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 | 5 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 6 |
| 1895 | 5 |
30 stories matching farc
- 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.
- 1889 Plan to Sell Washington’s Tide Lands
A scathing editorial from 1889 warns that the state's proposed policy for selling tide lands is a 'farce' designed to gift public waterfront to private speculators.
- Railroad Lobbyists Left Grumbling in Olympia
A legislative meeting with railroad attorneys devolved into a farce when key senators failed to show, leaving the powerful corporation representatives dazed and empty-handed.
- A Screaming Farce at Pioneer Square
Proponents and opponents of a Seattle bond issue clash in a volatile open-air debate that devolves into name-calling and public disruption.
- The Great Dimple Scandal
A jealous husband, a mysterious package, and a 19th-century beauty obsession gone wrong in an upper-crust Seattle home.
- The Unlucky Fate of the Steamer City of Ellensburg
Creditors protest a forced sale of a river steamer, claiming the vessel was sold for a pittance in a 'farce' of an auction.
- The Statehouse Heist
A political mob forcibly seizes company records from a government official in a Spokane hotel room.
- The Pugilistic Excursion to the Sound
A staged prize fight on a remote island ends in a farce, leaving the crowd with nothing but a boat ride and a band concert.
- Seattle Amateurs Raise Funds for Charity
A high-society theatrical benefit for the Bureau of Associated Charities draws a 'brilliant' audience and earns rave reviews.
- The City Council’s Fireproofing Farce: How Seattle’s ‘Renovations’ Are Destroying Property Values
An editorial scolds the local government for allowing cheap, temporary repairs to old buildings within fire limits, arguing that these 'shells' are disfiguring the business district and raising insurance rates for everyone.
- A Mock Dress Parade at the Armory
Seattle militiamen trade drill precision for satire and pipe-mounted 'artillery' to the amusement of a capacity crowd.
- The Shadow Army of 1894
Across Washington, a mysterious paramilitary organization known as the 'Patriot Army' begins organizing, leaving observers to wonder if they are preparing for revolution or political theatre.
- The Primary That Ended in a Chokehold
In Ellensburg, a fight over a supreme court nomination turned a Populist primary into a brief, violent farce—and threatened to split the party before the fall election.
- Ballard's Chaotic Three-Way Election
A local municipal election descends into farce as rival factions swap candidates and run into residency requirements.
- A City Fed Up: Seattle Demands an End to the Fire Department Follies
Six years after the Great Fire, an exasperated editor says the wrangling over the fire department has become a farce — and warns the mayor, council and commission to settle it or step aside.
- The Trial of Amelia Tuttle
A young woman in Houghton is dragged into court by a neighbor on charges of insanity, revealing a tangled web of rural gossip, romantic rivalry, and petty jealousy.
- The Seattle Armory Convention Fiasco of 1889
Chaos, ballot stuffing, and screaming matches marked a pivotal municipal nominating convention in the wake of the Great Seattle Fire.
- The Ghosting of J.C. Icebrook
A persistent suitor looking for a 'traveling companion' finds himself ensnared in a web of elaborate decoys set by a local woman and her clever brother.
- The Deadly Farce of Frontier Justice
When a Whatcom jury ignored the law to acquit a man who murdered his wife and her lover, the press decried an epidemic of 'momentary insanity' defense.
- Variety and Hilarity at Frye’s Opera House
A packed house in 1888 Seattle revels in everything from German mimicry to 'dashing soubrettes'—with one notable exception.
- The Trial That Wasn't: Tacoma’s Libel Case Collapses Into Farce
A high-profile libel trial in Tacoma devolves into legal sophistry and personal insults, revealing the chaotic state of territorial justice.
- The Ballot-Box Stuffing of '92
When Tacoma's young reformers clashed with the political establishment, the result was a chaotic primary election featuring disappearing ballots, saloon-gang repeaters, and a hole in the ballot box.
- A Saloon Brawl, a Broken Back, and a Witness Who Fled Winlock
F. M. Frost's death was ruled accidental, but a missing witness's story says Henry Dabrainer bent him backward like a jackknife and snapped his spine.
- Seattle's Young Outlaw Dies—and the Paper Prints His Face
Thomas Blanck, a Seattle criminal notorious before he was twenty, is dead. When the Post-Intelligencer runs his portrait, a reader protests the spectacle—and the city debates how to bury a reputation.
- The Great Northern Train Heist That Wasn't
A bungled opium bust and a wild chase through the woods turned an everyday commuter trip into a farce.