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.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 25 |
| 1877 | 20 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1880 | 6 |
53 stories matching john
- A Frontier Promise Kept
In an era of rugged isolation, an anonymous immigrant couple reflects on twenty years of marriage, the silence of their home, and the sudden joy of a child arriving on Christmas Day.
- The Forbidden Courtship of Seattle’s Laboring Class
A satirical poem recounts the trials of a young couple forbidden by their employer from speaking while working on his land.
- The Man Who Vanished Into the Mist
A local resident disappears after a three-day canoe trip from the Duwamish River mouth, leaving behind only his revolver and provisions.
- The End of an Era: The Vincent House Dissolves
In a move that signals shifting tides in Seattle’s early commercial landscape, the partnership behind one of the city’s most prominent hotels and saloons has been officially dissolved.
- The Seattle Land Grab of 1880
A former Delegate to Congress accuses a prominent Seattle attorney of sabotaging a deal to save King County land, sparking a bitter political feud.
- The Mystery of the Drowned Man’s Missing Fortune
In July 1870, Seattle’s probate court launched a frantic investigation into whether $2,000 vanished from the pocket of John Filfe, who drowned in Puget Sound days earlier.
- A Frontier Double Standard
In an 1878 column, Captain John of the Siutes calls out the brutal hypocrisy of territorial justice: while white criminals get a trial, Indigenous people get the army.
- The Ball That Burned: A Seattle Saloon Mystery
In 1876, a patron at John Brendle’s beer saloon discovered that one of the billiard balls was made of highly flammable material, igniting instantly when pressed against his pipe.
- The Shadow Ledger: Seattle’s Monthly Arrest List
A raw, unfiltered tally of twenty-nine arrests made in June 1878 exposes the policing of Seattle’s streets—where poverty, Indigeneity, and ethnic status shaped the reach of the law.
- The Robber Barons of the Rails
As the Pacific Northwest rail and steamship empires consolidate, one man's rise mirrors the era of the 'autocrat' industrialist.
- The Hanging Sentence of John Thompson
A condemned man stands in a crowded Seattle courtroom, maintaining his innocence while awaiting the gallows for a fatal brawl in Renton.
- The Man Who Killed a Neighbor Over a Book
In a quiet moment of domestic tragedy in Walla Walla, a carpenter’s son strikes down a respected citizen with a hammer while the victim was simply reading.
- The Strange Case of the County's Vanished Property
A legal battle over the former Collins claim reveals a messy history of county mismanagement, secret land deals, and invalid property sales.
- Seattle Invites the Whole Territory to Its Centennial Fourth
As the United States turned 100 in 1876, Seattle's civic leaders mobilized an elaborate city-wide committee to prove the frontier outpost was a modern, patriotic city.
- A Dangerous Labor in the Sawmills of 1876
A worker suffers a debilitating injury at a local wharf, highlighting the routine hazards faced by laborers in Seattle’s industrial infancy.
- An Affordable Dream: A 60x121 Foot Seattle Homestead
In 1877, a lot on Second Street—now the heart of Seattle's high-density urban core—was listed for sale as a private residential homestead.
- The Miracle Cure at the Yesler Sawmill
In 1877 Seattle, a local laborer offers a glowing, desperate endorsement for a traveling 'nerve doctor' promising to cure the ills of the industrial grind.
- The Miracle Tonic of Seattle's Mill Workers
In an era of snake-oil medicine, a sawmill worker swears by a mysterious 'physician' to cure his industrial fatigue.
- The Heirs of a Ghost: A Legal Battle for Seattle’s Empty Land
In the early days of Washington Territory, three women stepped forward to claim an inheritance in a town that barely existed, warning off any buyers from purchasing land they believed was theirs.
- The 'A Co.' Misunderstanding
A linguistic confusion at a Seattle restaurant leads to a partnership change and a new sign.
- The Battle for Lake Union: A War of Words Over Seattle’s First Public Road
In May 1877, a bitter public feud erupted between the newly appointed Supervisor of Road District No. 1 and a group of influential local voters over the legal authority to build a road along the west shore of Lake Union.
- The Day the 'Worst Boy' in Seattle Found His Voice
In an 1876 schoolhouse, a song about 'John Brown' acts as a social intervention to curb the disruptive behavior of a local child.
- The Tragic Death of a Chinese Cook at Port Gamble
An accident in shallow water claims the life of a laborer, highlighting the precarious conditions for workers in the Puget Sound mill towns of 1877.
- Life and Sport at a Puget Sound Mill Town
Dispatch from Port Gamble captures the rhythm of mill life, local politics, and a crushing victory on the baseball diamond.
- The Forgotten Dreams of Steilacoom City
In 1880, a visionary booster pitched a grand transcontinental railroad terminus that he claimed would transform a quiet Puget Sound town into the 'metropolis' of the Pacific.