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 |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 7 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1879 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 37 |
| 1884 | 22 |
| 1885 | 30 |
| 1886 | 16 |
| 1887 | 59 |
| 1888 | 27 |
| 1889 | 60 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 46 |
| 1892 | 223 |
| 1893 | 227 |
| 1894 | 203 |
| 1895 | 161 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 4 |
| 1899 | 26 |
| 1903 | 56 |
| 1904 | 789 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 726 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 7 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
2,771 stories
- The Remarkable Life of Mrs. Jack Scoopes
One of the oldest women on the Puyallup reservation, who saw the land change before Tacoma was founded, passes away at an estimated age of 100.
- The Fight Against 'Indecent' Print
Tacoma authorities move to criminalize the sale of 'indecent' newspapers and tabloids.
- Shingle Weavers Choose Shutdown Over Pay Cuts
Workers in Tacoma and the Puget Sound area reject a proposed 25 percent wage reduction, preferring to see mills close entirely.
- Two Council Members Arrested in Sewer Bribe Case
Two councilmen are arrested in Tacoma following a sting operation by a local citizens' group over a sewer contract.
- The Strike of the Tacoma Printers
A morning paper imports out-of-state non-union labor to break a local typesetters' walkout.
- The Tacoma Ledger Labor Dispute
A scathing report on how the Ledger imported scab labor from California after union printers resisted wage cuts and automation.
- An Anti-Corporation Campaign for Tacoma Mayor
As Tacoma grapples with the fallout of a controversial water plant purchase, a new candidate emerges promising to break the 'throttling' power of local monopolies.
- A Merchant's Fight for Entry
A Chinese merchant detained on the steamship Mogul challenges his exclusion in Federal court.
- The King of the Timber Land Jumpers
A self-confessed fraudster who stole 70,000 acres of Washington timber land turns on his former syndicate partners.
- Tacoma Election Officials Brace for Voter Fraud
With the municipal election approaching, Tacoma officials scramble to investigate 'manufactured' voters and illegal registrations by transients.
- Bushwhackers in the Puyallup Woods: How the Pullman Strike Became a Criminal Manhunt
A federal grand jury indicts a Northern Pacific clerk for threatening to draw locomotive fires, while Sheriff Matthews finds rifles and a shotgun used to ambush passenger trains near the Puyallup reservation.
- A Tacoma Shooting Unravels an Elopement
Albert McAchren shot his wife, tried to shoot her daughter, and turned the gun on himself. As she lingers, a friend describes the couple’s flight from Fidalgo.
- The Fifteen-Year Flood That Cut Puget Sound Apart
A massive storm inundates Puget Sound lowlands, blocks the Northern Pacific, washes out county bridges, and sends Tacoma developers scrambling to control the Puyallup River.
- A Schoolteacher Vanishes Between Fargo and Puget Sound
A letter to Washington's school superintendent asks after Minnie Cooper, last heard from in Tacoma and bound for a country school west of the city.
- Tacoma's Anti-Boodler Council Seizes Power, Demands Accounting of City Funds
A new coalition of Republicans and Populists takes control of Tacoma's city council, stripping power from the old guard and launching an investigation into the city's $720,000 bank deposit. Mayor Orr's appointments are blocked as the finance committee prepares to audit every bank.
- The Populist Orator's Family Sues Tacoma Over a Bruising Arrest
James H. Ross and his wife seek $15,080, alleging that police locked up a screaming child and treated the family indecently after a theft charge.
- A Fireman's Long Injury Ends in Tragedy at Headquarters
Assistant Fire Chief George H. Leggett, still suffering from a railroad wreck injury, took his life at department headquarters—a death that stunned the men who slept nearby.
- Tacoma Councilmen Move to Kill Civil Service — and Give Themselves Raises
A charter-revision package would scrap civil service, shrink the council to nine and boost pay from $300 to $1,200, prompting a public showdown at tonight's special meeting.
- Brutal Assault and Robbery in Tacoma: Mrs. Peckman Beaten by Unknown Thug
A 57-year-old woman is brutally attacked and robbed in Tacoma, leaving her severely injured and the assailant at large.
- A Dollar Debt, a Fatal Blow, and a Tacoma Murder Trial
E. R. Capron owed W. T. Taylor a dollar; a street insult ended with Capron dead and Taylor in the superior court.
- He Burned Every Paper He Owned, Then Kept a Promise to Himself
One day after the Northern Pacific pushed its general manager out, the man who built the Sunnyside Canal methodically destroyed his records, mailed a letter to an actress, and shot himself — as he had long said a man had a perfect right to do.
- A $100,000 Hole in the Railroad's Land Books
Northern Pacific's land accounts were being audited in Tacoma amid rumors that the late land agent left a six-figure shortage—and a second company's books were under scrutiny.
- A Runaway Wife Returns to View the Husband Who Died Searching for Her
Anna M. Nelson had hidden herself from an unhappy marriage. When Andrew P. Nelson died looking for her, she came back to Tacoma—exhausted, unmoved, and willing to explain.
- Tacoma’s $1 Million Water Lawsuit Alleges City Hall Collusion
City Attorney Wickersham refiled Tacoma’s suit against the light and water company, alleging officials and company agents conspired to carry the election.
- A Seattle-Born Son Could Own Property. His Chinese Father Could Not.
At the port in Tacoma, immigration officials examined 32 Chinese passengers—and the case of one Seattle family laid bare the era's racial limits on citizenship and land ownership.
Download all 2,771 as a spreadsheet (CSV) · Show them on the map