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 | 4 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 12 |
| 1879 | 1 |
23 stories matching bed
- Midnight Fire at the Mill
A sawmill employee barely escapes a late-night cabin blaze, losing his winter supplies to the flames.
- Sultan River Prospectors Build a Half-Mile Flume
Deep in the Snohomish backcountry, a group of determined prospectors labors to divert the Sultan River in hopes of striking it rich.
- The Excelsior Boom: How Puyallup Turned Wood into Bedding
A nascent industry in the 1870s aimed to replace imported hair for mattresses with locally milled cottonwood shavings.
- The Social Anchor of Snohomish City
Before the boom, Isaac Cathcart’s hotel offered more than a bed, functioning as the premier hospitality hub of Snohomish County.
- The Exclusionist Policies of the American House
A Seattle boarding house advertises a 'No Chinese Employed' policy, reflecting the volatile labor and racial tensions of the 19th-century Pacific Northwest.
- The American House: A Seattle Lodging Haven in 1879
Before the city became a tech hub, the American House offered travelers and workers a reliable place to stay, promising fair rates and the promise of no Chinese labor.
- The Newspaper Built from Scraps
After relocating to Vancouver, a resourceful publisher faced a printing dilemma and solved it by engineering their own custom press from repurposed timber and discarded iron.
- The Price of a Bed and Board
A legal dispute over unpaid bills reveals the precarious nature of transient life in early Snohomish.
- The Cost of a Bed and Board
A legal dispute from 1877 highlights the precarious nature of early pioneer housing, where unpaid tabs for room and board could lead to courtroom showdowns.
- The Pioneer Variety Store: A Snapshot of Commerce in Early Seattle
Before the age of big-box retailers, local general stores like T. P. Freeman’s served as the essential hubs for hardware, furniture, and household needs on the frontier.
- The Heroic Kitchen Defense
When a kitchen fire threatened to raze her home, a Snohomish woman didn't wait for help, personally battling the flames until the structure was saved.
- The Price of a Bed and Board: A Snohomish Debt Struggle
A legal summons filed in 1878 highlights the precarious financial lives of territorial residents, revealing how the basic cost of survival—rent and provisions—could swiftly result in litigation.
- The Seattle Fire That Almost Burned the Town
An incendiary blaze at the old Coffee and Elbow Saloon nearly consumed downtown Seattle in a narrow escape that left hundreds of men standing by with buckets.
- Life and Labor at the Carbon Coal Mines
A look inside the 1878 mining boom in Wilkeson, where company-owned land and rugged infrastructure defined the lives of the workers.
- The Price of a Bed and Board: A Snohomish Debt Lawsuit
In 1878, a Snohomish resident was taken to court over a $236 unpaid bill for room, board, and dry goods—a reminder of the precarious credit-based economy of the frontier.
- The Girls Who Couldn't Be Moved
When two sisters refused to budge for a fishing trip, a bizarre and prolonged standoff ensued involving a heavy door and a very frustrated brother.
- The 'Easy' Job That Wasn't
A classic tale of a hotel proprietor in Snohomish trying to hoodwink a miner into an impossible, unpaid-labor arrangement.
- The Beggar’s Plea: How an Old Man’s Tears Won a Judge’s Mercy
In a touching scene at the Snohomish County Courthouse, John Burner, a destitute laborer of 73 years, pleaded guilty to grand larceny not for greed, but because his starving family had no other way to eat.
- The Town That Wouldn't Sleep: Snohomish’s Fourth of July Overflow
When the steamers arrived with guests from Seattle and upriver, two hotels couldn't hold them all. The town celebrated with a reading by a woman, a poem by a local man, and a boat ride that nearly capsized on the Skagit.
- The Schoolmaster’s Plea: Why Snohomish Needs Better Classrooms
In January 1877, Superintendent A.L. Fuller warns that poverty is no excuse for neglecting education, urging citizens to tax themselves for healthy schoolhouses before ignorance breeds crime.
- The Blues of the Black River: A Walk Through Snohomish’s New Frontier
A local resident takes a stroll through the muddy pastures and new homesteads near the Black River, finding beauty in the 'mounds' of ancient history and the promise of a fresh start for settlers.
- The Great Skagit Jam: How Local Men Tried to Unplug the River
In 1876, a massive logjam blocked the Skagit River for miles. While officials debated expensive dredging projects, local loggers took matters into their own hands with picks and dynamite.
- The Engineer Who Tamed the Tides: Col. Wilson’s Blueprint for Snohomish’s Future
A master engineer presents a radical plan to dredge the Columbia and Willamette rivers, promising to unlock Seattle's potential by reshaping the very geography of the Pacific Northwest.