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 |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 153 |
| 1877 | 124 |
| 1878 | 248 |
| 1879 | 15 |
| 1880 | 83 |
774 stories
- The Condemned Jail of 1876
A scathing Grand Jury report in 1876 denounced Seattle's 'lock-up' as a public nuisance, sparking a debate over fiscal priorities that mirrors the city's modern struggles with infrastructure and housing.
- The Grammar Grudge of 1876
An editor and a local developer get into a petty, hilarious feud over building codes, split infinitives, and civic competence.
- The Mystery of the Admiralty Bay Boatman
A lonely death in a remote bay leaves more questions than answers about a man whose final protest was written on a slip of paper.
- The Renters and the Landless: Seattle’s Early Conflict over Property
An 1876 editorial from the Pacific Tribune calls out wealthy landowners for reaping the benefits of city growth created by the labor of the landless.
- The Day the Seattle Gold Lottery Fell Apart
A grand public spectacle at Occidental Square took a sour turn when organizers confessed they had sold only half the tickets, forcing a desperate, on-the-spot slashing of prize money.
- The Ethics of the Office: Fighting the 'Spoils' System in 1876 Seattle
A local official refuses to trade his political independence for employment, sparking a public debate over corruption, civil service reform, and the 'party hacks' of the Gilded Age.
- A Seven-Ton Crushing on Mill Street
A laborer’s insistence on helping a heavy team leads to a gruesome injury in the heart of 1876 Seattle.
- The Riverboat Collision: A Seattle Near-Tragedy
A steamship crushes a local canoeist in Seattle's harbor, yet the collision ends with a quiet, miraculous survival.
- The 'Fanatical Old Ass': A Local Political Feud in 1876
A fiery editorial from the Seattle Daily Tribune attacks the federal appointment of General Robert H. Milroy to a territorial post, painting him as a moralizing carpetbagger who failed to earn the respect of his own neighbors.
- The Mayor’s War on the 'Ring': A Candidate’s Plea for Clean Government in 1879 Seattle
Bernard Cossen runs for mayor not for power, but to stop wealthy landowners from hoarding public funds and blocking civic progress.
- The Church That Leased Its Own Hypocrisy
In 1876 Seattle, a wealthy Presbyterian congregation found itself trapped by its own real estate deals, forced to collect rent from two saloons operating directly beneath their prayer hall.
- The Partisan’s Price: How Civil Service Reform Cost a Delegate His Seat
In 1876, King County’s Republican establishment turned on Judge O. Jacobs for refusing to hand out federal jobs to party loyalists, revealing the brutal mechanics of the spoils system in early Washington Territory.
- The Vanishing Manager: A Theater Troupe Left High and Dry in Victoria
George Rogers, manager of Seattle’s Vanity Troupe, absconded to San Francisco after promising to meet his actors in Port Townsend, leaving creditors to seize the company's furniture.
- Seattle’s Tinderbox: A Warning from the Ashes of Reno
As a massive fire ravages Nevada, this Seattle editor sounds the alarm over the city’s wooden buildings and exorbitant insurance costs, urging brick construction before disaster strikes.
- The Taxation Trap: How Seattle’s Liquor Licenses Were Feeding the County, Not the City
In 1876, a territorial newspaper railed against a fiscal injustice: Seattle taxpayers were footing the bill for policing and street maintenance, while the county kept the revenue from liquor licenses sold within city limits.
- The Great One Thing: Seattle’s First Bid to Stop Strangers from Leaving Empty-Handed
In 1876, a group of local citizens proposed an 'Immigration and Labor Bureau' to help newcomers find work and land, recognizing that Seattle was losing potential residents because they didn't know where to start.
- The Day the Pigs Needed Life Jackets: Seattle’s Great Duwamish Flood of 1876
As the Duwamish River swells and farmers flee to their attics, local merchants rally to clear the Skagit River, betting on a waterway that could transform the territory's economy.
- The Dog in the Manger: How Seattle’s Landlords Are Killing Its Future
An editorial in the 1876 Puget Sound Dispatch warns that greedy real estate owners are pricing out workers with usurious rents, comparing their tactics to Shylock and urging them to lower prices before the city stagnates.
- The Wild West of the Seattle Waterfront
A dangerous 1877 standoff between captains reveals a lawless, unregulated harbor where ship lines were a hazard to life and limb.
- The Ship That Tore Its Own Bow Off: A Seattle Coal Vessel Lost to the Gale
In January 1877, the 1,200-ton ship *Commodore* was driven ashore at Cape Flattery in a ferocious storm. The crew survived, but the vessel—owned by local Port Ludlow resident Arthur Phinney and valued at $20,000—was destroyed.
- The Shoe That Could Save Seattle: Why We Must Stop Exporting Our Hides to San Francisco
An editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch argues that Seattle’s economic survival depends on manufacturing its own boots and shoes locally, rather than shipping raw hides south for a 10% premium.
- The Juror Who Ate Himself into Jail
A Seattle juror’s hunger at the Occidental Hotel led to an invalidated trial, a stern rebuke from the bench, and three months in the county jail.
- The Violent Night at Port Blakely
A drunken dispute at a remote saloon leaves a man dead and a community reeling from the sudden eruption of gunfire.
- A Telegraph Prank Turned a Boat Trip into an Armed Standoff
When someone wired Port Ludlow that a steamer carried smallpox, the town's 'commercial travelers' met a wall of shotguns — and a joke got out of hand.
- The Engine House Was Locked—and the Janitor Was at Church
When two fires broke out in Seattle's Chinese quarter, the engine house was locked and the janitor held the key. Bystanders put out the flames—and the paper demanded a fire department overhaul.