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 |
|---|---|
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 7 |
| 1909 | 16 |
| 1910 | 9 |
33 stories matching wit
- Eight Months Forgotten in the County Jail
Charles K. Steele sat in the Tacoma jail awaiting trial until the evidence, the witness, and finally the prosecutor's memory all vanished — so he pleaded to a lesser charge and walked out in 90 days.
- The Cook Who Robbed the Till—and Then Fled to Canada
Newport restaurant man James Warren spent eight months in jail before a plea deal, because the only witness had vanished into British Columbia.
- A Christmas Saloon Fight in Elk Left a Lumberjack Maimed for Life
Two lumberjacks mixed holiday liquor with violence at an Elk saloon, and a 50-minute brawl ended with three fingers bitten off and charges likely for everyone involved.
- The Price of Justice in Pend Oreille
The county tallies the steep financial burden of the Logan trial, revealing the high cost of local criminal prosecution.
- The Birth of Ione
Stevens County commissioners officially certify the incorporation of the town of Ione following a successful local election.
- “This Ends Everything Between Us”: A Spokane Hotel Room, a Revolver, and Two Children
Mark McCiammy shot his wife twice and turned the gun on himself in a downtown Spokane hotel. She survived twelve hours — long enough to ask that she not be buried beside him.
- The Scandal That Shook the Interior
A federal investigation into Secretary of the Interior Richard Ballinger reveals allegations of land fraud and corruption involving Washington state coal claims.
- A Walking Boss Vanishes in the Blueslide Tunnel
Prosecutor and deputy ride out to Blueslide to investigate the disappearance of Eli Anderson — but by the time they arrive, the witnesses have scattered.
- Judge Carey Rules for the Silver-Lead Company in Metaline Claim Fight
A Stevens County court decision turned on whether assessment work had been done on valuable lead claims in 1905—and the mining district was watching.
- The Government Wants the Timber Back: 24 Homesteaders Fight for Their Claims
A federal commissioner opens a day-by-day docket against settlers in the LeClerc Creek basin whose land was folded into the Priest River National Forest two years after they proved up on it.
- The Nagles Take On the Railroad Over a Spur Past Their Door
Phillip and Mary Nagle are suing the Idaho Washington Northern Railroad for $3,000 over a dock spur built past their State Line Avenue property.
- A Lumber Case Becomes a Political Weapon Against Judge Carey
Opponents whispered that the judge reversed a jury in secret. A witness says the ruling came in open court before 200 people.
- The Confessed Killer Who Wept on the Stand
At a Montesano murder trial, John Klingenberg calmly described shooting Charles Hadberg at Indian Creek — then broke down as he swore William Gohl ordered him to do it under threat of death.
- Stevens County Votes Itself Dry, Two to One
On November 9, 1909, the precincts outside every incorporated town in Stevens County went to the polls on a single question — liquor or no liquor — and closed the saloons by 1,419 votes to 814.
- A Colville Man Sentenced to Life for His Wife's Murder
George L. Pepoon, convicted of killing his wife Edith, hears a life sentence in Judge Kennan's chambers — then his lawyers file notice of appeal.
- The Town Hauls the Groom Home on a Baggage Truck
Charles Bell slipped off to Spokane to marry quietly. Two hundred neighbors had other plans — and a mule, cowbells and a slasher saw.
- A Newport Barber Walks Free After a Seattle Manslaughter Trial
Frank Poquette's six-hour jury deliberation ended in acquittal, with the defense insisting William King fell drunk on the pavement.
- Railroad's Right-of-Way Bill Comes Back at $6,000
A Colville jury rejects a $30,000-an-acre claim from the old Jordan cement plant and hands the Idaho Washington Northern a costly but smaller condemnation verdict.
- The Railroad Is a Trespasser on My River Front
J.R. Patterson advertised his ranch and his grievance: a contractor clearing right-of-way without permission while the railroad still owed a condemnation judgment.
- A Judge, a Railroad, and a Grand Jury: Spokane's 1909 Corruption Sweep
Judge M. J. Gordon faces six indictments over a $28,000 bad check and embezzlement from the Great Northern, while the state insurance commissioner and secretary of state are pulled into the grand jury's net.
- The Newport Hardware Man Who Went Through Johnstown — and Kept the River Mud to Prove It
In his store window, E. E. Reid displays a gilded St. George torn from a clock and a rocking chair pulled from the 1889 Johnstown flood — silt still hardened in the crevices — and jokes that he is still selling hardware because the flood only went through him, not over him.
- The Strychnine Widower: Northport Man on Trial for Poisoning His Insane Wife
George L. Pepoon stands accused of killing the mother of his three children for $1,000 in insurance and a new bride — with a paroled convict as the state's star witness.
- The $5 Billion Plan to Remake the Arid West
At the National Irrigation Congress in Spokane, Interior Secretary Ballinger and Chief Forester Pinchot squared off over whether public bonds or private capital should reclaim the West.
- A 25-Year Grip on Ione’s Water
Over a rival’s protest, Stevens County commissioners handed the Ione Water & Light Co. a quarter-century franchise to lay water mains through town—with a clause letting Ione buy the system out if it ever incorporated.
- A Railroad Wins the Right to Run—and a Neighbor Says It Cost Him 60%
A judge suspended an injunction against the Idaho Washington Northern Railway, clearing freight service into Newport as a property owner blamed the new tracks for wiping out most of his land's value.