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 |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 4 |
| 1892 | 14 |
| 1893 | 13 |
| 1894 | 8 |
| 1895 | 5 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 7 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
87 stories matching arson
- Brutal Murder and Arson in Spangle
A prosperous bachelor farmer is found dead after a suspected robbery leads to the destruction of his home and barn.
- The Desperate Flight of Charles E. Myers
Accused of a fatal arson in Asotin, a man is moved from jail to jail across the state to escape an angry lynch mob.
- The Messenger Burned at Tacoma—and It Was No Accident
A pioneer Puget Sound steamer was destroyed by a suspected arson fire; its engineer nearly chose a razor over burning alive.
- A Local Judge Stays the Injunctions
How Judge W. W. Black’s common-sense ruling in a Snohomish mill strike earned him the support of organized labor.
- Arson Attempt at Bellingham Bay Sun
A suspicious candle-in-oil setup is discovered in a Fairhaven newspaper office, raising questions about insurance fraud.
- The Price of Progress: Arson in the Shadow of the Opera House
When an old commercial building was moved to make way for Seattle's new Opera House, a firebug turned the vacated structure into a torch.
- A Fiery Protest Over Local Schooling
A schoolhouse in Lakenew was destroyed by an act of suspected arson, following heated community disputes over moving the building into town.
- Suspicious Boarding House Fire Under Investigation
A fire discovered in a Seventh Street boarding house basement, complete with kerosene-soaked bedding and abandoned documents, suggests a deliberate attempt at arson.
- Jailed on a Ten-Word Telegram: A New Arrival Fights an Arson Charge From Manitoba
Charles F. Ireland moved his wife and children to Puget Sound to start over. The morning after he landed, a Manitoba 'government detective' wired ten words, and he was locked up with 'convicted criminals of every hue.' He wants Seattle to hear his side.
- Firebug Terrorizes North Walla Walla
A series of mysterious barn fires and a woodshed blaze keep police on high alert.
- Arson After a Labor Dispute
A disgruntled worker is suspected of burning down his former employer's new home near Dieringer station.
- The Failed Insurance Fire
A tenant narrowly escapes a fire set by an arsonist owner who couldn't collect insurance on an empty house.
- He Paid a Man $12 to Burn His Own House
A barber and the man he hired confess to torching 128 Rollin Street for the insurance money — a house that had already burned once, and whose policy had already been cut in half.
- The Preacher, the Deed, and the Burning House
A small-town minister's affair with a married parishioner ends in arson, a whitewash trial, and an effigy swinging from an electric light pole in the heart of Oakesdale.
- The $500 Fine for Keeping a 'Bad' House: Seattle's War on Vice and the Women of Yesler Way
In the early days of Seattle, police didn't just arrest prostitutes; they targeted the property owners who housed them. A recent court case reveals the financial stakes of the city's moral crusade.
- The Day the Boardwalk Burned: Seattle’s Most Audacious Arson Attempt
On a quiet April afternoon in 1900, an arsonist tried to torch the home of Judge E. H. Scott on Yesler Way. A brave housekeeper fought back with a poker, saving her employer and thwarting the fire.
- The Unwelcome Swarm
As Seattle prepares for a railroad boom in 1880, the Chief of Police struggles to contain a surge in vagrancy and arson.
- The Radloff Insurance Plot Unravels
After days of resistance, Mrs. Radloff confesses her knowledge of a morbid conspiracy to swindle insurance companies with a fake corpse.
- The Strange Disappearance of the Tolt Lodge Treasurer
After vanishing for months with the Good Templars' insurance money, Jack Balsha is found dying in a British Columbia camp, clearing up a grim local mystery.
- The Mysterious Fire on Second Avenue
A Spokane shopkeeper finds herself behind bars after a suspicious blaze tears through her dress shop.
- An Arson Plot Aboard the Steamer Messenger
A cook discharged after a dispute is suspected of rigging candles to burn a vessel mid-transit.
- A Body in the Ashes at Rolling Bay
An eyewitness to the coroner's inquest corrects the Post-Intelligencer's lurid account of a bullet-scarred, half-burned corpse found in a shack on Bainbridge Island — and lays out his own theory of an unsolved Kitsap County killing.
- An Orting Barn Burning Sparks Courtroom Insults
A defense attorney’s explosive courtroom conduct highlights a bitter family feud behind an arson charge in Orting.
- Vigilante Warning Issued After Arson Attempt in Pasco
A deliberate attempt to torch a local saloon has the community threatening swift, extrajudicial justice against 'fire bugs'.
- Suspicious Blaze Destroys Local Brothel
A fire of unknown origin gutted a residence on the town's edge, leaving investigators with questions about potential arson after a kerosene can was discovered on-site.