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 |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 16 |
| 1876 | 18 |
| 1877 | 8 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 10 |
| 1884 | 6 |
| 1885 | 12 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 10 |
| 1889 | 23 |
| 1890 | 5 |
| 1891 | 14 |
| 1892 | 64 |
| 1893 | 39 |
| 1894 | 41 |
| 1895 | 34 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 10 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 16 |
| 1904 | 10 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 4 |
| 1909 | 18 |
| 1910 | 4 |
| 1912 | 4 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 4 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1918 | 1 |
407 stories matching ring
- The Treasurer Who Wouldn't Post Bond: J.W. Maple to King County—'Wait Until I Find Bondsmen'
King County's treasurer-elect refuses to file his required bond on schedule, claims the law gives him until the end of his term, and circulates a circular attacking the 'courthouse ring.'
- Seattle Voters Break the Boss's Grip
An Olympia editor tells Republican boss John H. McGraw that Seattle's election was a rebuke to machine politics, not a Democratic triumph.
- The Clerk’s Odd Sales Pitch
A farmer learns a strange and aggressive new way to test if his wife is 'sound' while shopping in 1877 Seattle.
- The War for the Northwest: Railroad Moguls and the 'Rounders' of Portland
A bitter editorial from 1886 exposes the propaganda campaign waged by Northern Pacific railroad agents against Portland to secure terminal dominance for the Puget Sound region.
- The Absurd Scheme to Build a Railway to the Top of Mount Rainier
When a coal mine failed, desperate land speculators proposed a preposterous tourist railroad to the summit of the mountain to boost property values.
- The Fight for Seattle’s Commercial Future
A local merchant defends Seattle against the Northern Pacific Railroad's efforts to favor Tacoma as the terminal city.
- The Political Brawl Over the Seattle Canal
A Yakima newspaper accuses a 'Seattle ring' of bribery and electoral intimidation as local races heat up.
- The Price of Non-Compliance
A veteran molder sues his former union brothers for conspiracy after being forced out of work for allegedly producing 'too many' sewer rings per day.
- A Six-Dollar Rent Debt and a Diamond Ring Nearly Drowned Her in Lake Washington
Ethel Perkins, a lodger at a Third-and-Union boarding house, tried to end her life when her rent fell behind and a barber demanded his ring back. A stranger on the Madison street car caught her at the wharf's edge.
- The Deadly Cost of Saloon Boxing
Seattle dives are profiting from 'scientific' sparring matches that frequently turn fatal for the impoverished, untrained men forced into the ring.
- The Alarm Bells of North Seattle
A look at the logistical challenges of firefighting in 1885 Seattle, where volunteer companies managed city safety via university and church bells.
- The Bread and Butter Vote: How the Custom House Ring Rigged Port Townsend Politics
In a stunning display of patronage politics in September 1876, federal employees in Port Townsend marched in lockstep to defeat local opposition, proving that government jobs were still the ultimate political currency.
- The Boodle Ring Exposed in Kittitas
A leaked cache of letters reveals how Republican candidates were buying influence in the 1892 Senate race.
- The Benefit Smoker for Striking Switchmen
Everett workers filled Fraternal Hall for a night of wrestling and boxing to support switchmen during their long-running strike.
- The 'Gentleman' Thief and the Seattle Police Ring
A covert sting operation exposes a criminal syndicate that allegedly operated with the complicity of local law enforcement.
- The Machine versus the People in Federal Patronage
Col. C. W. Griggs challenges the Democratic 'party machine' in Washington, proposing a merit-based 'centers of population' approach for federal appointments over partisan cronyism.
- The Citizens' Revolt Against the 'Official Ring'
When an informal mass meeting in 1872 Seattle bypassed party conventions to nominate their own candidates, the local press didn't just report it—they waged a war against the city's political machine.
- The Auctioneer’s Audacity: A Watch and a Pen for Gold
Three local men face fraud charges after allegedly selling worthless gold-washed trinkets to unsuspecting buyers under the guise of a legitimate auction.
- The Paper War: How Seattle’s ‘Public Thieves’ Exposed a Corrupt Ring
In 1872, the *Puguet Sound Dispatch* accused local officials and the rival *Intelligencer* of extorting taxpayers through inflated advertising rates for tax sales, framing it as a 'Tammany ring' stealing from the public.
- The Snake Oil of Snohomish
A century-old miracle cure for man and beast that promised to heal everything from rheumatism to ‘hollow horn’.
- The Sleek Scoundrel of Second Street
A dapper bookkeeper flees Seattle after embezzling thousands to fund a lifestyle of high-priced wines and 'bad women,' leaving his employers—and a woman who mourns her lost diamond ring—in his wake.
- A Pugilistic Showdown at the Machine Shop
A staged prizefight between two local heavyweights turns into a public spectacle.
- The Case of the Disappearing Diamond
A waitress at a local union kitchen accuses her suitor of petit larceny after a romantic outing results in a missing gem.
- The Horse Whisperer of Armory Hall
Professor O. R. Gleason packs the Armory with his controversial, high-stakes horse-taming exhibitions.
- The Stockbroker Who Loved Too Many Renton Maidens
A flirtatious stockbroker lands in court over his 'Don Juan tendencies' after bombarding young hotel workers with red-ink love letters and unrequested rings.