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.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1903 | 21 |
| 1904 | 982 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1909 | 903 |
1,913 stories
- The Tragic End of Oscar Larson
A logger’s desperate attempt to reconnect with his family ends in tragedy after his savings are stolen.
- Councilors Accused of Plotting Political Machine
Proposed charter amendments spark fears of a power grab by council leaders aiming to consolidate control over city jobs and bypass civil service protections.
- Railroad Shifts to Oil to Prevent Wildfires
A change in engine fuel is welcomed as a major fire prevention strategy for Washington's forests.
- 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.
- Civic Clubs Threaten Mandamus to Reform Charter
Local reformers arm themselves with 1,600 petition signatures to force the City Council to call for a charter revision election.
- The Unsolved Murder of Frank Morzin
An inquest is scheduled for the discovery of a body in the woods near Summit, but authorities report no leads.
- Fatal Mine Explosion Near Tacoma
- The Birth of the Nisqually Power Project
Tacoma moves toward seizing land and water rights for the Nisqually power plant, a project that would eventually transform the city's infrastructure.
- Tacoma Voters Urged to Register for Charter Election
Only half of Tacoma is registered with a major charter revision election looming.
- Grand Jury Investigates Grocery Cartel
Tacoma grocers and commissioners face scrutiny over allegations of price-fixing and shady contracts.
- Puget Sound Logging Camps Stay Shut as Mills Chew Through Log Surplus
Puget Sound logging camps, closed since June 18, likely won't reopen before September 1 as mills continue cutting into surplus log inventories; a meeting later this month may decide.
- Spokane Gamblers Raise a War Chest to Repeal Washington’s Gambling Law
In 1904, gamblers and liquor dealers pooled money for a statewide campaign to undo the anti-gambling statute—an early industry-funded push to rewrite the rules.
- A Bartender, a Bullet, and a Stranger on the Bridge
Seattle police found Harvey L. Hellossis dying on the Grant Street bridge. His saloon was robbed, his keys were missing, and the man last seen with him had vanished.
- The Bank Gave Way: An 11-Year-Old Fishing for Minnows Is Carried Into the Ship Canal
Harold Conselyea was three blocks from home, catching bait for his kitten, when the soft earth under him slid into the water between Lake Union and Salmon Bay. Only a bait can and finger marks in the mud were left behind.
- A Boiler Explosion Near Mukilteo Kills Two Railroad Men
The Great Northern’s southbound “Owl” wrecked when its locomotive boiler burst, throwing the engineer into Puget Sound and leaving the fireman missing.
- The Tax Commissioner Who Couldn't Pick a Boss
J. E. Frost draws a state salary in Olympia while weighing a richer offer from the Northern Pacific — and the legislature is about to rewrite the railroad tax laws he advises on.
- The Burglar Who Walked Into Tacoma From Everett
A single suspect arrested in Everett for robbing a hired girl at gunpoint is now being investigated by Tacoma police as the prime suspect behind a string of local burglaries that have plagued the city for months.
- The Man Who Wasn't: Tacoma’s Mysterious 'John Doe' and the Burglary That Never Was
Police Chief Fackler returns from Everett with a prisoner who fits the description of a local thief, but lacks the evidence to prove it. A tale of mistaken identity and urban anxiety in early 20th-century Tacoma.
- The Price of a Moment’s Forgetfulness at the Mill
After finishing his shift at the Tacoma mill, a worker suffered a horrific injury when he walked into the path of a circular saw.
- The War on 'Unethical' Dentistry
Tacoma dentists face prosecution for the crime of advertising and cutting prices in a state-led industry crackdown.
- Factory Fire Narrowly Avoids Catastrophe
A two-hour battle against a lumber kiln fire on Puyallup Avenue threatened to spark a larger blaze in the industrial district.
- Tacoma Joins the Pacific Coast League
Local baseball enthusiasts secure a spot in the big league and plan for a new stadium after the city demands the expansion of a street through their old grounds.
- South Tacoma’s Industrial Revolution
Northern Pacific Railway prepares to abandon steam for electricity in a shift that threatens the jobs of local coal-shoveling crews.
- Tacoma’s Clubwomen Launch First 'Homemakers' School'
Prominent local women seek to professionalize domestic labor through a new technical curriculum, even as they face a citywide housing crunch.
- The Coldest Commute in Tacoma
Commuters express outrage as the local transit company forces passengers to brave midwinter rain on open-air 'summer' streetcars.