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 | 2 |
| 1876 | 10 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 14 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 5 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 20 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 25 |
| 1893 | 29 |
| 1894 | 15 |
| 1895 | 22 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 10 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1903 | 20 |
| 1904 | 27 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 5 |
| 1909 | 21 |
| 1910 | 8 |
| 1911 | 6 |
| 1912 | 3 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 7 |
| 1916 | 13 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1923 | 7 |
| 1924 | 9 |
| 1925 | 2 |
334 stories matching util
- Bringing Light to the Indian Addition
Residents of the Indian Addition organize to demand electric streetlights from the local utility company.
- Senate Power Struggle Reshuffles Committees
Surprising committee appointments in the State Senate reveal shifting political alliances in Olympia.
- Turning Marsh into Gold
Farmers on the Swinomish flats have completed a massive infrastructure project to reclaim thousands of acres of marshland for agriculture.
- The Moonlit Streets of Tacoma
Electrician Laaton pushes to replace wooden utility poles with ornamental iron lighting throughout the downtown core.
- Tacoma’s Work Relief Experiment
Facing economic hardship, the city of Tacoma launches a public works program that prioritizes heads of households over others.
- Cheney Moves Toward Public Water Ownership
Facing a long-running legal dispute, the city of Cheney strikes a deal to bring its water utility under public control.
- The March on Washington
Seattle’s contingent of the Industrial Army prepares to depart for Washington D.C. by train, complete with yellow paper, drill squads, and a parade.
- The Curtain Falls on the Olympic
A Tacoma theater is left in the dark after the manager fails to pay a utility bill, marking the end of a disastrous business experiment.
- The City Wharf That Nobody Wanted
Tacoma's attempt to force the 'mosquito fleet' into using the $3,000 municipal dock faces mockery from steamboat captains.
- The Strike Against Everett's Power Utilities
Union men organize a boycott against local electric companies to support striking linemen fighting for fair wages.
- Spokane Taxpayers Stage Telephone Strike
Thousands of residents have joined a coordinated refusal to pay increased utility rates following legal advice that the jump is not backed by state law.
- Despair and Isolation at the Hotel Shannon
A struggling laborer ends his life in a Walla Walla hotel room after being unable to find work or support.
- The Seattle-Tacoma Interurban Route Settled
The 'Muckler' line announces it will utilize the Eleventh Street bridge, mandating a new crossing over the tideflats.
- The Price of Infrastructure
The Aberdeen City Council finalizes a massive payout and establishes a new water superintendent position, marking the city's rapid shift toward municipal utility control.
- The Myth of Easy Prosperity
A Northern Pacific railroad superintendent tells local business leaders that a geographic location on the Columbia is useless without the infrastructure to back it up.
- The Smuggler Who 'Skipped' Town
After her arrest for opium smuggling, Hattie Hastings of Port Angeles has vanished, leaving the community debating her innocence and her connection to a larger criminal ring.
- Tacoma Votes to Break the Power Monopoly
Citizens overwhelmingly approve a municipal power plant, aiming to reclaim control from private interests and slash utility influence.
- The Shame of Seattle's City Jail
A grand jury investigation into Seattle’s penal system reveals a crumbling facility plagued by filth, corruption, and the disappearance of evidence.
- Sander Purchases Washington Electric Light Company
A major consolidation in Seattle's early utility market as entrepreneur Fred E. Sander acquires a key power plant with plans for city-wide expansion.
- City Landslide Disrupts Utilities
Heavy rain triggers an embankment collapse, fracturing gas and water lines in Tacoma’s lower districts.
- Seattle Telegraph Operators Join National Strike
As Western Union operators walk out, the regional superintendent scrambles to keep local communication lines open.
- The Lobbying Push to Make Mount Rainier a National Park
Senators and scientists press a Senate committee to carve a national park out of the forest reserve surrounding Mount Rainier — before the session runs out.
- The Birth of a Utility Titan: The Stone & Webster Merger
A new $8,000,000 holding company, the Puget Sound Power Company, has been incorporated to consolidate regional electric and streetcar systems.
- Two Telephone Companies Race to Wire the Pend Oreille Valley
Newport expected telephone connection to Metaline and the Calispel country in 1908, with two companies promising to build the line.
- The Truth Behind the Tacoma Utility Vote
A critical look at how the Tacoma press ignored dissenters during the city's purchase of a water and light company.