Research the archive
Narrow 22,457 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 | 6 |
| 1889 | 14 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 23 |
| 1893 | 23 |
| 1894 | 53 |
| 1895 | 13 |
139 stories matching forth
- The Wharf King’s Victory: Yesler Wins Millions in Land Battle
Judge Lichtenberg rules that the state cannot seize waterfront property without paying just compensation, halting the Harbor Line Commission and protecting H.L. Yesler’s empire.
- The Pastor, the Circular, and the Hung Jury
For three days a Seattle courtroom heard accusations of adultery, an illegitimate son, and a pastor’s libelous circular. At 12:35 a.m., the jury was still deadlocked.
- Tacoma's $750,000 Railroad Bait—and the Utility Deal That Fell Apart
A hastily passed water-and-light purchase ordinance is dead on arrival, while C. B. Wright dangles another railroad in front of Tacoma taxpayers.
- The Town That Was Moved by Rail
When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed established Yakima City in favor of its own private land, it didn't just build a station—it forced an entire town to pack up and move.
- Thirty-Seven Miners Died 150 Feet From Safety
An 1894 coroner's jury in Franklin, Washington, heard how a small fire in the Oregon Improvement Company's coal mine became a wall of smoke — and why the men who could have escaped stayed to fight it.
- Under Fire on the Way to Spokane: Seattle's Militia Rode Into a Rail War
Col. Joseph Green's detachment returns from Spokane after escorting a mutinied company through burned bridges, ambushes and striker country—and the city turns out to cheer.
- The Old Man’s Last Stand: A Father’s Flight from Greedy Heirs Ends in a Sheriff’s Chase
P.V. Thorpe, an elderly pioneer fleeing false rape accusations and property theft by his son and son-in-law, was arrested for carrying a revolver in Seattle—only to be vindicated when the truth about his family’s blackmail scheme came to light.
- The Battle Over Corporate Power at Washington’s Constitutional Convention
As Washington delegates gathered to draft a new state constitution, a heated clash erupted over whether to explicitly restrain the influence of monopolies and the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Tragedy of Mrs. Flood
A desperate attempt at self-destruction reveals the cycle of domestic abuse occurring in a downtown hotel.
- The Battle for Elliott Bay’s Tide Lands
A multi-year legal saga over land rights concludes as the government rejects a claim on Seattle's waterfront.
- Mary Fisher Sues Architect Jasper Fisher Over Marriage Vow
A woman sues a prominent Seattle architect for $10,000, alleging he kept her in a common-law marriage for years before abandoning her for a new bride.
- The Deadly Spring-Gun Trap
A Whatcom man faces a murder conviction for setting a booby-trapped shotgun to defend his vacant cabin.
- The Party Says Not Guilty—and Cheers the Man It Removed
Seattle Democrats put their scandal-scarred administration on trial at Haake's Hall, buried a First Ward delegate fight, and sent David E. Durie into the mayor's race while J.M. Wolfe got the ovation.
- The Receiver Cut Their Pay 2 Cents an Hour. A Judge Made Him Put It Back.
When the Rainier Avenue Electric Railway's court-appointed receiver trimmed motormen's wages from 20 cents to 18 cents an hour, the crews — months behind on pay, with houses in Columbia City bought out of their own wages — took him to court and won.
- The Great Northern Strike: Quiet on the Tracks
Striking workers for the Great Northern railroad maintain a disciplined presence, even stepping in to clear dangerous landslide debris to protect the company's property.
- The Border-Walking Japanese Laborers
An early 1894 legal test of the 'pauper and assisted immigrant law' sees laborers shuttled back and forth across the Washington-Canada border.
- The Mayor Fires Two Police Commissioners to Keep Blackchapel Shut
In a single day, Mayor Phelps removed two police commissioners, accused them of conspiring to protect a red-light district and oust Chief Rogers, and installed replacements before the House of Delegates could slow him down.
- The Poet-Waiter Who Drowned in Seattle Harbor
C. W. Chantrell came from a noble French family and carried a love poem in his pocket. He died broke, alcoholic, and alone on the steamer Idaho—and Seattle's coroner called it an accident.
- A Saw Cut Through His Brain. Seattle Doctors Watched Him Live.
Horatio Stetson's head was nearly split in two by a rip saw at a Seattle mill. Thirty-six hours later, he was talking, moving his limbs, and astonishing the physicians at Providence Hospital.
- Ten Inmates Crawl Through City Jail Roof
A dozen prisoners rip the roof off the city jail, leading to a night of escapes, returns for more whiskey, and public mockery of the facility.
- The Labor Volcano That Cooled: Seattle’s Coal Strike Ends in Days
A walkout by the Knights of Labor at Newcastle and other local mines appeared to be a major escalation, but operators quickly filled the spots with non-union labor, ending the dispute before it could spark a general strike.
- The Pride of the Sound Lost to Fire
Seattle’s fastest steamer, the Flyer, is reduced to a charred hull in a spectacular midnight harbor blaze.
- Tragedy at Lake Washington
A roller coaster at the end of the Madison street line collapsed, injuring a local carpenter and five young boys.
- A House of Prayer for All the Nations
In 1892, Seattle's Congregation Ohaveth Sholom dedicated the first Jewish synagogue in Washington, filling the new sanctuary at Seventh and Seneca with Jews and Gentiles and with sermons that insisted the building must be more than stone and gold.
- The Powerhouse Killing in Hamilton
A quarrel over steam, firewood and a dollar a day left an electric-light manager dead, a young night watchman charged with murder, and a town talking of lynching.
Also about this, in other words
- A Landlord, a Seized Trunk, and a Lady Left in Her Shift
After months on the run, a Populist orator is arrested at a poultry show for holding a tenant's only clothes hostage over unpaid rent.
- Betrayal in the Alley
A grocery store owner was severely beaten and robbed by a young man he had previously befriended.
- The Pulpit vs. The Ring
Dr. S. Alonzo Bright uses a sermon on the 'Demoniac' to launch a stinging public rebuke against corrupt city politicians.
- A Bluff Democrat Tells the State Committee to Hold Its Convention in Hell
Samuel Bass, a Whatcom Democrat, answers a request for advice with a scalding letter about party hacks, shyster judges and tin-horn gamblers.