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
- Tacoma's Bribery Probe Ends With a Censure, Not a Conviction
A Tacoma City Council 'Lexow' committee cleared Councilman Thompson and City Clerk Smyth of bribery, then censured Smyth anyway for boasting he'd paid for a vote.
- The Streetcar Empire That Ran Out of Track: Griffith's Realty Collapse
A Seattle street-railway magnate's tangled web of notes, mortgages and second-mortgage bonds is handed to trustees — with $360,000 in property and a trail of debt.
- Six Sick Passengers Don't Justify Barring Six Hundred, Editor Tells the Times
After spinal meningitis strikes Filipino steerage passengers, the Seattle Daily Times wants the ships to stop carrying them. This paper calls that nonsense.
- Twenty-Two Minutes on the Rope: The Slow Death of Richard Quinn
The Everett wife-murderer was hanged at Walla Walla and strangled for more than twenty minutes before he died, begging to be dropped again. From the scaffold he insisted the shooting was an accident.
- The Railroad That Built the Town Now Charges It Tribute
Spokane Falls merchants discover the Northern Pacific has quietly raised freight rates 50 to 150 percent — to fatten Portland at the inland towns' expense.
- A County With No Hospital Turns a Private Home Into One
When the injured and dying were thrown on San Juan County's mercy, the new Overseer of the Poor had nowhere to put them but his own house.
- The Real Estate Gold Rush: How Seattle’s Early Boomers Made Millions on Dirt
A Sunday editorial in the Post-Intelligencer lays bare the staggering profits of land speculation in 1883, revealing how a few savvy investors turned hundreds of dollars into fortunes through sheer timing and location.
- The Man Who Came Back from the Tundra with $1.8 Million
Nels Peterson sinks his fortune in a Yukon steamboat, hits rock bottom in Nome, then strikes it rich on a bench claim—arriving in Seattle with enough gold to buy a city block.
- The Colfax Contempt: A Honeymoon on the Chain Gang
In a bizarre twist of justice and timing, D. Franklin Squibb married his new bride just weeks after his divorce was finalized—only to find himself serving hard labor for contempt of court.
- The Day Seattle’s Subscribers Hauled Their Newspaper Office to Safety
When a fire threatened the Seattle Star building in Pioneer Square, loyal patrons didn't just call the fire department—they grabbed chains and ropes to physically tow the structure away from the flames.
- The Judge Who Ejected His Own Lawyer: A Tacoma Courtroom Meltdown
In a bizarre turn of events at the Thurston County Courthouse, Presiding Judge Laurence silenced defense counsel Bronston and refused to hear the prisoner's testimony, leaving John Halson to face burglary charges in silence.
- The Judge Who Drank: A Local Magistrate’s Confession to the Grand Jury
In a stunning display of candor, Seattle Justice of the Peace John Mercer admits to his courtroom that he was frequently intoxicated while on the bench, blaming 'political enemies' for his drinking and accusing the city of turning a blind eye to saloon owners who ruin working men's wages.
- The Pioneer Developer’s Gamble
When Seattle was a young, growing town, Henry Yesler looked for an unconventional way to fund critical mountain infrastructure: raffling off his massive timber empire.
- The Great Poker Heist: A Man Steals Glass to Escape His Debts
In a bizarre twist of justice in 1872 Seattle, a gambler fleeing a poker loss was caught stealing window panes from a saloon instead of cash.
- The Editor Who Sold His Paper to a Brothel Keeper
A scathing letter in the Puget Sound Dispatch exposes the corrupt alliance between Seattle’s Republican party and its most notorious vice kingpins, asking: 'What of that newspaper publisher... who for a palm share in the wages of prostitution gives his aid and influence?'
- The Divine Healer Who Buried Himself Alive: A Seattle Cult Leader’s Resurrection Claim
Rev. O. M. Schlatte, known as 'Schlatte the Divine Healer,' claims to have risen from a 40-day burial in the desert after fasting and praying for God's guidance. Now back in town, he asserts his authority over the famous 'Healer' of Kansas and prepares to resume his ministry.
- The Ghost in the Yellow Trunk
A tip from surveyors leads two intrepid reporters to the shores of Alki Point, where they unearth a grim secret hidden in the brush.
- The Woman Who Defended Her Home With a Shotgun
When city laborers arrived to tear down Mrs. Williamson's fence for a road-widening project, she made it clear that some property rights are defended by force.
- The Absurd Scheme to Build a Railway to the Top of Mount Rainier
When a coal mine failed, desperate land speculators proposed a preposterous tourist railroad to the summit of the mountain to boost property values.
- An Indigenous Burial Site Unearthed on Commercial Street
Construction work in front of Mr. Amos Brown’s residence reveals human remains, highlighting the history of the land.
- Smallpox Outbreak in Port Townsend
The port faces a health crisis after an Indian crew member is landed ashore with smallpox, sparking panic and strict quarantine measures.
- The Great Rabbit Drive: Blood, Snow, and the Hunt for Sport in Yakima
Hundreds of men, boys, and ladies converged on a four-mile line to corral hundreds of jackrabbits into a killing field, resulting in more broken bones than dead rabbits.
- The North Seattle Commuter Who Fought Back
When two armed men attempted to rob a local resident near the Grant-Street bridge, he chose to defend his coin with a kick and a fistfight.
- The Tragic Cost of Seattle's Growth: The Death of C. Toellner
A tragic train accident at the Grant Street Bridge exposes the perils of Seattle’s rapidly expanding infrastructure in the late 1880s.
- Ten Inmates Crawl Through City Jail Roof
A dozen prisoners rip the roof off the city jail, leading to a night of escapes, returns for more whiskey, and public mockery of the facility.