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 | 23 |
| 1876 | 15 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 19 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 9 |
75 stories matching within
- The Northern Pacific Compromise: A Bitter Road Through the Cascades
After intense lobbying in Washington, D.C., a new railroad deal forces a high-stakes ultimatum for the Columbia River corridor.
- The Great Moss Panic of 1878
Seattle's early city council once declared war on rooftop greenery to prevent the city from burning down.
- An Indecent Display at the Coal Bunkers
Seattle residents take offense as sailors from the barkentine Modoc turn the public waterfront into an impromptu swimming hole.
- 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 Yellow Flag Mandate of 1872
Before the age of modern public health infrastructure, Seattle's early municipal government passed strict, penalty-heavy laws to contain contagious diseases through quarantine and public shaming.
- The Taxation Trap: How Seattle’s Liquor Licenses Were Feeding the County, Not the City
In 1876, a territorial newspaper railed against a fiscal injustice: Seattle taxpayers were footing the bill for policing and street maintenance, while the county kept the revenue from liquor licenses sold within city limits.
- The Deserted Family of Seattle
A husband is sued for divorce in 1872 on the grounds of cruel neglect and failure to provide for his family.
- The City Council Bans Dumping at the Harbor’s Edge
Facing mounting concerns over the obstruction of commerce, Seattle’s early leadership passes a strict ordinance against dumping ship ballast into Elliott Bay.
- The Price of Separation in 1878
A legal summons published in the Puget Sound Dispatch highlights the harsh reality of divorce proceedings in territorial Seattle.
- Homesteading on the Edge of the Forest
An 1878 dispatch from a settler near Lake Washington offers advice to 'respectable' newcomers looking to carve a life out of the untamed timberland.
- The Caterpillar Ordinance: Olympia’s War on Woodland Pests
In a rare display of municipal power in 1871, the Olympia City Council passed an ordinance giving residents one week to burn infested trees or face fines and forced destruction by the Marshall.
- The City Council's Yellow Flag Fiasco
When Seattle officials passed a health ordinance to curb contagion, they refused to apply it to a notorious local brothel, sparking a public outcry against political hypocrisy.
- The Wooden Walls of Puget Sound
A survey of the booming fleet of vessels built in Washington Territory in 1877, and why the local economy was missing out on the profits of its own timber.
- The Man Who Would Build His Own Locomotives
In 1876, Seattle industrialist J.M. Colman rejected foreign machinery in favor of local manufacturing, predicting a self-sufficient Pacific Northwest within five years.
- The Perils of the Seattle Coal Incline
Two railroad workers are severely injured within 24 hours while attempting to board moving coal cars in a grim, repetitive industrial accident.
- The Price of Matrimony in Territorial Seattle
A public court summons from 1877 highlights the rigid legal and social standards for marriage and family in the Washington Territory.
- The Last Stand of Yesler’s House: Seattle’s First Skyscraper Rises on the Site of a Pioneer Home
In November 1876, King County Commissioners approved the demolition of Henry Yesler’s historic residence to make way for a three-story artificial stone business block, marking the end of an era and the beginning of Seattle's commercial boom.
- The Brick Fortress on Commercial Street
In 1872, Bailey Gatzert and Schwabacher Bros. erected a $26,000 commercial landmark that signaled Seattle’s arrival as a financial hub.
- The Smallpox Panic: A Quarantined Ship and a City on Edge
When the steamer *Dakota* arrived in Port Gamble with an infected crew member, the community locked down in fear. But as the dust settled, a more insidious threat emerged from within Seattle's own political ranks.
- The Embroidered Vow: A Victorian Romance in Seattle
When an accident leaves a young woman scarred, she retreats from society, only to discover a secret message stitched into a handmade cushion.
- The Pioneer Struggle to Pave Commercial Street
Before it was the bustling core of Pioneer Square, Seattle’s Commercial Street was a rough-hewn stretch of dirt and mud in dire need of basic infrastructure.
- The Dark Mystery of Alfred Hoyle
A body found in Snohomish County sparks a tense inquest revealing labor unrest, anti-Chinese sentiment, and unanswered questions on the Seattle waterfront.
- The Retired Colonel and the County Treasurer
A judge instructs a Grand Jury on whether a retired U.S. Army officer is legally permitted to hold the civilian office of King County Treasurer.
- Sabotage on the Coal Line
A dangerous attempt to derail a coal train near Seattle highlights the intense tensions surrounding the city's burgeoning industrial infrastructure.