Research the archive
Narrow 25,688 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 | 1 |
| 1883 | 9 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 10 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 3 |
32 stories matching devot
- The Pastor Who Couldn't Find a Sermon
In a rare moment of self-awareness, a Seattle clergyman confesses to his deacon that the city's news cycle is so dry he can't even find material for Sunday's sermon.
- The Miracle of Fannie McCann
A lifelong invalid, confined to a chair for twenty-two years, found her voice and language only in her final hours.
- The Rule of Law in the Face of Mob Violence
In 1885, a Seattle judge delivered a scathing rebuke to a grand jury and the public, condemning anti-Chinese conspiracy and defending the right of all laborers—regardless of race or origin—to equal protection under the law.
- The Schoolteacher vs. The Coal Baron
An outspoken Newcastle teacher risks his career to confront the Oregon Improvement Company over its brutal labor practices and the displacement of local widows.
- The Mysterious Death on Mercer Island
A secret society lodge mourns the loss of a prominent member killed in an ambush on the shores of Lake Washington.
- Seattle's Corrupt Policing: The Fee System of 1887
How Seattle’s police force was incentivized to hunt for arrests and padding their own pockets through court fees, sparking a local civic scandal.
- The Tragedy of the Pearson Household
A quiet, industrious Seattle man suffers a violent mental break, leaving his family in critical condition and a community in shock.
- The Iron Rush: Seattle’s Early Fight Against Monopoly
When mining magnates and railroad tycoons clashed over the future of Washington's natural resources, Seattle’s civic leaders took a stand to protect local control.
- The Preacher Who Turned Court Into a Prayer Meeting
A local street preacher, arrested for his public fervor, turns the tables on the magistrate by forcing a courtroom to its knees.
- The Old Union Flag
A group of Seattle schoolboys preparing for a dance discovered a historic, weather-beaten Union flag—triggering a local effort to preserve the banner that once flew over the Civil War-era Union League.
- The 'Seattle Idea': A Warning Against Corporate Territorial Grabs
In an 1885 editorial, local papers sounded the alarm over the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company’s attempt to claim vast swaths of Seattle’s waterfront and tide lands.
- A Night for Seattle’s Fallen
A crowded hall gathers to secure a dignified resting place for local soldiers.
- The Insanity Trial of Mrs. Meagher
A mother’s public accusation that her daughter was held in a house of prostitution results in a court hearing to determine her sanity.
- The Tragic Confinement of a Settler
A young woman is committed to the hospital for the insane after a period of profound distress.
- The Temperance Movement Makes Its Mark in Seattle
Western Washington women organize to battle 'worthless' sensational literature and the influence of the liquor trade.
- The Unsung Sacrifice in the Snow
A frontier trapper recounts the harrowing tale of 'Jim,' a mysterious, devoted man who gave his life to guide a young woman to her dying father through a deadly blizzard.
- The Blasting Accident at the Railway Camp
A railroad contractor working on the Canadian Pacific line met a sudden, tragic end while clearing stumps near Vancouver.
- The Temperance Debate in Seattle
A look at the Women's Christian Temperance Union’s push for high license fees in Seattle and the broader fight for liquor regulation in the late 1880s.
- A Prison Wedding for a Wayward Couple
A young runaway and her lover are arrested in a room together; their path to freedom is a marriage ceremony performed behind bars.
- Puget Sound Oyster Beds Need Cultivation, Not Waste
While Connecticut creates a million-dollar oyster industry through cultivation, Seattle’s local beds are being eaten into oblivion.
- Who Really Sets the Price of Meat? A Puget Sound Monopoly Under the Knife
A Tacoma investigation finds that one middleman firm and a handful of Eastern Washington cattle kings hold the whole Sound's beef and mutton trade — and the dealers admit they are all getting rich while customers pay.
- The Political Shapeshifter of Seattle
Joe Rohn, a man of shifting loyalties and convenient principles, finds his true partisan home—just as long as the patronage keeps flowing.
- The Campaign Against the 'Mormon Menace'
A fiery editorial calls for the federal government to outlaw Mormon membership, framing the faith as a cancerous threat to social and moral order.
- From Pack-Saddle to Pioneer Town
How a lone merchant’s log store over the Cascades sparked the settlement of the Kittitas Valley.
- Calling for More Lifesavers on the Pacific Coast
After several shipwrecks at the Columbia River bar, a report argues that the Twelfth District is dangerously under-equipped and neglected by Congress.