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 |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 2 |
12 stories
- The Ghost of Fort Steilacoom: Workers Cheated Out of Their Wages
A group of laborers at the new asylum construction site speak out against contractors and commissioners who left them unpaid and used rot-prone materials.
- U.S. Marshal Transports Prisoners to McNeil Island
A roundup of prisoners sent to the federal penitentiary highlights the era's aggressive and exclusionary legal climate.
- The Political Pilgrimage to Steilacoom
In 1887, Washington Territorial legislators took a collective trip to inspect the state's asylum, but the solemn mission quickly devolved into a social affair that kept the real results hidden from the public.
- Inside the Territorial Asylum
A rare firsthand look at the conditions, characters, and daily routines of patients at the Washington Territorial Insane Asylum.
- The Desperate Struggle at the Steilacoom Asylum
A man awaiting commitment to the insane asylum attempts to take his own life in the halls of the institution.
- The Great Escape at Steilacoom
Five convicts at the state penitentiary staged a daring, daylight breakout, leading to a desperate shootout in the woods.
- A Violent Escalation at the Train Station
A drunken horse trade between two men in Steilacoom turns into a public shooting, leaving a man wounded and the assailant on the run.
- The Crumbling Walls of Steilacoom
A group of builders and taxpayers exposes shoddy construction at the new Territorial Asylum.
- A Belligerent Patient at the Steilacoom Asylum
- Tragedy at Steilacoom Hospital
An inquest finds no negligence after a patient at the hospital for the insane takes his own life.
- The Asylum's Quiet Harmony
A rare glimpse into the operations of Washington Territory’s only mental hospital, as reported by its superintendent in 1884.
- A Night to Remember in Old Steilacoom
A dusty invitation to a long-forgotten ball reveals the social life of Washington Territory 25 years prior, documenting the vanishings of a frontier community.