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.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1894 | 1 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 5 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
29 stories matching chester
- The Smuggler's Shield: How a Seattle Customs Chief Defended Himself in Tacoma
In the height of the 1888 opium smuggling scandal, Chief Inspector Gardner takes the stand in Tacoma, claiming he was set up by political rivals to cover his own failures.
- The Runaway and the Judge's Mercy
After a judge shows leniency to a young bicycle thief, the boy absconds with his brother-in-law's money.
- Burning Oil, a Shattered Shanty, and a Logger Who Threw Two Men to Safety
Chester LaChapelle rescued his cousin and a roommate after a gasoline stove exploded near Kapowsin, sacrificing his own face and hands to the flames.
- The Four-Year-Old at the Heart of a Custody War
After a day of dueling accusations, Judge Humes rules that little Chester Stewart stays with his mother — and has a word for anyone who would take a child over bad language.
- The Stranger in the Basket
A disoriented woman arrives at the St. Charles Hotel, sparking a frantic search for her family in a city still finding its footing.
- The Man Who Tried to Break Out of Jail (And Failed)
Chester Collins, a convict serving time for assault, was caught trying to escape the Thurston County jail in January. He escaped, fled to Shelton, and immediately got into trouble again—landing him back in the Walla Walla Penitentiary.
- The Sheriff’s Son and the Jailbreak
A quick-thinking schoolboy foils a planned escape at the Vancouver county jail.
- The Eastern Oregon Burned at Percival’s Wharf
A repair crew’s paint store caught fire aboard the steamship Eastern Oregon, forcing men to jump forty feet to the mudflats and killing one cook; the blaze threatened Percival’s Wharf before rain helped firefighters.
- The Night a Bullet Whistled Through the Vice President’s Window
A brush with political assassination in Seattle's past—revealed only after the danger had passed.
- The Opium Conspiracy: How Seattle’s Customs Chief Played Both Sides
A dramatic trial reveals a scheme where federal inspectors smuggled contraband across the border while pretending to seize it, exposing deep corruption in early 20th-century Pacific Northwest law enforcement.
- A Lost Child’s Desperate Run Across the West
After his family splintered, a 14-year-old boy arrived in Tacoma alone, setting off a chain of bicycle thefts as he tried to find a way home.
- 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 Great McNeils Island Prison Break
Two convicts who vanished while building jetties for the government spark a frantic, bloodhound-led manhunt across the Puget Sound.
- A Toddler’s Cough Saves a Family from Fire
An 18-month-old infant is credited with waking his parents, Mr. and Mrs. T. L. Joslyn, just in time to escape a house fire in South Tacoma.
- The Battle for the Navy Yard: Tacoma’s Chamber of Commerce Fights Back
As federal naval commissioners arrive in Seattle to evaluate potential sites for a new shipyard, Tacoma’s business leaders unveil a massive dossier arguing their city’s superiority over Puget Sound.
- The Jailbreak at Chehalis
Three prisoners on the run from the Chehalis jail are recaptured by a diligent Sheriff in Seattle, ending their brief taste of liberty.
- The Swine Swindle Sweeping the State
A state professor warns farmers against sophisticated livestock contracts that promise riches but leave them holding the bag.
- The Bridesville Robbery Trial
An accused train and store robber is sent to jail while the Canadian government works to extradite him across the border.
- The Irish Revolutionary Speaking in Seattle
A profile of Captain John McCafferty, a former Confederate soldier turned Irish republican militant, ahead of his local political rally.
- The Iron Road Approaches
Booster predictions anticipate the arrival of the Great Northern railway in Yakima within the year.
- The Pig That Pays the Bills: How Swine Became Puget Sound’s Secret Wealth
In 1876, while Seattle looked to timber and fish for its future, a local article argued that raising hogs on wheat stubble was the most reliable path to prosperity.
- Watch Thief Nabbed at Lake Washington
A young man loses his gold watch and chain at the Madison Street terminus; an arrest follows, though the watch remains missing.
- Seattle Tries to Halve Its Street-Light Bill
A council debate over arc versus incandescent lamps exposed ward rivalries and a fight over how much control the city should keep over a private lighting contract.
- Jubilee Singers Pack Seattle's Maison Doree Theater
A touring African-American jubilee troupe drew a capacity crowd to the Maison Doree Theater, mixing music and comedy that left the house roaring.
- Drifters on the Columbia
Three adventurers arrive in Kennewick via a 300-mile journey on a homemade scow from Kettle Falls.