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 |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 76 |
| 1889 | 129 |
| 1891 | 62 |
| 1892 | 213 |
| 1893 | 259 |
| 1894 | 365 |
| 1895 | 487 |
1,591 stories matching also
- The High Cost of the Great Seattle Rebuild
A six-week-old restaurant is auctioned off for parts, revealing the volatility of life in post-fire Seattle.
- The Millionaire in the Asylum: Thomas Keeler's Chinese Indemnity Delusion
A Seattle man convinced the government owed him $1,000,000 was committed to Steilacoom after seeking payment at banks and law offices.
- The Health Board Fights Smallpox Scare
City officials seek to prevent Vancouver, B.C., from enacting a quarantine against Seattle by providing a status report on local smallpox cases.
- Domestic Violence and the Law in 1888 Seattle
A woman's desperate cry for police assistance after a brutal assault by her husband highlights the struggle for safety and accountability in the early days of the city.
- When 'He' Also Meant 'She'
A uniform school bill ended legal doubts about women serving as county superintendents and school directors—and ordered that masculine pronouns in the school law include women.
- The Man Who Bought a City for $5 an Acre
A Vermont native traded his old life for 80 acres in Seattle, proving that with one horse and sheer grit, the Pacific Northwest could be tamed.
- Tacoma Petitions to Throw Open the Puyallup Reservation
Businessmen, railroad men and politicians circulate petitions to oust the Puyallup Indian agent and dismantle federal restrictions, arguing the reservation's lands and rail routes should be 'opened' — a dispossession dressed as progress.
- A Family Tragedy Near Palouse
Tragic news emerges from a local farm where a man took his family's lives before turning a weapon on himself.
- A Will on Note Paper Survives a Husband’s Challenge
A Seattle court admits Lena Shay Baldwin’s handwritten will, ending a long contest with her surviving husband over Washington, D.C. property, family furniture and jewelry.
- A Night of Harassment on South Third and Main
A local man is arrested after accosting and physically assaulting women on their way home from a Salvation Army meeting.
- The Price of Elegance in 1883
A look at the luxury fabrics and household goods enticing early Seattleites at the Golden Rule Bazaar.
- Blood and Bullets in Colville
A railroad worker's lethal temper leads to a dramatic manhunt near Colville as a suspect flees on horseback after a double shooting.
- The Shift from Tacoma to Seattle
Jesse J. Ashton moves the Pacific Navigation Company headquarters to Seattle, citing the city's growing commercial dominance.
- Divorce and Domestic Strife in 1890s Seattle
Three women are granted divorces in the local superior court, revealing stories of abandonment, habitual drunkenness, and domestic cruelty.
- The Fire Limit Fiasco: How Seattle’s Elite Dodged Safety Codes
While the city arrested drunks and fined sailors for minor infractions, two prominent developers built a frame house right inside the fire zone—and got away with it.
- The Snow That Crushed a Schoolhouse Flat
A February storm buries Mason and Kitsap counties under four and a half feet of snow — flattening Seabeck's finest schoolhouse and a Lilliwaup hotel while its owner was away in Seattle.
- The Unexplained Departure of Mrs. Frite
A husband’s public notice of his wife’s desertion sparks confusion in Port Townsend, as he vows to never take her back.
- The Ex-Administrator's $15,000 Reckoning
A successor accuses A. L. Parker of paying himself, padding the estate's accounts and charging two years' rent on a Green Lake house.
- Seattle Fire Department Eyes Expansion
Board of commissioners plots a budget for 1894 that includes new stations on Jackson and Madison streets.
- The Confession That Stunned the Bench: A Stevedore’s Shameful Theft
In a Tacoma courtroom, Fred Wells didn't just admit to stealing from his sleeping bunkmate—he detailed how he lived like a king on stolen cash before being caught red-handed.
- Typographical Union Protests Outsourced Printing
Seattle printers pass a resolution condemning the outsourcing of the local city directory printing to firms in other cities, arguing it drains the local economy.
- Wildfire Took a Congressman's Ranch
Forest fires in Clallam County destroyed Representative W. R. Hoole's nine-room home, his timber, and the Beaver Leader printing plant.
- Everett Hands Its Water Away for Fifty Years
In a single night the council grants a private water company a half-century franchise — a free drinking fountain and city-hall water in exchange — while also founding a public library and selling off the fire team.
- The Great Regatta That Went Nowhere
A day of high hopes for Seattle's sailing enthusiasts ended in a drifting match as the wind completely vanished from the Sound.
- Fire Devastates Downtown Stanwood
A late-night blaze destroys two city blocks, leaving the community to battle the flames with a bucket brigade after water supply infrastructure fails.