Research the archive
Narrow 22,457 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 | 21 |
| 1886 | 11 |
| 1887 | 5 |
50 stories matching shut
- The Price of Coal and the Cost of Labor
After shifting from Chinese laborers to white workers, mining companies find themselves in a standoff over wages that leaves miners idle and mines shuttered.
- The 'Shut Up or Shut Up' Baseball Challenge of 1885
After a hard-fought draw on the diamond, the Newcastle Baseball Club issues a pugnacious challenge to the Seattle team for a rematch on the race track.
- The Coal Wars of Newcastle
Facing declining profits and labor unrest, the Oregon Improvement Company declares war on its miners, threatening total shutdowns unless the union relents.
- Miners March Thirty Miles for a Solidarity Strike
A group of Newcastle miners trekked across the territory to convince Franklin workers to shut down the pits in a labor dispute.
- The Drive for Anti-Chinese Ordinances in 1885 Seattle
A local petition sought to bar Chinese laborers from laundry businesses and vegetable peddling, laying the groundwork for a wave of exclusionary legislation.
- The Coal Mines Shut Down: Economic Anxiety Grips 1886 Seattle
Falling prices and labor disputes forced the indefinite closure of the Newcastle mines, throwing hundreds out of work.
- The Price of Coal and the Cost of Control
When miners at Black Diamond challenged a shift from daily wages to piecework, the company boss opted to shut the mine down entirely rather than negotiate the rate.
- Fire Shuts Down Hadlock Mill
A boiler room fire on a gravel foundation halts production at the Washington Mill Company, idling 100 men.
- Vigilante Mob Targets Coal Creek Chinese Miners
A masked party of men armed with firearms forced Chinese laborers from their homes, leaving their settlement in flames.
- The Last Train out of Carbonado
After miners descended on the coal camp to forcibly expel Chinese laborers, a group of workers recounted the indignity of their forced departure.
- The Expulsion at Carbonado
Armed mobs force Chinese laborers to flee the Carbonado mines as the Anti-Chinese movement sweeps through the Puget Sound region.
- The Day Seabeck Burned
When the Washington Mill Company caught fire in 1886, a small mill town was leveled in just two hours, leaving over 100 men without work and a local entrepreneur's life's work in ashes.
- The Scandal at St. Mary’s
A Seattle Episcopal rector faces a congregation-led revolt after rumors of 'immoral practices' turn an ordinary service into a chaotic public showdown.
- The Seattle Mill Strike of 1885
When the Yesler Mill announced sudden wage cuts, the workers staged a walkout that paralyzed the waterfront.
- The Call for Exclusion: A City in Economic Upheaval
Facing a local depression, the Post-Intelligencer demands employers prioritize white workers over Chinese residents to combat unemployment.
- The Peril of the Newcastle Coal Mine
A coal miner appeals directly to the Territorial Governor after local officials ignore warnings of a persistent, dangerous fire at the Newcastle mines.
- The Great Freeze of 1883
Seattle shivers as a record-breaking cold snap turns the bay to ice and shutters local mills.
- The Tragedy of a Cow and a Fence on Lopez Island
A minor property dispute over wandering livestock escalated into a fatal shooting on Lopez Island this week.
- Showdown at Cedar Mountain
Striking coal miners in King County confront non-union workers, forcing the Sheriff to intervene as tensions boil over at the mines.
- The Street Preacher's Final Sermon
A 'monomaniac' street preacher who habitually harassed passersby is apprehended by police and committed to the territorial asylum.
- Fatal Mill Accident at Port Discovery
A worker dies after becoming entangled in industrial machinery, highlighting the extreme dangers faced by laborers in the Puget Sound timber industry.
- The Price of Coal and the Cost of Living in Newcastle
As winter tightens its grip, a labor dispute at the Newcastle coal mines forces a shutdown, leaving families without work and the community in crisis.
- The True Cost of the Eight-Hour Day
As 1886 labor strikes roil the nation, local analysis weighs the temporary gains of the eight-hour movement against the looming threat of business closures and a housing market in decline.
- The Iron Stranglehold on Seattle’s Waterfront
A powerful railroad uses its monopoly on transportation to freeze out competitors and strangle the city's independent growth.
- The Canal That Would Make Seattle an Island
In 1883, surveyors proposed locks and canals linking Lake Union and Lake Washington to tidewater—so coal could move by water and Seattle could 'practically stand on an island.'