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
- Telegraph Operators Walk Out Nationwide in 1883
Across the nation and deep into the Pacific Northwest, 22,000 workers have walked off the job in a massive clash against the Western Union monopoly.
- The Great Seattle Streetcar Race
Two competing groups of prominent businessmen rush to City Council, proposing a sprawling network of cable and horse-drawn streetcars to reshape the city's growth.
- Washington Territory Grants Women the Vote
After passing the House previously, the suffrage bill clears the Council, marking a historic victory for equal representation.
- Washington Celebrates Equal Suffrage
Legislators, judges, and citizens gather in Olympia to hail the territory's historic move to enfranchise women.
- Vigilante Justice in the Big Bend
After a rancher vanishes for two months, a local investigation uncovers a brutal murder and leads to a swift, extrajudicial execution.
- The Brutal Logic of Dispossession
Governor Newell’s biennial message advocates for the total dismantling of reservations in Washington Territory to prioritize white settlers' agricultural ambitions.
- The Dawn of Political Equality
Washington Territory grants women the right to vote, marking a landmark triumph for human rights.
- The Great Land Grant Rebellion
Farmers in the Snake River region revolt against the Northern Pacific Railroad's land policies, demanding the forfeiture of unearned land grants.
- The First Grand Jury with Women Jurors
A landmark challenge to women's right to serve on a jury in Washington Territory sets the stage for the April District Court session.
- Northern Pacific's Land Claims Took Two-Thirds of Washington
A scathing critique of how the Northern Pacific Railroad manipulated maps and political influence to hoard millions in timber, coal, and agricultural lands.
- Northern Pacific Route Shifts Dispossessed Homesteaders
How the Northern Pacific Railroad manipulated government maps to seize millions of acres, crushing homesteaders in the process.
- The Women of Washington Take Their Seats on the Jury
While critics claimed jury duty was 'disagreeable' for women, the first female jurors in Pierce County report they served willingly and effectively.
- U.S. Commissioner Orders Expulsion of Eleven Chinese Residents
Following a trial in Port Townsend, eleven individuals were ordered removed from American soil for alleged violations of the Chinese Restriction Act.
- Seattle's New Railroad Depot to Anchor Future Prosperity
City leaders anticipate that the construction of a grand new depot at the foot of Second Street will permanently shift the city's wholesale trade district.
- A Mounted Inspector for Eastern Washington
The Treasury Department increases customs presence near Fort Colville to enforce Chinese exclusion laws.
- The Soldier Who Missed: Why Seattle Is Rooting for a Court-Martialed Hero
Sergeant Mason’s attempt to assassinate the man who killed Garfield has turned him from a mutineer into a martyr, sparking petitions and subscriptions across the Pacific Northwest.
- The Great Dayton Fire: A Block of Ashes and a City’s Near Miss
On the night of April 2, 1882, flames consumed three blocks in downtown Dayton, Washington. While the town paid with its buildings, Seattle’s own fire department narrowly escaped disaster thanks to a single force pump.
- The Mob That Stole Justice in Seattle
A federal judge delivers a blistering rebuke to the Seattle vigilantes who lynched three men in January 1882, declaring that the lawless 'Committee of Safety' is a threat greater than the criminals they executed.
- The Vigilantes' Ghost: Seattle's Dark Secret in Two Maple Trees
A poem published in the *Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer* reveals the city’s foundational myth: that its current 'peaceable' order was bought with the blood of six men hanged by a secret committee when the law failed to act.
- The Blast at Mason Slip
A steam tug carrying three crew members is obliterated in a freak explosion on the Seattle waterfront.
- The Sunday Saloon War: When Seattle’s Business Elite Fought for the Right to Rest
In January 1885, a heated civic battle erupted over the enforcement of Sunday closing laws, pitting the city’s liquor trade against a coalition of reformers and weary laborers.
- The Judge and the Vigilantes: A Seattle Lynching Mystery
A local jurist finds himself on a coroner's jury for a vigilante killing, sparking a fierce public debate over whether the law should be enforced by the courts or by the 'indignant populace.'
- The Deadly Slide at Coal Creek
Tragedy strikes a mining camp as a massive snow slide buries cabins and claims lives, leaving families in mourning and survivors in constant fear.
- The Tale of Two Towns: A Battle for the Depot
As the railroad bypasses established settlements, a bitter conflict erupts between long-time residents and land speculators creating a brand-new town three miles away.
- The Railroad's Grudge Against Old Yakima
A local resident warns travelers that the Northern Pacific is attempting to bypass and destroy the original town of Yakima to benefit their new company town.