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 |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 799 |
| 1884 | 455 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
3,198 stories
- The Sunday Saloon Scramble
A Seattle judge faces a conundrum from a frustrated Grand Jury: if a hotel or drug store is allowed to stay open on Sunday, exactly who gets to drink?
- The Unseen War for the Puget Sound Pantry
An 1882 look at how San Francisco's economic grip and 'unfriendly agencies' were stifling the potential of Washington Territory's fishing industry.
- A Ghastly Discovery at Marshall's Wharf
A missing sailor's body is pulled from the Seattle waterfront after a mysterious disappearance.
- The City's Private Water Pioneer
Before the city operated its own utility, one visionary resident sank a deep well on Ninth Street, betting his own fortune that he could out-pump the ground itself to supply a growing Seattle.
- The Great Mountain Trek for False Promises
Chasing the myth of high wages over the Snoqualmie Pass, one woodman discovers that even in the 1880s, 'labor shortages' were often just a cover for low-balling workers.
- The Pioneer Priest Who Cleared the Forest for a Church
In 1883, Father Frefontaine laid the cornerstone of a grand new cathedral in Seattle, reflecting on a journey that began with clearing dense timber by hand to serve a tiny, fractured congregation.
- The Makah Mariners Who Returned from the Spirit Land
Two sailors picked up 600 miles out at sea by the bark Buena Vista were thought dead, only to reappear at Neah Bay to a hero's welcome.
- Gunfire at the University of Washington
Tensions boil over into an armed confrontation between students and faculty, leaving a student wounded.
- The Great Seattle-Portland Population War
In 1882, Seattle editors launched a sharp, statistical campaign to prove their city was growing faster than its southern rival.
- The Seattle Real Estate Boom of 1882
A survey of rapid land value appreciation in early Seattle, where modest lots doubled or tripled in price in just a few weeks.
- The Fire That Saved Us: A Call for a Second Steamer
A Seattle resident writes to the Post-Intelligencer arguing that the recent downtown blaze proves the city’s single fire engine is no longer enough—and demands an immediate duplicate.
- Olympia’s Blackest Day: A City on the Brink of Ruin
A recent fire in the state capital exposes the desperate need for modern water works and steam engines, as Olympia’s leadership warns that 'any morning may see the balance of the city in ruins.'
- The Girl Who Ran Away: A Seattle Hotel Trap and a Lawyer’s Complicity
In May 1882, a 16-year-old runaway from the Puyallup River found herself stranded in Seattle, only to be exploited by a local attorney who deposited her stolen savings in his own name. Chief of Police Woolery intervened, recovering the funds and exposing the legal professional’s unethical conduct.
- The Unpredictable Life of Seattle’s 'Odd Job Man'
William D. Southworth, a local eccentric, attempted to organize a national guard, impersonated high-society figures, and left a trail of bafflement across 1880s Seattle before his final confinement.
- The Seattle Dry Goods War: A 19th-Century Boycott
When local merchants began using circulars to undercut their competition and 'boycott' a local newspaper, the P-I fought back by calling on the moral, law-abiding citizens of Seattle to take a stand.
- The Imperial Ambition: Seattle’s Role in a Nicaragua Canal Scheme
Military and political elites weigh the costs and grand strategies of controlling a trans-oceanic canal as the United States shifts toward a global power posture.
- The Sunday Saloon Wars: How Seattle Debated the 'Law and Order' Ordinance
In 1885, Seattle’s City Council erupted into a fierce debate over a proposal to force saloons to close on Sundays, pitting reformers against tavern owners in a struggle over civic control and personal liberty.
- The Boomtown Ledger: Seattle’s Economic Surge in 1884
A detailed survey of Seattle’s rapid 1884 expansion reveals a city bristling with new brick blocks, bustling steam mills, and a skyline reaching toward its future.
- The Struggle for Local Control Over Seattle's Saloons
A new 1886 ordinance tightened the grip of the City Council on the city’s liquor trade, imposing strict licensing, background checks, and Sunday bans in an attempt to regulate the chaos of the frontier economy.
- The City Council Seized Our Engine: A Firehouse Rebellion
When the city government stripped Seattle Engine Company No. 2 of their apparatus to give it to a new company, the firefighters organized a defiant public meeting to protest the 'unwarranted usurpation of authority.'
- The Great Seattle Newspaper Boycott of 1885
When local liquor interests tried to silence the press for advocating Sunday sobriety, the community drew a line in the sawdust.
- The Price of a Drunkard’s Grave
A teenage boy is fined for public intoxication, sparking an editorial demand to hold the 'Blue Front' saloon owner accountable for serving minors.
- The Saloon-Keepers’ Council
A scathing editorial exposes how Seattle’s early city government was dominated by saloon owners, liquor distributors, and property men who thrived on the vice trade.
- The Political Price of Honest Dealing
A local land officer loses his position for resisting the 'land-grabbing' Northern Pacific Railroad, triggering a public petition to demand his reinstatement.
- The Tragedy of a Henry Rifle
A young boy's life is cut short in a quiet Seattle accident involving a rifle.