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 | 2 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 11 |
| 1895 | 7 |
35 stories matching assessor
- Tacoma Assessor Fires Deputy With a Yard-Long Wooden Knife
After Joe Egermeyer opposed his boss's nomination, County Assessor Doherty staged a mock execution with a butcher knife.
- The Bust After the Boom in Whatcom County
A local assessor grapples with the fallout of a real-estate bubble, lowering property valuations to match actual economic conditions.
- A County Assessor, a Restaurant Keeper’s Wife, and a $10,000 Scandal
Mount Vernon’s county assessor is accused of stealing the affections of a restaurant keeper’s wife—who has reportedly fled to Seattle.
- The Unwelcome Tax Man
A Seattle poll tax assessor describes the frustration and absurdity of tracking down residents in a city where the transient population and the immigrant community resisted his rounds.
- The Unintended Cost of Taxing Mortgages
A Spokane assessor's push to tax mortgages sparks a debate over whether the burden of public revenue falls unfairly on the borrower.
- Everett's First Election Is a Four-Ticket Free-for-All
Barely incorporated, the town fields citizens', nonpartisan, firemen's and bolter tickets—all with Thomas Dwyer at the top.
- Mayor Sweeney and Comptroller Carson Clash Over City Assessment
A legal battle erupts over whether the city comptroller or the county assessor has the power to prepare Seattle's tax rolls under a new state law.
- The Beachcomber's Grim Find
A duck hunter discovers a severed foot on the shores of Useless Bay, leaving behind a mystery that would never be solved.
- The Passing of a Frontier Pioneer
Melancthon Z. Goodell, a guard for Governor Stevens and a veteran of the Indian Wars, dies at 55.
- A Vote of No Confidence in Willapa Valley
Frustrated taxpayers in Pacific County take a stand against their own local government, demanding the resignation of the county commissioners.
- A Burlesque of Justice in Skokomish
A murder suspect is released on questionable security, drawing outrage from local officials and the community.
- The Carpenter Who Went to Jail on Principle
A local carpenter faces jail time after refusing to pay a poll tax, equating his plight to the political climate of Tsarist Russia.
- Shelton’s Growing Pains and Booming Timber
A census reveals Mason County is shifting toward a higher population class, sparking a rush of candidates vying for new, higher-paying offices.
- The $10 Letter That Wasn't Meant to Be Read
A Democratic congressional hopeful solicits a Republican postmaster for $10—using party paper, an insurance-company envelope, and a paper trail that ends up at the Post-Intelligencer.
- A County Seat Fight With More Petition Signers Than Voters
Pacific County commissioners agreed to put the county seat up to a vote — then discovered that South Bend and Sealand had turned in 2,373 signatures from a county with barely 1,500 voters.
- The Tillicums' Trick: How a Political Machine Fooled Tacoma's Democrats
A secretive faction called the Tillicums manipulates primaries, places decoy tickets, and doles out patronage jobs to tighten its grip on Pierce County politics.
- The World's Fair Statistical Fiasco
King County scrambled to prove its economic worth to the Chicago World’s Fair commission, while local officials grumbled about the impossibility of gathering honest numbers from suspicious business owners.
- The Last Stand of the Payallup Valley
As Seattle’s building boom explodes and land prices skyrocket, a quiet corner of King County faces its own real estate frenzy—where lots vanish before deeds are even signed.
- A Rancher, a Falling Fir, and a Daughter's Terrible Discovery
F. O. Hall was clearing land at Vaughn Bay when a lodged tree came down; his nine-year-old found him beneath it.
- A Crepe-Draped Cleveland and the Custom-House Deal
Port Townsend Democrats gather amid patronage bargains, a sacrificed ally, and a prank that put the president's portrait in mourning.
- The Pig War's Lingering Ghost
Decades after the 'Pig War' nearly ignited a conflict between the U.S. and Britain, Colonel Granville O. Haller presents a historical accounting of the San Juan Island boundary dispute to the Washington State Historical Society.
- The Waterfront Line That Redrew Seattle’s Tax Map
A new harbor line clipped storefronts on Front Street and Yesler Avenue—and set up a coming windfall in assessed valuation as tide lands entered the tax rolls.
- The First Ward Has Not Yet Voted: A Rowdy King County Convention Picks Its Ticket
In 1894, King County Republicans packed Seattle’s Armory, fought over a contested First Ward delegation, hissed down rivals, and nominated a full county ticket in one raucous night.
- King County Commissioners Slash Pay Instead of Staff
Facing pressure to retrench, county commissioners cut deputies’ salaries across the clerk, treasurer, auditor and prosecutor’s offices—while Treasurer Maple fought to keep all twelve of his clerks.
- The Great Sweep: Jefferson County Goes Republican for the First Time
In a historic political shift for Washington Territory, the newly elected county officers in Port Townsend take office, marking the first time Jefferson County has been governed exclusively by Republicans.
Also about this, in other words
- The Great Assessment Scam: How King County Taxpayers Were Fooled by 'Blunders'
A local reporter exposes the absurdity of county tax assessments, where landowners receive notices for huge back-taxes on property they already paid off, forcing them to chase down exhausted commissioners in a cycle of bureaucratic error.