train Station
A drunken horse trade between two men in Steilacoom turns into a public shooting, leaving a man wounded and the assailant on the run.
- The Great McNeils Island Prison Break
Two convicts who vanished while building jetties for the government spark a frantic, bloodhound-led manhunt across the Puget Sound.
- Death of John Flett, Pioneer Interpreter and Adventurer
A witness to the evolution of the Pacific Northwest, Flett served as a crucial bridge between settlers and Indigenous nations.
- A Convict Hangs Himself at McNeil's Island — and No One Comes for Him
Charles Carlson, forty, serving eight months for selling whisky to Indians at North Yakima, is found hanging in a water-closet at the federal penitentiary. The warden cuts him down minutes too late.
- Forced Removal to Steilacoom Asylum
A young mother of five is ordered to the state hospital after suffering a mental health crisis involving her family.
- Gold Fever Empties Puget Sound
A schooner captain confirms rich strikes on the Fraser and Thompson rivers—and hundreds of workers are already leaving Victoria and the Sound for the mines.
- Gold Fever Empties the Army Posts—and Leaves Steilacoom’s Mail in a Canoe
A steamer from the north brings word of rich surface diggings on the Fraser and Thompson rivers, soldiers deserting lower Puget Sound posts, and Steilacoom cut off from its mail.
- A Gold Rush Tide Swells Through Steilacoom
Miners from Oregon and the Columbia are streaming through town bound for the Fraser River, buying supplies and predicting thousands more.
- A Gold Rush Romance in the Shadow of the Mines
In the rugged camps of the 1859 gold rush, a pair of lovers find their devotion tested by the harsh realities of frontier life and the relentless pursuit of fortune.
- The Recluse of the Woods
A haunting account of a man driven into isolation by the cruelty of his own kin.
- The Politicization of the Bench
A critique of the growing trend to select judges based on their partisan alignment rather than their legal expertise.
Download all 107 as a spreadsheet (CSV) · Show them on the map