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 |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 7 |
38 stories matching absorb
- City Hall Moves to Consolidate Sewer Oversight
The Seattle Board of Health moves to cut the 'unnecessary' sewer inspector position, arguing the city engineer and plumbing inspector can easily absorb the light workload of ten inspections a month.
- The $3 Switching Fee That Almost Sunk Seattle's Grain Warehouse
Northern Pacific and Great Northern agree to absorb the fee, clearing the way for a new grain warehouse at the foot of Battery Street—and a bid to make Seattle a wheat port.
- The Day Seattle’s Streets Became a Minefield
In September 1876, the city’s main commercial artery was so full of potholes and water that officials warned it would become 'deplorable' before winter set in.
- The Struggle Against the Telegraph Monopoly
Public frustration with the Western Union monopoly mounts as strikes cause service delays, sparking a national debate over the necessity of a government-run postal telegraph system.
- The Racialized Panic Over Real Estate
A reprint from the San Francisco Chronicle warns Seattle property owners against renting to the Chinese, using inflammatory rhetoric about declining property values.
- The Great Northern's Rate War and the Seattle Boom
A fierce transcontinental rate war brings economic turbulence but potential windfall for Seattle wholesalers.
- A Sermon on Coxeyism and Industrial Slavery
At the Jewish Synagogue, a lecture connects the ancient Mosaic laws of land and rest to the desperate economic realities of the 1894 Depression.
- The Sewer Scandal: A Whistleblower’s Warning
City Engineer Thomson testified that he repeatedly warned officials against using sub-standard, 'rotten' brick in Seattle’s sewer construction, only to be ignored as the project fell into corruption and mismanagement.
- The City That Almost Was: The 1891 Annexation Election
A historic ballot reveals how Seattle once planned its expansion by absorbing the suburban districts of Salmon Bay, Fremont, and Latona.
- The Railroad Rate That Could Sink a Shingle Mill
As Seattle shingle manufacturers weigh a boycott of the Northern Pacific, they look to the Great Northern—and worry the fight could hit local dealers.
- The Great Northern Paralyzed: A Railway Strike Grips the Northwest
American Railway Union members walk off the job, leaving trains idle and the city's rail infrastructure in limbo as local brotherhoods face a takeover by a newer, militant labor force.
- A Theatrical Triumph in Old Seattle
Local audiences pack Frye's Opera House to witness a powerful performance of 'The Wages of Sin,' marking a high point for regional dramatic arts.
- The Price of Growth: How Seattle’s Economy Faced the Boom and Bust of 1877
A look back at the financial anxieties and rapid development of 1877 Seattle, as the young city navigated the transition from frontier town to an emerging regional market.
- The Corporate Takeover of the Lake Shore Line
A legal battle reveals how the Northern Pacific Railroad absorbed a smaller rival, leaving shareholders and the public in the dark about the true costs of regional expansion.
- The Black Gold Rush of 1888
As Seattle's industry boomed, the city's hunger for coal outpaced its supply, triggering a frantic expansion of mines across the territory.
- The Tragic Busking of Mr. Schengler
Inspired by a legend of a famous opera star, a local man attempts to sing his way to fame on the streets of Seattle—with a painful result.
- The Fight for Public Water in Ballard
Before Ballard was absorbed by Seattle, its citizens held a heated public meeting to reject corporate control of their water supply, demanding municipal ownership instead.
- The Unlikely Democracy of Old Seattle's Social Clubs
While business leaders built the city’s economy, a fragile web of tennis courts, chess clubs, and elite cotillion circles defined its social fabric in 1891.
- The Prank on the Train
A flirtatious encounter on a local commute leads to an unexpected and humiliating lesson for an overly confident young man.
- The Ferryman of the Dark River
An encounter on the waterfront reveals the quiet, lingering melancholy of a man reflecting on the 'old timey days' and the hard reality of post-slavery life.
- The Fragile Earth Beneath Our Feet
An 1877 editorial from the Seattle Daily Intelligencer warns that the city's obsession with waste and its failure to return fertility to the land mirror the downfall of Rome.
- The Last Ride of the 'Paper Railroad'
When Seattle’s homegrown lifeline, the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern, was absorbed by the Northern Pacific, the city lost its independence—but gained its seat at the table of transcontinental commerce.
- The 1878 Dream of Building Societies
A look at the early mutual loan movement, promising that the average working man could escape the cycle of high rent and finally own his home.
- The Hidden Labor of the Kitchen
A late 19th-century editorial critiques the grueling, unregulated work conditions of domestic servants in Seattle households.
- The Shadow Over Seattle's Waterfront
As the anti-Chinese movement spreads through the Pacific Northwest, agitators in Seattle and Tacoma organize a campaign of expulsion, claiming the city's prosperity is at risk.