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.
Refine2 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 98 |
| 1883 | 511 |
| 1884 | 326 |
| 1885 | 566 |
| 1886 | 361 |
| 1887 | 327 |
2,189 stories
- 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.
- 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 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 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 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.
- 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.
- The Seattle Bar Confronts Its Own
A committee of influential attorneys seeks to disbar colleagues Junius Rochester and George Venable Smith for their roles in the violent expulsion of Seattle's Chinese population.
- The Northern Pacific Railroad's War on Seattle
An 1886 rail schedule change reveals a corporate conspiracy to strangle the city's growth in favor of town-lot speculation.
- A Child's Plea for Help
A three-year-old girl leads an officer to a locked room to rescue her mother from an abusive husband.
- An Unsettled Climate in the Pacific Northwest
A witness reports on the volatile tensions between white labor and the Chinese community in the region.
- The Privatization of Seattle's Waterfront
The Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad declares exclusive ownership over tide lands south of King Street, locking the public out of the harbor.
- The Great Jailbreak of 1886
After being convicted of a sensational local murder, a Seattle man pulled off a daring escape from the county jail by using clever DIY tools.
- The Battle for Seattle's Soul
On the eve of a contentious city election in 1886, two rival political factions clashed at the Opera House, setting the stage for a fight over the future of labor, law, and the anti-Chinese riots.
- Chief Justice Waite Visits Chinatown
After a late-night tour of Seattle’s Chinatown, the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice declares his support for Chinese exclusion.
- A Grand Jury’s Grim Look at Seattle’s Jail
A scathing report from 1888 slams local conditions for youth and calls for urgent reform, while calling out industrial pollution in the Cedar River.
- Seattle's Legal Elite Debate the 'Chinese Question'
A resolution passed by the King County Bar Association sparks a sharp public dispute regarding the legitimacy of martial law and the anti-Chinese expulsion period.
- The Shadow on Lake Washington
A grizzly discovery on Mercer Island leads to a frantic, suspicion-filled murder investigation in 1886 Seattle.