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 |
|---|---|
| 1903 | 23 |
| 1904 | 1 |
24 stories matching desert
- Speculation and Contests Arise Over Columbia River Sands
Long-neglected riverbank lands near the Snake River junction are suddenly subject to legal contests as settlers rush to file desert land claims.
- Divorce and Desertion in Walla Walla
A local mother is granted custody of her son after her husband abandons the family for two years.
- The Land Office Libel Suit
A North Yakima man faces criminal charges after accusing a former land register of orchestrating a fraudulent land claim.
- The Desert Land Rush of 1903
Speculators and settlers stake claims in the arid sagebrush near Pasco, betting that irrigation will transform the wasteland into a garden.
- Vancouver’s Sunday Shutdown
The saloon keepers of Vancouver, Washington, enforce a strict city-wide Sunday closure, leaving the town deserted.
- The Barber's Great Escape
A local barber skips town, leaving behind a mountain of debt, a jilted wife, and a lover, all while chasing a lifestyle he couldn't afford.
- The End of Fort Walla Walla
General Funston recommends abandoning the Walla Walla garrison, citing it has 'outlived its usefulness.'
- A Seventeen-Year-Old's Failed Quest for a Marriage License
After her father abandoned her, a young woman faced the rigid wall of bureaucratic requirements when she tried to marry.
- The Unhappy Home of the Chittendens
A husband seeks a divorce after years of allegedly chaotic domestic disputes and his wife's sudden departure.
- The Railroad Lobby's Secret Campaign in Eastern Washington
Critics expose a scheme to install a puppet candidate in the governor’s office to prevent the creation of a railroad commission.
- The Struggle for Water and Land
Senator Paris Gibson warns that current public land laws benefit speculators over families, urging a return to the Homestead Act to prevent the West from becoming a territory of landlords.
- The Political Auction of Senator Foster's Seat
Railroad lobbyists are allegedly moving to replace Senator Foster with a hand-picked stevedore, sparking a fierce debate over corporate influence in Washington politics.
- The Fight to Unlock Eastern Washington’s Water
Walla Walla leaders push for state irrigation reform to access millions in federal reclamation funding.
- The Walla Walla Press Wars
The Evening Statesman calls out its rival, the Argus, for flip-flopping on its anti-saloon crusade to appease business interests.
- The Barber of Walla Walla’s Trail of Ruin
After abandoning his wife and children to a life of poverty, a local barber's volatile affair in Spokane ends in an arrest.
- Walla Walla's Long Fight to Keep Its Fort
Military brass push to abandon the historic garrison, sparking a fierce local campaign to keep the troops in the valley.
- Turning the Desert Green: A Bold Plan to Irrigate the Pasco Sands
A new company, backed by railroad officials and engineering innovators, aims to pump Columbia River water into the Franklin County arid lands.
- A Short-Lived Union
A Snohomish County couple files for divorce just two months after their wedding day, citing incompatibility and the isolation of ranch life.
- The Price of Meddling: Mother-in-Law Ordered to Pay for Alienating Son's Affections
After a bitter legal battle over a forced marriage and the sudden promise of Klondike gold, a young wife successfully sues her mother-in-law for shattering her home.
- The Price of Carrying Water for the Political Machine
Adam Schmidt is caught in a legal trap after paying for naturalization papers; local observers note his 'whilom friends' are paying his legal fees only to keep him silent.
- The Lieutenant Who Left a Wife Behind
A Walla Walla officer’s engagement is shattered by a letter from Manila, revealing he may have married a Filipino woman while stationed there—and now she’s coming to claim him.
- The Desert Awakens in Kittitas
A massive engineering feat to bring water to 15,000 acres, bankrolled by local Ellensburg businessmen.
- The Struggle for Dignity
An editorial on the right to rest and the evolving power of the working class as Labor Day approaches.
- The President's Visit: Roosevelt, the 'Mysterious Syndicate,' and the Fight for Pasco’s Soil
In May 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt toured Walla Walla, drawing massive crowds and sparking local fears of land speculators. While his speech at Whitman College praised pioneer virtues, a parallel editorial warned that a 'Seattle Syndicate' was hoarding arid land near Pasco, betting on federal irrigation projects to inflate prices for settlers.