Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 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 | 23 |
| 1859 | 48 |
| 1860 | 24 |
| 1861 | 99 |
| 1862 | 87 |
| 1863 | 69 |
| 1864 | 32 |
| 1865 | 11 |
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 802 |
| 1877 | 676 |
| 1878 | 526 |
| 1879 | 64 |
| 1880 | 180 |
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 853 |
| 1884 | 428 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
| 1888 | 440 |
| 1889 | 1,324 |
| 1890 | 287 |
| 1891 | 1,072 |
| 1892 | 2,768 |
| 1893 | 2,673 |
| 1894 | 1,995 |
| 1895 | 1,625 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 52 |
| 1898 | 181 |
| 1899 | 436 |
| 1900 | 114 |
| 1902 | 34 |
| 1903 | 1,311 |
| 1904 | 1,109 |
| 1905 | 124 |
| 1907 | 44 |
| 1908 | 289 |
| 1909 | 1,366 |
| 1910 | 281 |
| 1911 | 160 |
| 1912 | 73 |
| 1914 | 259 |
| 1915 | 300 |
| 1916 | 532 |
| 1917 | 321 |
| 1918 | 44 |
| 1919 | 5 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1922 | 14 |
| 1923 | 175 |
| 1924 | 151 |
| 1925 | 64 |
| 1928 | 12 |
| 1929 | 7 |
25,724 stories
- Fire Ravages Olympia’s Government Buildings
The Surveyor General’s office, the Land Office, and a historic church are destroyed in a devastating overnight blaze.
- The Blueprint for a Growing City
Newly proposed amendments to the Seattle city charter reveal the administrative scaffolding behind the city's 1883 expansion, including fire department mandates and tax enforcement.
- The Land Grabbing Battle for Puyallup
A railroad-backed land company attempted to seize 18,000 acres of tribal land, painting it as 'waste' to displace the indigenous population.
- The Main Street Bloodshed of 1862
A deadly riot between rowdy soldiers and Seattle citizens exposes the volatility of the town's early frontier days.
- The Strange Religious 'Shaking' Phenomenon on the Sound
A new and puzzling religious movement among Indigenous communities on the Skokomish Reservation draws warnings from the government.
- The First Winter at Alki Point
A vivid account of the 1851 arrival of the Denny party, their struggle for shelter, and the founding of the settlement that would become Seattle.
- The Night Seattle Held the Line at the Stockade
A 39th-anniversary account of the January 1856 siege: two blockhouses, a howitzer from the USS Decatur, and two settlers killed in the Puget Sound War.
- The Grand Plan to Reshape Seattle
A St. Louis investment group arrives to back Eugene Semple’s ambitious vision of a ship canal and the filling of the tide flats.
- The Company Blamed the Dead Miner
After thirty-five men died in the Franklin mine, the Oregon Improvement Company answered a widow's lawsuit by saying her husband assumed the risk—and should have run sooner.
- A Breath of Fire-Damp Killed Twenty-Three Blue Canyon Miners
A coal-mine explosion near Lake Whatcom wiped out nearly an entire shift just before it was due to change, leaving only two survivors to tell what happened underground.
- Fire Damp and Twenty-Three Dead at Blue Canyon
A gas explosion in a new coal working near Lake Whatcom kills twenty-three miners and forces a state inspection into what the company knew about the mine’s ventilation.
- Twenty-Three Miners Died in a Nearly Undamaged Mine
Inspector Edmunds told a Seattle paper that the Blue Canyon explosion was one of the strangest disasters he had ever seen: the mine was barely damaged, yet 23 men were dead, most killed by concussion and gas.
- Death on the Division Street Bridge
A morning commute turned into a catastrophe when a steel span over the Spokane River collapsed, sending two trolley cars into the freezing water.
- Labor Organizer Accuses Judge Burke in 1886 Seattle Anti-Chinese Riots
A labor organizer confronts a political candidate over his role in the 1886 Seattle riots and the killing of a protester.
- The City in Ashes
After a devastating fire leaves Ellensburgh in ruins, North Yakima reflects on the fragile nature of boomtown prosperity.
- The Great Yakima Avenue Conflagration
A devastating blaze sweeps through the business district, leveled by fire and saved only by the grit of citizens and a stand of shade trees.
- Tragedy at the Roslyn Mines
A devastating explosion traps forty-four miners in the Roslyn slope, leaving families in despair.
- Washington Court Rules Fathers Have No Legal Duty to Support Illegitimate Children
A landmark decision from the state supreme court highlights a massive legal loophole regarding parental responsibility.
- Federal Investigation Exposes Land Grabbing on the Yakima Reservation
A government inquiry uncovers how a syndicate of white men seized control of vast swathes of tribal land, prompting new, restrictive leasing rules.
- The Great Spokane Title Crisis
A landmark Supreme Court ruling has suddenly rendered thousands of property deeds void, threatening the downtown core of Spokane.
- Vigilante Mob Executes Prisoners in Oysterville Jail
After the supreme court granted a new trial to two men accused of murder, a Pacific County mob took matters into their own hands, storming the jail and killing the suspects.
- Firefighters Save Montesano from Total Destruction
A catastrophic fire nearly leveled the town's business district before new water mains were put to the ultimate test.
- Kennewick to Vote on Forming Port District in 1916
Voters face a pivotal election to establish the Port of Kennewick and authorize the purchase of a dock and the dredging of the Columbia River.
- Federal Troops Clear I.W.W. Halls in Yakima Valley
Company B of the Third Oregon regiment arrests 24 agitators in North Yakima and dozens more near Easton.
- Court Holds Cowlitz County Liable for Deadly Bridge Collapse
A landmark Supreme Court decision opens the door for survivors and victims' families to sue for damages following the 1922 Kelso bridge disaster.