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 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 8 |
| 1894 | 9 |
| 1895 | 6 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 3 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
72 stories matching function
- The Wealth of the Nation Trapped in the Vaults
A century and a half ago, President Grover Cleveland grappled with a modern-sounding crisis: federal budget surpluses causing economic panic, skyrocketing costs for common goods, and the crushing weight of a tariff system on working families.
- The Socialist Block and the City Council Tax Fight
Everett’s labor paper evaluates the performance of socialist councilmen during a critical corporate tax debate.
- Seattle’s Growing Pains and the Charter Debate
As the city rapidly transformed, a newly formed committee of business and labor leaders debated whether to rewrite the city's charter to address corruption and municipal growth.
- The Rainy Weather Club’s Practical Revolution
Aberdeen women unite to reject impractical Victorian fashion in favor of functional, mackintosh-based rainy day gear.
- The Ethics of the Office: Fighting the 'Spoils' System in 1876 Seattle
A local official refuses to trade his political independence for employment, sparking a public debate over corruption, civil service reform, and the 'party hacks' of the Gilded Age.
- The Great Walla Walla Dental Scandal: Did the President Have False Teeth?
A local political feud erupts when the Ankeny organ accuses President Roosevelt of sporting dentures during a private dinner at Senator Ankeny's home.
- The Indian Agent Who Let Settlers Stay: A Lake Chelan Land Fight
A federal Indian agent delayed an order to restore land near Lake Chelan to Indigenous owners, then waded into the estate of 'Okanogan' Smith, prompting charges of military overreach into civil affairs.
- The Coal Company That Wanted One Vote Per Miner and an Eight-Hour Day
The Renton Co-operative Coal Company incorporated with $100,000 capital, promising shareholders a preference for work, one vote per person rather than per share, and an eight-hour day underground.
- A Homesteader, an Indian Agent and the Land at Lake Chelan
When a federal agent prepared to forcibly remove a homesteader from land newly allotted to Colville Indians, Judge Hanford drew a line: the eviction would have to go through the courts.
- The Governor Vetoes the Anti-Vivisection Bill
Washington's governor refuses to sign a sweeping ban on animal dissection in public schools, arguing that medical progress and anatomy lessons depend on it.
- Washington Took Their Votes. These Women Want Them Back.
Meeting at Tacoma Hall, the Equal Suffrage Association thanks the state supreme court, calls the loss of the ballot an 'outrage' that 'became national in character,' and appeals to the manhood of Washington's men.
- The Canal That Could Freeze England: A Climate Warning from the Isthmus of Panama
In 1877, Seattle’s press warned that digging a canal through Central America might divert the Gulf Stream, plunging Europe into an ice age—a bizarre but prescient look at early environmental anxiety.
- Seattle’s Post Office Was a Public Nuisance
Letters sat for a day, stamps ran short, and clerks were worked to exhaustion while the postmaster earned about $85 a month. In 1883, Seattle’s mail service was barely functioning.
- The Taxpayer Who Couldn’t Sue the State
Washington’s Supreme Court dismisses the Agricultural College case, ruling that a private resident cannot halt state spending in equity—only the attorney general can.
- The Single Tax: A Seattle Paper Takes On Henry George
In 1894 the Post-Intelligencer mounts a full-throated attack on Henry George's land-value tax, warning it would 'rob labor' and hand the ground itself to the rich.
- A Saw Cut Through His Brain. Seattle Doctors Watched Him Live.
Horatio Stetson's head was nearly split in two by a rip saw at a Seattle mill. Thirty-six hours later, he was talking, moving his limbs, and astonishing the physicians at Providence Hospital.
- Three Bickering Land Departments, Millions in Tide Lands, and a Demand for Answers
A state land commissioner admits the tide-land situation is 'chaotic in the extreme' and calls for a no-whitewash legislative probe — warning that divided authority is an open door to corruption.
- A Seattle Preacher Tells Society Women They Are Marching Their Children to the Gallows
Preaching to women only on "Dying Mothers and Starving Children," Rev. M. A. Matthews calls society "the emptiness of emptiness" — and blames card parties, prizes and maternal neglect for juvenile crime.
- The First Ward Has Not Yet Voted: A Rowdy King County Convention Picks Its Ticket
In 1894, King County Republicans packed Seattle’s Armory, fought over a contested First Ward delegation, hissed down rivals, and nominated a full county ticket in one raucous night.
- The Letter That Asked: Is Olympia's Street-Tax Ordinance Even Legal?
A citizen signing himself 'Marius' argues that the city's method of charging property owners for street paving and grading violates due process — and warns that if the assessments collapse in court, every taxpayer in town will pay for it.
- James J. Hill's Railroad Ultimatum to Seattle
The Great Northern president tells Seattle's council he will build freight and passenger terminals 'right away'—if the city grants the track franchises he wants across the tide flats and South Third.
- The 1893 Plan to Untangle Seattle’s Government
A powerful city official wanted a stronger mayor, a one-house council, and fewer commissions—arguments Seattle still has today.