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 |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 6 |
| 1876 | 9 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 9 |
| 1880 | 4 |
31 stories matching record
- The Price of a Local Dispute: A One-Dollar Verdict
In the small, litigious world of early Seattle, a courtroom battle over an unspecified grievance concludes with a verdict that barely covers the cost of the ink to record it.
- The Lottery That Wasn't: A Commissioner's Moral Standoff in 1876 Seattle
While the county board approved a gambling license for Val Wildman to fund a road project, one commissioner filed a formal protest, declaring the legislature's authority void and refusing to legitimize vice.
- The Skagit Gold Rush of 1880
A winter of record-breaking snow gives way to a spring of fevered anticipation as prospectors return to the Skagit River's golden banks.
- The 'Fanatical Old Ass': A Local Political Feud in 1876
A fiery editorial from the Seattle Daily Tribune attacks the federal appointment of General Robert H. Milroy to a territorial post, painting him as a moralizing carpetbagger who failed to earn the respect of his own neighbors.
- The Disgraceful Scrawl of Territorial Law
A scathing editorial from the Weekly Dispatch reveals that the Territorial Legislature's laws were so poorly drafted, blotted, and grammatically mangled that the editor suggests burning them to avoid litigation.
- The Delegate Who Sold Seattle’s Future for Five Thousand Dollars
A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch accuses Territorial Delegate George Freeman Willard of betraying Seattle’s interests—specifically the mud flats of Duwamish Bay—to secure his own political and financial gain, while simultaneously accepting bribes from rival railroad companies.
- The Delinquent Tax Rolls of Territorial Seattle
A haunting, granular list of property owners from 1875 and 1876 whose land was seized by the county, documenting the precarious nature of early Seattle ownership.
- The Neighborhood Siege on Commercial Street
A century and a half ago, a massive petition of Seattle residents demanded the city ‘cleanse’ a house of ‘contagious pollution,’ setting a precedent for civic moral panics.
- The Redemption of a Public Servant
A young man sheds a life of idle indulgence to find purpose as a prosecutor, sparking a debate over the value of public integrity in the Washington Territory.
- The City’s Rare Nursery Devastated by Record Snow
A brutal winter storm destroys a world-class botanical collection in Seattle, marking a significant loss for regional horticulture.
- The Floor Gives Way: Panic and Death at Seattle’s Morris Opera House
A grand opening night turns into a nightmare when the second-story floor of the newly converted theater collapses into the stables below, killing several and injuring dozens in one of the city's earliest major disasters.
- The Price of Debt in 1877 Seattle
Foreclosure notices reveal the rapid shift in property ownership as King County land was liquidated at the courthouse steps.
- The Price of Order: Seattle’s 1878 County Budget
A deep dive into the 1878 King County audit reveals a frontier government struggling to balance the books through liquor licenses, jail construction, and the high cost of local justice.
- The Rules of the Game: How Seattle's First Lawyers Codified the Fight for Land
When the Washington Territorial legislature overhauled the rules of civil procedure, they essentially wrote the blueprint for how Seattle’s developers and land speculators would battle over the city’s footprint for decades to come.
- Gold Fever on the Skagit: A Prospector's Report
Fresh from the gold fields, miners report that the Skagit region is sparkling with riches, promising to make skeptics take a backseat.
- The Skykomish Gold Rush
A reported discovery of river-bed gold near Snohomish sparks a local frenzy, leading prominent citizens to abandon their businesses to stake a claim.
- The Unsung Patron of Port Townsend
A local priest takes to the pages of the Dispatch to set the record straight on who actually paid for the town's new church, insisting on public accountability for his private donation.
- The Radical Visionary of Seattle's Early Politics
Before statehood, Edward Eldridge faced local scrutiny for his 'superficial' philosophy and his radical, communal vision for Washington's future.
- The Collector’s Trap: A Seattle Customs Scandal
A clever merchant’s attempt to recoup a fine through a legislative loophole backfires, leaving him out $500 in an era of federal bureaucracy.
- The Shadowy Business of Land 'Jumpers'
A look at the corruption and speculation surrounding homestead land claims in Washington Territory, where the rules of pre-emption favored the well-connected over the actual settler.
- The City That Wasn't: Seattle’s First Real Estate Scam
In April 1876, a man named Charles Smith claimed to own the entire town of Seattle and tried to sell it to investors. The local press exposed him as a fraud, but his audacity reveals how fragile the young city's land titles were.
- The Divorce of a Pioneer: A Legal Battle in King County
In the early days of Seattle, legal proceedings were public record. This summons reveals the gritty reality of marriage dissolution in 1876, where 'abandonment' was a grounds for divorce and the courts were one of the few places to settle domestic disputes.
- The Divorce Decree: A Seattle Woman’s Fight for Freedom from Willful Abandonment
In July 1876, Eliza Carakaden was served with a summons in King County District Court, marking one of the earliest recorded legal battles for divorce in the young settlement of Seattle.
- The Great One Thing: Seattle’s First Bid to Stop Strangers from Leaving Empty-Handed
In 1876, a group of local citizens proposed an 'Immigration and Labor Bureau' to help newcomers find work and land, recognizing that Seattle was losing potential residents because they didn't know where to start.
- 'Free' Printing, $176 Later: Seattle's County Contract Scandal of 1877
The Dispatch accuses the Intelligencer of taking public money after bidding to do the county's printing for nothing—and demands the next contract be opened to honest bids.