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
- The Horror at Fort Steilacoom
A former minister exposes systemic abuse and torture at the territorial hospital for the insane.
- The Northern Pacific Bets Everything on the North
A high-level interview reveals the railroad's expansion into British Columbia and their vision of making Portland the gateway to the Pacific.
- A Brutal Shooting Gallery Killing
A Seattle shooting gallery proprietor is found murdered, sparking a swift coroner’s inquest that points to a traveling companion.
- Seattle Citizens Broke Ground on Their Own Railroad
How Seattle’s local investment and grit built a railroad when the Northern Pacific chose Tacoma.
- Seattle Welcomes the Nation's Press
A grand banquet at the Hotel Brunswick celebrates the Northern Pacific Railroad's arrival, marking Seattle as the new commercial capital of the Northwest.
- The City’s Great Reshaping
Massive earth-moving projects on the hills of Seattle are transforming the landscape, burying the old city to make room for the new.
- The Strange Mystery of the Snoqualmie Road
A young laborer is found dead in Lake Washington, but the investigation into his companions reveals a web of confusion and suspicious departures.
- The Mystery of the Buried Box
A construction crew in Lake City unearths a crate containing human remains, but by the time authorities arrive, the evidence has mysteriously vanished.
- The Gospel-Ship Scam on Puget Sound
How a pious Olympia minister raised international funds to build a missionary vessel, only to pivot it into a lucrative towboat business.
- Firecrackers and Guard Duty for the New Year
As the Chinese community celebrates, the City Council forces them to pay for their own police watchmen.
- The Territory's First Mixed-Gender Jury
A trial in Justice Vrooman’s court draws a suffocating crowd to see if women can handle the rigors of the jury box.
- The Exclusion Act in Seattle Courts
A Chinese resident is denied U.S. citizenship despite his education and church membership.
- Mob terrorizes Chinese store on Washington Street
A group of men and boys pelted a Chinese-owned store with snowballs, forcing their way inside and destroying property until the police intervened.
- The Mass Departure of Chinese Laborers
After the completion of the Cedar River extension, the Oregon Improvement Company arranged for the mass transport of 1,700 Chinese workers out of Seattle.
- A Near Disaster on the Waterfront
A fire in a Front Street lunch counter nearly consumes the business district after city officials neglected to enforce fire safety ordinances.
- A Tent City Emerges in Seattle
A desperate housing shortage and the high cost of living have forced hundreds of residents into tent encampments.
- Railroad Agent Hanged in Effigy
Public anger against the Northern Pacific Railroad boils over in Yakima County, leading to the symbolic execution of a company agent.
- The Northern Pacific’s Coal Land Grab
A railroad giant withdraws half a million acres of King County land from settlement, aiming to force locals to pay for its expansion.
- The Railroad Draws a Line in the Mud: Seattle's Tidelands Declared Off-Limits
In a public notice, the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company claims every foot of Elliott Bay shore south of King Street — wet sand, deep water and all — and warns the public to keep off without written permission.
- The Brutal Betrayal of Ida Bracken
A husband forces his wife into prostitution before assaulting her in a notorious district rooming house.
- Railroad Monopoly Targets Seattle’s Prosperity
The Northern Pacific Railroad is accused of prioritizing Tacoma's land values over the economic development of Seattle.
- A Night of Terror in Tacoma
A massive blaze sweeps through a bustling downtown block, consuming businesses and revealing the precarity of the city's early fire defenses.
- The Chamber of Commerce Turns Against Northern Pacific
Seattle business leaders unite to block a railroad land grant, accusing the Northern Pacific of a 'device and trick' to seize valuable timber and coal fields in King County.
- The Coal Land Bust and the Stranded Laborers
Speculative collapse leaves workers in 'rookeries' as a corporate empire fractures.
- The Northern Pacific Railroad's Coal Land Grab
Critics decry the President's support for the railroad’s expansion into coal lands against the public interest.