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 | 5 |
| 1858 | 7 |
| 1859 | 14 |
| 1860 | 3 |
| 1861 | 15 |
| 1862 | 12 |
| 1863 | 8 |
| 1864 | 6 |
| 1865 | 3 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 28 |
| 1876 | 191 |
| 1877 | 131 |
| 1878 | 81 |
| 1879 | 11 |
| 1880 | 27 |
| 1882 | 29 |
| 1883 | 158 |
| 1884 | 78 |
| 1885 | 130 |
| 1886 | 60 |
| 1887 | 66 |
| 1888 | 77 |
| 1889 | 189 |
| 1890 | 45 |
| 1891 | 159 |
| 1892 | 323 |
| 1893 | 227 |
| 1894 | 219 |
| 1895 | 215 |
| 1897 | 4 |
| 1898 | 33 |
| 1899 | 53 |
| 1900 | 17 |
| 1902 | 6 |
| 1903 | 144 |
| 1904 | 114 |
| 1905 | 28 |
| 1907 | 17 |
| 1908 | 131 |
| 1909 | 263 |
| 1910 | 79 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1914 | 50 |
| 1915 | 59 |
| 1916 | 93 |
| 1917 | 48 |
| 1918 | 12 |
| 1922 | 2 |
| 1923 | 16 |
| 1924 | 11 |
| 1925 | 7 |
| 1928 | 2 |
| 1929 | 1 |
3,712 stories matching town
- A Frontier Town Wiped Out by Fire
A supply hub in Stevens County is reduced to ash after a midnight blaze in a general store.
- The Clash Over Tacoma’s 'Open-Town' Morals
Council President Roice and Mayor Wright engage in a heated public feud over allegations of vice and the policing of the city streets.
- The Desert Town That Finally Found a Well
For years, the residents of Port Townsend relied entirely on collected rain for drinking water, fearing the earth held nothing but salt.
- The Dry Fight Comes to Stevens County
Newport’s saloon case waits in Colville as ranchers outside town limits prepare to vote on county-wide liquor licenses.
- The Bank That Quit the Nation
A Colton financial institution abandons its national charter, highlighting the struggle of small-town banks under federal mandates.
- Usk Sells Its First Lots as a New Town Rises on the Pend Oreille
Promoters unload $8,000 in lots on opening day as Newport businesses buy in; a lumber yard, bank, telephone line and hotel follow.
- The Town With the Wrong Mail
A mix-up over naming rights between two Kitsap County towns leads to a mail delivery crisis.
- Newport Switches On Its Electric Night
After months of waiting on parts, the town's new $5,000 street-lighting system blazes to life — eight 2,000-candlepower arc lights and 26 tungsten incandescents, billed to the city at $82.50 a month.
- Dry County? Newport Saloons Take Local Option to Court
Stevens County's rural voters prepare for a no-license election while Newport saloonkeepers challenge the September vote and Springdale's dry petition dies on a technicality.
- A Call for Water System Infrastructure
With neighboring towns leveled by fire, the editor urges Kennewick to move beyond 'curb stone philosophy' and professionally assess the town's water security.
- A Spark on the Roof: Fire at Rothschild & Co. Spurs a Petition Against Fireworks
Quick action saved a downtown Port Townsend store from burning, and the close call prompted residents to demand a ban on fireworks within town limits.
- Newport's Saloonkeepers Take Their Dry-Election Fight to the State Supreme Court
The men who lost the local option vote on September 7 say the petition was short on valid signatures. Twice now the town's lawyers have knocked the case down in Judge Sullivan's court, and an appeal to the state supreme court looks certain.
- The 'Boom Town' Bust of Chin Kiang
A cautionary tale of real estate speculation from the pages of 1889 Seattle.
- The New Yakima Depot: Planning a City from Scratch
Northern Pacific Railroad directors map out a new town with schools, churches, and canals in Eastern Washington, signaling a transformation for the frontier.
- Sheriff Cleans Up Old Town Saloons
A crackdown on gambling and 'undesirable characters' marks a shift in the social order of Newport's Old Town district.
- The Town Says No to the Dead
In a rare exercise of municipal independence in 1914, Richland voters reject a proposal to take over the local Odd Fellows cemetery, choosing to let the fraternal lodge keep its final resting place.
- A Reader Says Smiles and Bows Won't Save Port Townsend
A letter to the editor takes aim at the sentimental notion that a town prospers on politeness alone, insisting that Port Townsend needs capital, labor and trade — not suave manners and boosterism.
- The Rapid Rise of Ainsworth
A town that was nothing but sagebrush and coyotes four years ago is now a railroad terminus and a contender for the future state capital.
- The Whatcom Land Dispute Resolved
After years of litigation, the standoff between town-site owners and the Whatcom Colony ends, signaling a new era of growth.
- The Marshal’s Salary That Ended Up in a Garnishee’s Coffers
John McQuade fought through legal thickets to collect $500 as Gilman’s town marshal—only to find a hotel company waiting to seize the pay.
- Newport Offers Its Town Hall to Win a Court of Its Own
A petition to split Stevens County into judicial districts asks the county commissioners to hold court in Newport—with the town promising free rooms, offices, and a jail.
- Fire Scare in Oroville Lumber Yard
A mid-town conflagration at the Mitchell Lumber Yard prompts urgent calls for a modern municipal water system.
- Newport Faces $1,600 Suit Over Carter Springs Warrants
A disputed municipal water purchase returns to court after the town council failed to appear in an earlier hearing on the warrants' validity.
- The Great Merger: How Two Kennewick Newspapers Died to Save the Town
In April 1914, the Courier and the Reporter merged into the Courier-Reporter because a town of 2,000 people couldn't afford two papers. It was a stark lesson in economic consolidation.
- The Quietest Courts in the State
Two Eastern Washington towns set records for lack of legal trouble, as local Justices of the Peace go years without a single case.