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 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 8 |
| 1895 | 7 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 6 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1903 | 7 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
100 stories matching devic
- The Self-Taught Mechanic and the Frictionless Dream
A Seattle man is betting his future on a patented axle design, hoping to trade sawmill work for the life of an inventor.
- The Constitutional Convention's Partisan Gridlock
Delegates in Olympia debate the structure of the state's future judiciary, clashing over judicial term limits, court size, and political representation.
- The Political Bazaar of 1891: How the Calkins Faction Tried to Buy the Senate
In a frantic scramble to seize power, legislative 'strikers' in Olympia flooded the capital with promises of patronage and political favors, mirroring the high-stakes, behind-the-scenes maneuvering that still defines state politics.
- Seattle Tries to Close the Side Doors on Its Saloons
City officials drafted a new liquor ordinance to repeal the old “wide entrance” law and force every saloon to have a single street entrance, banning “ladies’ entrances” and other side-door workarounds.
- The Nickel-in-the-Slot Return
Following a court ruling, Walla Walla's gambling machines reappear on city streets, leaving police and officials at odds over enforcement.
- Every Street a Sled Trail: Seattle Breaks in Dog Teams for the Klondike
In the winter of 1898 the thoroughfares of the Sound cities turned into training grounds — sleds, go-devils and sail-carts everywhere, companies buying and selling sled dogs at $25 to $100 a team, and one man solemnly breaking in a team of billy goats.
- The Rogue of Seattle
A serial con artist who targeted the generous, leaving friends to pay his debts.
- The Conflict of Interest Scandal at City Hall
Walla Walla voters are presented with evidence that Mayor Gilbert Hunt allegedly funneled city and school district contracts to his own private manufacturing company.
- Bodies of Colman and Patten Recovered from Lake Washington
After weeks of searching, a homemade underwater viewing device helps recover the bodies of two men murdered on the water.
- 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.
- The Tragic Cost of the Miner's Den
In a remote mining camp, a man’s hard-earned savings and life are lost in a sudden, violent encounter with card sharps.
- The Unlikely Tale of the 'Pull-Back' Train Stopper
A small-town mechanic's wild invention—a massive rubber cable designed to hook trains that left without their passengers—actually worked.
- The Town's Growing Pains
A wave of petty crime in Aberdeen leads to the arrest of five men, highlighting the social tensions of a city suddenly flooded with transient workers.
- The Seidlitz-Powder Scheme to Raise a Sunken Ship
Confident investors bought a wreck off Grays Harbor and promised to lift it with secret chemicals, carbonic gas, and a patent they had not quite finished.
- The Mayor Who Bought His Seat with Lottery Money
In Seattle’s first hotly contested municipal election of 1876, the newspaper publisher who ran for mayor lost to Dr. Weed—not because he lacked support from mechanics and laborers, but because his opponent mobilized the city’s notorious lottery gamblers.
- The Paradise of Thieves: Seattle’s 1876 Corruption Crisis
When the Territorial Legislature legalized gambling to fund a mountain road, Seattle residents warned that the city was becoming a lawless playground for criminals.
- The Radical Visionary of Seattle's Early Politics
Before statehood, Edward Eldridge faced local scrutiny for his 'superficial' philosophy and his radical, communal vision for Washington's future.
- The Ghost in the Machine: Snohomish Meets the Phonograph
A local advertisement for the cutting-edge technology of 1878 introduces the marvel of Edison's 'talking machine,' promising a future where the voices of the dead can be preserved forever.
- Toledo's Bicycle Railroad: A Small Town Bets on a Two-Wheeled Future
Toledo incorporates a railroad company with $80,000 capital and considers a patented bicycle-powered engine to link the town to the Northern Pacific.
- The Strict Rules of Territorial Ballot Boxes
Before the secret ballot was standardized, Washington Territory enacted stern penalties to prevent election-day fraud, coercion, and liquor-fueled chaos.
- The Auditor's Ledger: A Financial Scandal in Pioneer Seattle
When tax-payers demanded answers about vanishing funds, the county auditor offered only vague excuses—and a newspaper editor called for a total house cleaning.
- "Will You Help to Build the Fence?"
The Washington Children's Home Society launches a billboard teaser campaign to raise a $500,000 endowment — a novelty in the Northwest — likening itself to a fence that keeps children from falling over a cliff.
- The Morning the Graphophone Spoke
A group of Seattle scientists and journalists gathered in 1888 to witness the wonders of Thomas Edison's new 'graphophone' recording device, marveling at its ability to capture and reproduce human speech.
- The Kaiser’s Radical Solution for Mine Safety
A Tacoma newspaper looks to Germany to argue that recognizing labor unions makes mines safer and more efficient for everyone.
- The Bankrupt Giant and the Tacoma Land Ring
A skeptical editor exposes the Northern Pacific Railroad's questionable finances and a suspicious telegraph campaign used to inflate land values in Tacoma.