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 | 1 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 12 |
| 1893 | 15 |
| 1894 | 12 |
| 1895 | 7 |
55 stories matching improp
- A Sudden Arrest at Seventh and King
A husband called the constable to a downtown lodging-house to arrest his wife for 'improper association,' only to drop the charges once he realized the consequences.
- Street Grading Blunder Ruins Home
A Seattle property owner sues for $10,000 after city street work triggers landslides.
- A Rebuttal from the Republican Ranks
John F. Cragwell, a prominent Black Republican leader, rejects claims of party dissatisfaction.
- A $25,000 Suit for Stolen Affection
An 1892 Seattle husband took his wife’s alleged lover to court—and put a price on heartbreak.
- Scandal at the Soldiers' Home
A commandant of the Washington Soldiers' Home faces accusations of improper conduct, sparking a defensive manifesto signed by his comrades.
- Fire Chief Hunt Faces Citizenship Probe
Seattle's Fire Chief is accused of fraudulent naturalization, triggering a tense standoff within the Board of Fire Commissioners.
- The Judge Who Kept His Robes
A House committee found Spokane's Judge Jesse Arthur 'grossly improper' for the bench. The legislature then voted 21 to 47 to drop the whole matter.
- Violent Confrontation in a Tacoma Gulch
A long-standing feud between neighbors leads to a gruesome stabbing incident.
- Court Overturns Nonsuit in Ballard Mill Fatality
State Supreme Court rules that a yard boss is not a 'fellow servant,' reviving a lawsuit for a worker killed in a mill accident.
- Stockholder Blocks Seattle-Lake Shore Rail Payments
A Minnesota stockholder successfully secured an injunction against the Northern Pacific, complicating the finances of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern railroad.
- The Asylum Poisoning Scandal
A state mental hospital is rocked by accusations that a patient was murdered, triggering a battle between local officials and an Eastern chemist.
- The Monkey, the Fireboat, and the Captain's Temper
A Seattle fireboat captain and a stoker face a city board investigation after a dispute involving an 'odious comparison' to a monkey.
- Work Relief at the County Farm
Faced with a surge of unemployment and the limitations of traditional charity, King County Commissioners implement a work-for-pay program to sustain struggling families.
- A Close Call for a Young Girl
A man is held for trial after attempting to assault a girl at his cabin near the foot of Pike Street.
- The Fight Against Seattle's Regrade Taxes
Property owners on South Twelfth and South Fourteenth streets take the city to court to block land seizures over controversial street-grading assessments.
- The Great City Treasury Mystery
A skeptical newspaper accuses the Seattle city government of diverting public funds meant for the Lake Union sewer tunnel into private speculations.
- The City Park Scandal: A Machine for Partisan Gains
A 1892 city council investigation exposed how municipal park commissioners treated city labor as their own private political machine.
- The Price of Independent Journalism
The Post-Intelligencer faces a libel suit for investigating city contract corruption.
- Seattle's Sanitation Crisis
Dr. Sparling warns that improper sewage and garbage handling create a public health menace, risking disease in the rapidly growing city.
- The School Board's Investigation of Teacher Martina Johnston
A teacher at Denny School faced charges of 'gross vulgarity' brought by the American Protective Association, but her colleagues and former students overwhelmingly defended her character.
- The Mystery of the Missing Infant
After the death of Hannah Whitnall, conflicting stories from her relatives and an unusual exhumation led to a macabre public investigation regarding a missing child's remains.
- The Ghost Hand of a Seattle Brakeman
After a gruesome industrial accident, a local railroad worker claimed his severed hand was 'following' him, leading to a strange and macabre search by local undertakers.
- The Divorce Case of the Pipe-Smoking Bride
A suburban Tacoma man files for divorce, citing his wife’s preference for tobacco over domestic obedience and her alleged indiscretions with neighbors.
- The Fight for Washington’s Capital
The constitutional convention’s attempt to prematurely cement Olympia as the capital sparks outrage.
- The National Guard’s Growing Pains at Camp Murray
A critical inspector's report details the state militia's encampment struggles, the sudden death of a beloved officer, and the push for a permanent home for Washington’s citizen soldiers.