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 | 62 |
| 1858 | 29 |
| 1859 | 52 |
| 1860 | 27 |
| 1861 | 101 |
| 1862 | 87 |
| 1863 | 69 |
| 1864 | 32 |
| 1865 | 11 |
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 812 |
| 1877 | 678 |
| 1878 | 526 |
| 1879 | 64 |
| 1880 | 180 |
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 911 |
| 1884 | 499 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
| 1888 | 440 |
| 1889 | 1,324 |
| 1890 | 287 |
| 1891 | 1,115 |
| 1892 | 2,855 |
| 1893 | 2,829 |
| 1894 | 2,116 |
| 1895 | 1,830 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 62 |
| 1898 | 196 |
| 1899 | 446 |
| 1900 | 114 |
| 1902 | 34 |
| 1903 | 1,332 |
| 1904 | 1,126 |
| 1905 | 124 |
| 1907 | 53 |
| 1908 | 351 |
| 1909 | 1,545 |
| 1910 | 413 |
| 1911 | 160 |
| 1912 | 73 |
| 1914 | 261 |
| 1915 | 300 |
| 1916 | 545 |
| 1917 | 332 |
| 1918 | 45 |
| 1919 | 5 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1922 | 18 |
| 1923 | 185 |
| 1924 | 151 |
| 1925 | 64 |
| 1928 | 14 |
| 1929 | 19 |
27,002 stories
- A Deadly Afternoon in Seattle
A rifle shot aimed at a magazine door results in a catastrophic explosion, claiming lives and damaging buildings across the neighborhood.
- The 1886 Municipal Election: A Fight Over 'Law and Order' vs. Business Interests
As Seattle gears up for a city election, a fierce political battle erupts over the enforcement of liquor laws, city debt, and the controversial administration of Mayor Leary.
- The Final Voyage of the Wildwood
A steamship captain recounts the harrowing night his vessel burned to the water’s edge while docked at Olympia.
- The Scandal at St. Mary’s
A Seattle Episcopal rector faces a congregation-led revolt after rumors of 'immoral practices' turn an ordinary service into a chaotic public showdown.
- Half-Million Dollar Blaze Destroys Cincinnati Freight Depot
Seattle fire department rushed to the corner of Sixth and Main streets to battle a fire that decimated a major grain and freight warehouse.
- A Tragic Disappearance at the Occidental Hotel
After arriving in Seattle alone, a young woman known as Nellie McNiel left behind a letter claiming she had been seduced, betrayed, and intended to take her own life.
- The Myth of the Promised Land: 1885
A reader challenges the city's booster press, exposing the gap between industrial promises and the reality of a struggling population.
- An Anti-Chinese Assault at the Seattle Waterfront
A group of Chinese laborers is attacked while attempting to depart for Portland, highlighting the escalating racial tensions in the city.
- The Schoolteacher vs. The Coal Baron
An outspoken Newcastle teacher risks his career to confront the Oregon Improvement Company over its brutal labor practices and the displacement of local widows.
- The Sheriff Who Refused to Enforce Mob Rule
In 1885, as anti-Chinese sentiment gripped Seattle, Sheriff J.H. McGraw defied a mass meeting of local citizens by refusing to join an exclusionary committee, citing his oath of office and the rule of law.
- The Price of Challenging the Northern Pacific
After suing a railroad giant for injury, George Conroy was met with a perjury charge, jailed for the summer, and driven to insanity.
- The Hydra-Headed Monster of the Yakima Valley
A scathing indictment from 1885 reveals how the Northern Pacific Railroad's broken promises and predatory land schemes terrorized Washington frontier settlers.
- The Chinese Expulsion Crisis at the Seattle Waterfront
Federal authorities arrest thirty Chinese laborers arriving from British Columbia, highlighting the intense racial tensions and labor politics of the 1885 Washington Territory.
- The Siege of the 'Standard Theater' Meeting
A Seattle labor group, barred from its intended hall, holds an indignant public meeting to solidify their boycott against Chinese workers.
- The Coal Wars of Newcastle
Facing declining profits and labor unrest, the Oregon Improvement Company declares war on its miners, threatening total shutdowns unless the union relents.
- The Rogue of the Sound
A smuggler on the Puget Sound recounts a brutal night of human trafficking and violence, offering a chilling glimpse into the lawless reality of the 1880s maritime border.
- The Right to Belong: A Seattle Immigrant’s Plea
Denied citizenship by a court, a Chinese resident explains his life, his work, and his refusal to cut his queue as he navigates exclusion in 1886 Seattle.
- The Seattle Petition Against Chinese Labor
A group of prominent attorneys and citizens petition the territorial legislature, demanding the passage of exclusionary labor laws despite constitutional concerns.
- Puyallup Families Finally Win Title to Their Land
While the President ordered land titles for the Puyallup people in 1884, a corrupt 'ring' of speculators held up the process to seize the property for profit.
- The Price of Falsehood in the Anti-Chinese Movement
As tensions boiled over in 1886, a Seattle newspaper called out local rabble-rousers for using blatant lies to incite hostility against Chinese residents.
- The Bonfire of the Vanities on Occidental Square
Months after a jubilant, torch-lit victory party in Seattle, the city’s new power-brokers were left holding the bag as lawlessness and economic despair gripped the town.
- Seattle Lawyers Debate Martial Law and Mob Violence
In a tense meeting, the King County Bar Association condemns the recent anti-Chinese expulsions and debates whether to censure lawyers involved in the agitation.
- Seattle’s Chamber of Commerce Grapples with Anti-Chinese Riots
In the wake of the 1886 anti-Chinese expulsion, the city's commercial leadership convened to discuss the city's reputation and its stance on 'law and order.'
- The Battle Over the Memory of the Chinese Expulsion
A fiery rebuttal to external accounts of the 1886 anti-Chinese riots in Seattle.
- Bodies of Colman and Patten Recovered from Lake Washington
After weeks of searching, a homemade underwater viewing device helps recover the bodies of two men murdered on the water.