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 |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 314 |
| 1889 | 785 |
| 1891 | 328 |
| 1892 | 1,308 |
| 1893 | 1,604 |
| 1894 | 1,246 |
| 1895 | 1,087 |
6,672 stories
- The Great Tide-Land Grab
As Seattle approaches statehood, a newspaper sounds the alarm against land speculators plotting to seize the valuable tide-lands from the public.
- The Tragic End of Seattle’s Second-Born White Son
Austin A. Bell, a wealthy real estate developer and son of one of the city's founders, ends his life in a downtown office, haunted by the specter of his father’s mental decline.
- The Waterfront War of 1889
A bitter corporate grudge between local railroads leads to claims of monopolies, coal famines, and the violent destruction of property on the Seattle shoreline.
- The Battle Over Corporate Power at Washington’s Constitutional Convention
As Washington delegates gathered to draft a new state constitution, a heated clash erupted over whether to explicitly restrain the influence of monopolies and the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Midnight Carriage in Seattle
A witness recounts a harrowing night ride through Seattle’s alleyways, carrying a trunk that smelled of 'decaying flesh' and the suspected secret of a doctor’s botched surgery.
- The Tragic Cost of Seattle's Early Cable Cars
A mother sacrifices her life to save her children after a runaway cable car loses its grip at Second and Pine, exposing the perils of the city’s rapid, unregulated infrastructure boom.
- The Tragic End of a Great Railroad Visionary
General Adas Anderson, the chief engineer who conquered the Cascades, takes his own life in a Seattle hotel room.
- The Asylum Ward’s Unseen Hunger
A patient describes the grueling conditions inside a Seattle insane asylum, where the sick are fed wormy prunes and bread meant for the refuse pile, while robust workers with influence dine on fresh milk.
- The Tragic Delusions of a Seattle Engineer
After his child died, a railroad worker spiraled into a breakdown that ended in a tragic death at the asylum, leaving his family in dire straits.
- The 'Endless' Deportation Loop in 1889 Seattle
A federal judge struggles with a legal absurdity where Chinese laborers, ordered out of the country, find themselves trapped in a cycle of failed deportations and re-arrests.
- After the Fire, Seattle Rebuilds Its Burnt District
In the weeks following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city scrambled to clear debris and restore order, as business owners set up temporary shops in tents and city officials struggled to enforce new sanitation rules in the 'burnt district.'
- Seattle’s Rebirth After the Great Fire
While the embers of the 1889 Great Fire were still cooling, the city's architects and business leaders immediately began a frenzied, organized effort to rebuild the commercial district in brick and stone.
- The Seattle Fire and the Street-Widening Battle
Following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city grapples with the high cost of progress, property rights, and the urgent need for a more resilient, accessible city plan.
- The Price of a City’s Future: Yesler’s Corner
A single landowner held Seattle’s urban development hostage, forcing the city council to choose between private property rights and the public good.
- The City Council vs. The Tycoon: Remaking Seattle's Streets
A standoff between the municipal government and powerful land interests, including the influential Henry Yesler, ends in a landmark victory for city planning.
- The Shadowy Campaign for Seattle's Waterfront
Before the city was fully formed, a powerful railroad lobby attempted to secure the lucrative tide-lands of Elliott Bay through backroom deals.
- The Seattle Armory Convention Fiasco of 1889
Chaos, ballot stuffing, and screaming matches marked a pivotal municipal nominating convention in the wake of the Great Seattle Fire.
- The Battle for Madison Street
A dormant railway company suddenly awakens to block a new transit line, sparking a fierce clash at City Hall.
- After the Great Fire, Seattle Faced a Crisis of Shelter
With the city center in ashes, temporary lodging became the most pressing demand for a bustling frontier town.
- The Battle for Elliott Bay
A railroad company is eyeing a constitutional clause to claim millions in tide lands, but the public says the water belongs to the people.
- Seattle’s Tent City: The Great Fire’s Temporary Housing
A detailed census of the makeshift wooden and canvas structures housing the city in the weeks after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.
- The Great Reconstruction
A reporter recounts the feverish pace of laborers, bricklayers, and carpenters rebuilding Seattle following a massive fire.
- The Great Rent Refund Fight
A landmark Seattle court case establishes a precedent for tenants demanding rent back after their buildings are destroyed.
- The Battle for Seattle's Tide Lands
Powerful legal lobbyists and land speculators are maneuvering to seize control of Seattle's valuable waterfront before the constitutional convention can intervene.
- The Open-Air Slumber of Seattle's Waterfront
When the summer heat turned tenement apartments into 'human lumber-boxes,' thousands of Seattle residents—men, women, and children alike—sought respite by camping overnight on the exposed, city-owned piers.