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
- Seattle's First Electric Streetcar Test
An experimental electric motor pulls a coach with thirty passengers up a steep incline in a successful trial run.
- The Clerk Who Stole Everything to Run Away
A young Seattle clerk, blinded by a whirlwind romance at a Washington Street boarding house, betrayed his own mother to fund a desperate escape to San Francisco.
- The Orcas Island Poaching War
Island residents are taking a stand against commercial hunters who are stripping the local deer population bare without contributing to the community.
- The Boys in the County Jail
A look inside the cell of four Seattle youths arrested for petty theft, and the cycle of crime they are already trapped in.
- The Ghost Railroad of the White River Valley
Farmers and Seattle civic leaders gathered in a desperate bid to force the operation of a phantom rail line that was constructed but never ran.
- The Labor Agitator's 'Foreigner' Problem
In an 1885 letter to the editor, a frustrated Seattle employer challenges the hypocrisy of the local anti-Chinese movement by questioning the nativist bias against European immigrants.
- The Dangerous Cargo on the Eliza Anderson
A wharfinger and a ship captain face a Grand Jury indictment after shipping fifty pounds of giant powder aboard a passenger steamer.
- The 1885 Opium Raid on Washington Street
Constable Van Doren and the Knights of Labor descend upon Chinese opium dens in a bid to test the legality of territorial anti-smoking laws.
- The Rising Voice of the Labor Movement in 1885
As Seattle's local assembly of the Knights of Labor gains traction, General Master Workman T.V. Powderly outlines a vision for the 'complete emancipation of the slaves of the earth' from the tyranny of capital.
- The Grand Jury's List of Complaints
In 1885, Seattle’s grand jury turned its attention to everything from jail conditions to the 'inhaling or smoking' of opium, highlighting a city struggling with the growing pains of a frontier boom.
- A Tragic End in the Wire
A well-known Seattle man is found dead in a field near the Orphan's Home, his body tangled in barbed wire.
- The Price of Laundry in 1885 Seattle
As anti-Chinese sentiment surged in 1885, a local steam laundry operator touted the business growth of his 'all-white' enterprise as a replacement for Chinese-run labor.
- An Insurance Scandal on the Seattle Waterfront
After his steamer burned to the waterline, a captain takes to the newspapers to publicly shame the insurance companies refusing to pay his claim.
- The Shadowy Arrival at Port Townsend
Federal authorities intercept two young Chinese men smuggled into Washington Territory as 'contraband,' exposing the illicit human trafficking trade operating under the noses of border officials.
- The Smuggled Cargo of the Schooner Teaser
A maritime scandal uncovers a illicit haul of dogfish oil and hides seized by federal authorities at the Seattle docks.
- The Cattle Swindle of Tacoma
A failed business partnership descends into a courtroom brawl, a fake arrest, and a high-stakes search for a missing team of horses.
- The Ghost of the Anti-Chinese Riots
A mysterious agitator claims the soldiers have arrived to protect Seattle's Chinese population, triggering panic and confusion on the docks.
- The Boss’s Iron Rule at Port Madison
At the isolated timber colony of Port Madison, the mill owner maintains total control over his workers' lives—and is preparing to banish any employee who dares frequent a new saloon.
- The Battle for the Snoqualmie Road
A fiery exchange in the Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer reveals the tense intersection of local commerce, red tape, and the precarious state of rural King County infrastructure in 1885.
- The Final Division of the Terry Estate
After twenty years of shared ownership, the heirs of Seattle pioneer C.C. Terry divide the family’s downtown real estate holdings.
- The Neah Bay Standoff: A Clash of Court and Cabinet
A territorial judge, a stubborn Indian Agent, and an injunction gone wrong sparked a tense, potentially violent jurisdictional battle at Neah Bay.
- The Neah Bay Standoff: A Battle over Tribal Land Sovereignty
When the government sent an Indian agent to clear traders off the Makah Reservation, a local legal battle exposed the deep friction between federal authority and corporate interests.
- The Seventy-Round Brawl at Black Diamond
A high-stakes prize fight between Billy Lynn and Daws ended in a bitter, disputed referee decision after four hours of grueling combat in the mining camp.
- The Political Tax Revolt of 1885
In a scorched-earth letter to the editor, a Whatcom resident decries the rise of 'Knights of Labor' candidates, claiming their victory at the polls signaled a collapse of property values and fiscal responsibility.
- New Year's Eve Terror at the Brunswick
A head cook is struck down by an unknown assailant in a downtown lodging house, sparking a city-wide investigation and an arrest of a desperate, unemployed plasterer.