Research the archive
Narrow 25,688 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.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1891 | 19 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1916 | 2 |
43 stories matching calkin
- The Six Who Vanished: Tacoma’s Senatorial Scandal and the Art of Political Silence
In the wake of a bitter Washington State Senate race, the six key allies of defeated candidate Judge Calkins have disappeared from public view, leaving behind a trail of bribery allegations and a furious debate over whether the election was stolen or won by superior strategy.
- The Political Toboggan: Tacoma's Revolt Against a Carpetbagger Candidate
As the state legislature prepared to convene in 1891, prominent Tacoma Republicans publicly abandoned their own local candidate, labeling him an opportunist from Indiana.
- The Gall and Wormwood of Olympia: Tacoma’s Defeat in the Senate Race
As Washington's first U.S. Senator is chosen in a bitter legislative battle, defeated candidate Calkins' supporters cry foul, while Jefferson County delegates secure the victory for Watson Squire.
- The $500 Vote: How a Spokane Judge’s Bribery Plot Exposed Seattle’s Political Rot
In the winter of 1903, Washington’s legislature was paralyzed by a scandal involving bribed senators and a desperate governor. When Representative Metcalfe revealed he was paid to vote for Judge Calkins, the resulting investigation tore through Olympia’s elite, revealing a web of corruption that threatened to define the state’s young democracy.
- The Political Bazaar of 1891: How the Calkins Faction Tried to Buy the Senate
In a frantic scramble to seize power, legislative 'strikers' in Olympia flooded the capital with promises of patronage and political favors, mirroring the high-stakes, behind-the-scenes maneuvering that still defines state politics.
- The Candy That Killed: A Postal Clerk’s Tragic Mistake in Seattle
In May 1904, Assistant Postmaster W. H. Metralfe died after eating candy given to him by a stranger at the Seattle station, sparking an investigation into motive and madness.
- The School Clerk Feud
A neighborhood dispute over a school clerk election resulted in a woman hitting a man with her umbrella.
- The Price of a Senate Seat: Inside the 1891 Power Struggle in Olympia
As a crucial U.S. Senate election looms, Seattle political figures and state legislators grapple with accusations of bribery, railroad monopolies, and the 'corrupt' influence of money in Washington’s halls of power.
- The First Suit for Alimony Without Divorce in Washington
A husband leaves his wife and moves in with his son, but a judge intervenes to ensure the abandoned spouse retains the little property they had.
- The Senatorial Duel: A Tale of Two Cities and One Beltway Seat
As the Washington legislature prepares to convene in 1891, the race for the U.S. Senate descends into a fierce local rivalry between established incumbent Watson C. Squire of Seattle and the ambitious newcomer Judge William H. Calkins of Tacoma.
- The Great Umbrella Dispute of Mercer Island
A school election dispute turns into a physical altercation, highlighting the intensity of local politics.
- An Editor Caught Lying About the Deal That Made a U.S. Senator
J. W. Lysons says the collector's removal had nothing to do with Boss McGraw's bargain — but the Tribune has his own dispatch from Olympia, sent during the fight, to prove otherwise.
- The Tacoma Land Grab: How Rich Men Tried to Steal Washington’s Senate Seat
In January 1891, Seattle’s press rallied behind incumbent Senator Watson Squire against a rival backed by Tacoma’s wealthy elite, exposing a bitter battle over whether the state would be ruled by its people or its land barons.
- The High-Stakes Senate Betting Scandal
A political showdown over the U.S. Senate seat between Judge Calkins and Senator Watson C. Squire turns into a frantic, high-dollar gambling display in an Olympia hotel lobby.
- The Senatorial Bribery Scandal Rocking Olympia
A state judge admits to soliciting votes for the Senate through promises of state institution locations, casting a shadow over the political corruption of the 1891 legislative session.
- Squire Arrives in Olympia as Senate Fight Heats Up
As Senator Watson Squire arrives to secure his reelection, the halls of the state capital are buzzing with political maneuvering, railroad regulation debates, and the lingering shadow of the Wounded Knee massacre.
- The Political Smoke of 1891: Backroom Deals and Populist Uprisings
While Washington’s early legislature debated the direct election of senators and railroad regulation, backroom meetings at the Olympia Hotel signaled the enduring influence of corporate power.
- The Capitol Riots: How a Bribery Scandal Shook Washington’s First Legislature
In the halls of Olympia, Republican lawmakers turned on each other with fists and threats over a U.S. Senate seat, exposing a brazen attempt to buy votes that disgraced the young state.
- The Great Railway Bribe Scandal of 1891
When the Northern Pacific Railway sent complimentary transit passes to Washington state legislators to influence a deadlocked U.S. Senate race, the blunder sparked a statewide scandal over corruption and corporate power.
- The Sting That Toppled a Representative
When Washington state lawmaker John L. Metcalfe accepted a bribe to expose corruption, the legislature responded by trying to expel him instead of the briber.
- The Olympia Hotel Riot
A political caucus to nominate a U.S. Senator erupts into a shouting match and physical brawl as factions clash over the candidate list.
- The Calkins Hotel Despoiled
A real estate trust claims tenants of an East Seattle hotel are gutting the building and flooding its rooms in a scorched-earth dispute over a lease.
- The Real Estate Dream of Cicero Heights
Promoters promised a 'Coney Island' of the Pacific Northwest, selling a vision of leisure, excursion boats, and suburban paradise to early Seattle speculators.
- The 'Coney Island' of Lake Washington
A speculative real estate pitch for East Seattle promises dancing, boat houses, and a 10-cent excursion to turn the lake into a premier leisure destination.
- The City That Vanished: Seattle’s First Real Estate Bubble and the Ghosts of Terry’s Addition
A look back at January 1890, when Seattle’s land boom was in full swing, prices were soaring, and developers like George Dorffel were selling lots in new subdivisions to speculators eager for a quick profit.
Also about this, in other words
- Cusick Wants a Calaboose as Railroad Roughs Run Wild
A justice of the peace petitions county commissioners for a jail after railroad construction crews bring drinking, brawling, and black eyes to town.
- Newport's Petition to Expel the Kalispel
In 1909, a petition circulated by a local captain asked Congress to move Calispel families off their Pend Oreille Valley lands—using smallpox and timber fires as arguments for removal.
- The Valley the Kalispel Never Ceded
A federal allotting agent explains how the Kalispel Valley was divided into individual parcels—after much of it had already been treated as public domain and claimed by white homesteaders.
- Two Neighbors Decide to Build Their Own Road to Town
Farmers of the Calispel valley and two men along the route plan a new road that skips the Bobier hill grade and shaves two miles off the haul to Newport — if the town will chip in.
- A Dangerous Fall at the Calispel Spur
A railroad inspector suffers a broken collarbone after stepping off a train in the dark and falling twenty feet into the river bank.
- City Hall Moving into the Eakin Building
In a move to consolidate services, Kennewick's city government will relocate its offices and fire department to the corner of Second and Pacific.
- A Californian Comes Back After Five Years and Can't Believe His Eyes
Property owner C. E. Williams steps off the train expecting the old town and finds a boom instead—then pledges to spend freely fixing up the derelict second story of his block.
- Consolidating City Hall
Kennewick officials eye the Eakin building to house the city clerk, police, and fire station under one roof.