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 |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1924 | 1 |
24 stories matching directori
- Typographical Union Protests Outsourced Printing
Seattle printers pass a resolution condemning the outsourcing of the local city directory printing to firms in other cities, arguing it drains the local economy.
- The Boomtown That Outgrew Its Directory
In 1876, Seattle's rapid expansion left business directory fact-gatherers in the dust.
- The 1876 Snapshot of a Growing Seattle
A new city directory reveals the frantic pace of 19th-century growth, cataloging the small businesses and shifting population of a frontier town on the cusp of modernization.
- The Paper Blizzard That Ate Washington's Budget
A senate committee blames vague printing laws and verbose officials for a $52,000 deficit—and says thousands of reports are destined for the junk dealer.
- The Ghost of a Phone Directory
A look back at White Bluffs' first phone book reveals a rapidly changing town where most original subscribers have vanished.
- Kennewick’s Satirical Search for a Forest
The local editor lampoons a regional directory for failing to list Kennewick as a premier mountain resort, despite the lack of actual mountains.
- Seattle’s 1872 Brothel Controversy and Public Hypocrisy
A scathing October 1872 letter to the editor condemned a Seattle establishment that advertised itself as a restaurant and skating rink while operating as a brothel, exposing the city’s hypocrisy.
- The First Census of a Boomtown: Seattle’s Population Swells to Nearly 4,000
A newly published directory reveals the explosive growth of the Pacific Northwest's frontier city, detailing a population surge driven by logging camps and coal mines, while highlighting the stark racial demographics of 1876.
- Colfax Burglar Foiled by Quick-Thinking Resident
When a stranger confronted Mrs. A. Coolidge in the night, she bypassed the directory to summon help via telephone.
- A Case of Misspelling
Dr. Royal A. Gove files suit against the Sunset Telephone Company for losing him business after they misspelled his name in the directory.
- The Great Sheep War: Seattle’s Political Flocks and the Independent Goats
A satirical letter to the editor uses a bizarre allegory of sheep herds and wild goats to critique Seattle's political parties, corporate wolves, and the emerging independence of women in public life.
- The 'Pitiful Hedizzened Hurlots': Seattle's Moral Panic Over the Steamship Brothels
In September 1872, a furious editorial in the *Seattle Daily Intelligencer* condemned the floating red-light districts on Puget Sound, accusing steamship lines of carrying 'pollution and death' to every port while politicians looked away.
- Ghosts in the Voting Booth: Election Fraud Suspected in Tacoma
Registration rolls are found to be packed with names of men who don't exist and addresses that aren't there, raising alarms of election rigging.
- A Judge Refuses to Wait: William Holmes Sentenced to Hang
Convicted of murdering a fellow Newcastle miner, a Black defendant hears the death sentence after his lawyer's eleventh-hour challenge to the judge's authority is thrown out.
- A Body in the Bay, and Six Weeks of False Hope
Charles Londale vanished from his Port Blakely home. Six weeks later his body was pulled from the water—with no marks, no answers, and a family that refused to believe he had taken his own life.
- The Explorer Who Died Before His Guidebook Was Printed
Vasco Wilson survived Alaska's Grand Canyon and a Siberian voyage, but typhoid killed him in Seattle just as his Yukon mining guide went to press.
- The Mysterious Hardware Peddler
A man arrested at Front and Pike streets offers a flimsy excuse for the odd assortment of hardware in his possession.
- Who Gets to Dig Seattle’s Sewers? Knights of Labor Accuse City Hall of Hiring by Party Ticket
A labor committee charges that Seattle’s sewer crews were filled with nonresidents and Democratic loyalists while taxpaying workmen were turned away—and that some men were paid for less than they worked.
- The 1877 Guide to Starting Over in Seattle
When settlers from the Midwest wrote to the Seattle Intelligencer asking about the frontier, they got a blunt primer on the local economy, the 'bonanza' of land speculation, and the reality of life in the rainy territory.
- The 'Luck Powder' Swindle
A Seattle man is arrested for selling worthless 'luck powders' to women via mail order—and then suggesting they be used as laundry detergent.
- Richland's Farmer-Owned Phone Line Struggles for Capital
With a rapidly growing subscriber list, the community-owned Richland Telephone Company faces a shortfall in its expansion funds.
- The Foundry That Rose From Seattle’s Ashes
Burned out in the Great Seattle Fire, J. M. Frink’s iron works rebuilt on Grant Street and kept supplying the city’s machinery.
- The Vashon Island Cornerstone
On a Tuesday in May, island residents gathered to lay the foundation for the first Methodist Episcopal Church on Vashon Island, embedding a time capsule of 1886 history into the earth.
- The 'Rich Deed' That Wasn't: Snohomish’s Wild Gold Rush Hoax and the Community’s Reality Check
A sensational tale of a legendary gold mine in Snohomish captivated locals, but the paper quickly pivots to a sobering assessment of the lumber industry's financial struggles and the region's agricultural potential.