Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 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 | 31 |
| 1889 | 65 |
| 1891 | 23 |
| 1892 | 76 |
| 1893 | 87 |
| 1894 | 113 |
| 1895 | 133 |
528 stories matching cannot
- The Unpaid Bills of the James Street Cable Line
A legal dispute over the James Street cable railway ends in a victory for the company, leaving material suppliers with no way to recover their losses.
- The City That Couldn't House Its Own Growth
A frustrated businessman attempts to set up shop in 1888 Seattle, only to find that despite the city's 'boasted enterprise,' the total lack of available real estate is driving investment away to Tacoma.
- The battle for control of the Puget Sound cedar trade
Eastern jobbers and railroad interests lock horns with the local shingle trust in a fight over Pacific Northwest cedar.
- Big Bend Settlers Win Land Rights Over Northern Pacific
Secretary of the Interior Hoke Smith rules against the railroad in a landmark case involving indemnity lands in Eastern Washington.
- Free Wool, Free Lumber: Washington's Mill Towns Brace for the Tariff Shock
Seattle and Tacoma manufacturers warn that the new Havemeyer tariff will cut wages, ruin sheep raisers and hand the lumber trade to Canadian timbermen.
- The Tragedy of the 'Professional Beggar'
A man sentenced to three months in the county jail for vagrancy writes a desperate letter from his cell, claiming he is dying and pleading for the bail money he cannot afford.
- School Board Rejects Secret Society Interference
A Seattle school board attorney ruled that secret societies like the A.P.A. have no legal standing to bring charges against educators.
- The Political Toboggan: Tacoma's Revolt Against a Carpetbagger Candidate
As the state legislature prepared to convene in 1891, prominent Tacoma Republicans publicly abandoned their own local candidate, labeling him an opportunist from Indiana.
- The Tangled Web of Tacoma’s Water Scandal
Public confidence in Tacoma city finances erodes as taxpayers learn the treasurer's bondsmen are heavily linked to failed banks and dubious deals.
- The Oldest Trick in the Book
A grifter in Seattle's city jail has a penchant for a classic pocketknife switch that leaves tourists penniless.
- The End of the Volunteer Era
Seattle decides to abandon its volunteer fire system in favor of a professional, paid department, prioritizing efficiency over neighborhood spirit.
- The Uncharted Frontier
Without federal funding for land surveys, homesteaders in Washington State are left in legal limbo, unable to secure titles to the ground they farm.
- Seattle Snubbed by Federal Committee
Local business leaders express frustration as a visiting Senatorial committee plans only a brief stopover in Seattle while favoring Portland.
- The Seven-Year-Old Stick-up Artist
A young boy pulls a professional-style robbery on a peer in broad daylight, leaving police baffled.
- The Supreme Court Halts Seattle's Street Grading
A landmark court ruling forces the city to stop leveling streets unless they pay damages to homeowners.
- A Sermon on Civic Corruption
Rev. Wallace Nutting takes the Seattle municipal government to task for its failure to control vice and its admission of helplessness.
- The Ghost Legislature: How Congress Strangled Washington's Voice
In January 1893, the territorial assembly convened only to immediately adjourn because Washington had no federal funding for its own government. A local editorial decries this as a farce that leaves citizens paying taxes without representation.
- Who Pays When the City's Warrants Go Bad?
A judge says Olympia cannot be forced to cover special improvement warrants with general taxes, leaving the loss to fall on the people holding the paper.
- The Crisis in Seattle’s Classrooms
A scathing critique of 1892, where local observers argued that the public school system was a 'machine' failing the working-class children who needed practical skills over academic pretense.
- The Steamboat Mutiny on Lake Washington
A steamboat captain learns the hard way that he cannot fire an employee when that employee is armed and allegedly an anarchist.
- The City That Couldn't Pay Its Bills: Seattle’s Fiscal Crisis and the Fight for Expansion
Mayor Moran and Councilman Dane plead with citizens to understand why street paving is stalled and sewer plans are shelved—not from laziness, but because state law caps the city's debt just as the population doubles.
- The Collapse of the Pacific Northwest League
A post-mortem on the professional baseball association in Tacoma and Seattle highlights the 'salary evil' that led to its ruin.
- The City’s Scrip Solution
With municipal bonds stalled during the 1893 depression, Seattle weighs paying workers in city-issued scrip to keep public projects moving.
- The Waterfront War: How Seattle's Property Owners Stopped the State from Stealing Their Land
A landmark court ruling in January 1901 declares that the state cannot redraw harbor lines and seize waterfront property without paying fair compensation, marking a major victory for private ownership against government overreach.
- Tragedy at the Northport Hotel
A devastating fire at the Commercial Hotel in Northport claims the lives of two men and leaves others severely injured.