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 |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 5 |
| 1894 | 8 |
| 1895 | 8 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1903 | 8 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
70 stories matching explicit
- The Mystery of the Two Wills
After the death of Jennie McHugh Brown, two conflicting wills emerge, leading to a complex legal battle over her estate.
- The Steam Laundry That Would Save Your Clothes (And Your Wallet)
In May 1877, Seattle businessman L.D. Frank announced a bold new venture: a steam-powered laundry on Commercial Street that promised to clean clothes faster and cheaper than the traditional Chinese method—while explicitly excluding Chinese workers.
- The Dream of a Seattle Ship Canal
Proposals to link Lake Washington, Lake Union, and the Puget Sound via canals promised to unlock vast timber and coal riches, but the path forward remains a tangled mess of congressional bills and engineering hurdles.
- The Auditor’s Open Revolt
A defiant Seattle county official squares off against the city’s tax-paying elite, sparking a public war of words in the local press.
- Washington’s World’s Fair Standoff
A bitter, months-long deadlock between state commissioners and Chicago architects ends in the victory of a 'uniquely Washington' log cabin design over a 'commonplace' courthouse style.
- The Great Constitutional Gamble: How Washington Will Become a State
With the enabling act signed, the territory prepares for a historic election in May to frame a constitution. The clock is ticking toward July 1st, when delegates will meet in Olympia to decide the fate of the new state.
- The Gold Rush That Was Coming for the Colville Reservation
A Spokane prospector returns from the northern mineral belt with news of rich rock—and a prediction that the Indians will not long keep their land.
- The Price of Poverty in 1877 Seattle
When the County Commissioners opened a new poor house, they explicitly designed it as a workhouse to deter the 'dissolute class' from seeking public assistance.
- The Governor’s Dilemma: Can Washington Skip Congress to Become a State?
Territory’s top lawyers clash over whether the Governor can unilaterally call a constitutional convention to bypass federal delays in statehood.
- The Stolen Petition That Could Have Split Spokane County
In 1883, a push to carve a new county out of Spokane turned ugly when a 350-name petition vanished from a Howard Street law office.
- UW Chooses Its Future: Law, Medicine, and a Reprieve for the Old Building
A May 1895 regents' meeting set the University of Washington on a course toward professional schools, rejected confusing heating bids, awarded a $17,570 contract, and moved to keep the old campus building.
- The Capitol Riots: How a Bribery Scandal Shook Washington’s First Legislature
In the halls of Olympia, Republican lawmakers turned on each other with fists and threats over a U.S. Senate seat, exposing a brazen attempt to buy votes that disgraced the young state.
- The Blind Doctor’s Lethal Prescription
Dr. William Campbell, a blind pioneer and one of Olympia’s oldest residents, was charged with manslaughter after a 14-year-old epileptic girl died under his lobelia-and-capsicum treatment. A justice set bail at $2,000 and sent the case to the January superior court term.
- The Treasurer-Elect Can't Find Bondsmen for a $400,000 Bond
J. W. Maple's search for sureties exposes a quiet fight over King County's swelling public funds—and the commissioners say they actually let him off easy.
- Into the Black: A Descent into Bellingham Bay Coal Mines
An intrepid traveler documents the perilous journey down an 800-foot incline to explore the workings of the Bellingham Bay Coal Company in the late 19th century.
- Two Dead at Franklin: A Foreman's Heroic Death and a Verdict That Cleared the Company
A King County coroner's jury blames three miners for the gas explosion that killed Charles Anderson and foreman Park Robinson — and explicitly exonerates the owners, praising Robinson for a rescue attempt he 'could have avoided.'
- The Winter War Blueprint: An 1858 Campaign to Subdue the Tribes
A field letter from the Indian war in Oregon and Washington urges the Army to occupy the Colville Valley, cut off Indigenous trade, and expel missionaries and Hudson’s Bay Company employees.
- The Vanishing Husband and the Ticket to Honolulu
A Seattle wife says her husband's disappearance was a plot to lure her across the Pacific — and out of divorce court.
- The 175-Pound Ghost That Fought Back
A skeptic grabbed a séance spirit, discovered a 175-pound man under the gauze, and touched off a fistfight in a Fremont parlor.
- The Dairy Commissioner’s War on Adulterated Food
A Washington dairy official warns that fake honey, poisoned candy, oleomargarine and brewers’ grain are cheating farmers — and demands stronger pure-food laws.