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.
Refine2 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1903 | 18 |
| 1904 | 788 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1909 | 716 |
1,529 stories
- The Price of Opening a Street
A condemnation battle concludes, clearing the way for the extension of Center Street.
- Tragedy at the N.P. Depot
An unidentified man is struck and killed by a dirt-hauling freight engine near the Northern Pacific depot.
- Commerce Street Express Robbery
A local expressman is left destitute after a thief steals his horse and wagon in broad daylight on Commerce Street.
- A Sidewalk Standoff
A homeowner and the city clash over who is responsible for a hazardous, collapsed sidewalk on South Yakima Avenue.
- Streetcar Passenger Sues Over Dispute
A man sues the Tacoma Railway and Power company for $1,500 after a conductor allegedly shoved him into the mud.
- The Warehouse Gang and the Land Office Thieves
A biting satire linking local corruption in Tacoma to the national betrayal of public land trusts under the Taft administration.
- Police Raid Opium Den; Suspect Leaps from Hotel Window
Alfred Dupre broke his leg and suffered internal injuries after jumping from a second-story window at the Pacific Hotel during a police raid on an alleged opium joint; two women were also arrested.
- Defiance Park Club Pledges Every Vote for a City-Owned Power Plant
At a meeting of the Defiance Park Improvement Club, Assistant City Attorney Baker makes the case for municipal power — and every man in the room stands up to promise his vote and his legwork.
- The Barber Who Inhaled Gas and Ran Screaming Down Pacific Avenue
A faulty gas arc left a new barber violently irrational and touched off a street struggle in Tacoma.
- A Reporter's Tip Stopped a City Hall Elevator Plummet
A Times reporter noticed one of the passenger elevator's support cables was nearly eaten through — three-fourths of its strands broken. The cage was lowered and the power cut before anyone was hurt.
- The Grand Hotel Suicide and the Two Men Who Weren't There
Carl Eggert's letters, translated after his death, describe imaginary pursuers, a son lost to suicide and a small estate divided with jarring practicality.
- The Pillowcase Vault: A Tacoma Man’s $180 Vanishes Into the Laundry
E.M. Carter hid his savings under a pillow at the Donnelly Hotel, only to leave it behind when he checked out. Thanks to a sharp-eyed police chief and a laundry room search, the money was saved from boiling soapsuds.
- The Street Swindler's Bad Day
A carnival-style street hawker is mobbed and arrested after selling worthless watch chains to an angry Tacoma crowd.
- The War on Stray Dogs at Wright Park
Park commissioners order police to shoot all canines found loose in the city's green space.
- The Man Who Demanded Ten Thousand Dollars from the Law
A local man convinced an electrical machine was ordering him to collect a massive payday from the county deputy.
- The Sluggers of Pacific Avenue
A saloon’s security force takes street justice into their own hands after a customer tries to cheat a slot machine with lead slugs.
- A Ghastly Industrial Hazard
A horse is destroyed after a horrific accident at a railroad switch.
- A Troubled Night at Ninth and Tacoma
A woman experiencing a mental health crisis caused a public spectacle at a city horse trough, prompting police to intervene.
- Car Crashes Into Saloon Window
A high-speed collision near Puyallup Avenue results in a vehicle embedded inside a local tavern.
- The Strange Case of the 'Boy Burglar' and His Well-Connected Father
A young man charged with several local burglaries is released after his father, a Chicago official, settles all claims and promises to take him home.
- Setting the Record Straight on Local Labor Troubles
The manager of the Lakeview rolling mills clarifies that an assault took place on a public road, not within the company's property, amid rumors of internal company conflict.
- Massive Waterfront Real Estate Transfer
Nearly 650 acres of land, including parts of the tide flats and Brown's Point, are transferred to private hands.
- Theft at the Bostwick Hotel
A young woman pleads guilty to stealing a wardrobe from a guest at one of Tacoma's premier downtown hotels.
- The Tragedy in the Smokalem Shanty
A witness to a brutal murder on the Puyallup Reservation recounts the final moments of a woman killed by her husband, a man known to his own community as 'cultus.'
- Tacoma’s Great Fires of 1903
A year-end audit of the city's fire department reveals a staggering $309,000 in property loss, largely driven by massive blazes at industrial warehouses and cereal mills.