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 | 7 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 7 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 5 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
58 stories matching easier
- The Old Man’s Last Stand: A Father’s Flight from Greedy Heirs Ends in a Sheriff’s Chase
P.V. Thorpe, an elderly pioneer fleeing false rape accusations and property theft by his son and son-in-law, was arrested for carrying a revolver in Seattle—only to be vindicated when the truth about his family’s blackmail scheme came to light.
- The Courthouse War
A fierce battle between a judge and county officials leads to a standoff, a jail sentence, and a wild threat to tear down the jailhouse to free the prisoner.
- The Glass Blower’s Death Sentence: How Machinery Turned a Skilled Trade into a Fast Track to the Grave
In Washington state, glass blowers are earning less and dying younger as machines replace men. A union president tells an industrial commission that the 'pace that kills' has turned a once-respectable craft into a brutal struggle for survival.
- Ballard Shingle Mill Workers Organize
A wage reduction sparks the formation of a 500-member labor union in the shingle mill district.
- Carnegie Offers Walla Walla $25,000 — If the City Will Say Yes
A Thanksgiving-week letter from Andrew Carnegie promises a library building for the city, on the condition that Walla Walla furnish a site and $2,500 a year. The council has not yet voted, and the Statesman is impatient.
- The Fire Fiend Stalks Washington
After catastrophic blazes in Seattle, Vancouver, Ellensburg, and Spokane, the Mason County Journal sounds the alarm for Shelton to modernize its water system.
- The Great Housing Crunch of 1889
Following the Great Seattle Fire, a surge of new arrivals finds the city's housing capacity stretched to the breaking point.
- The Muddy Arteries of Early Seattle
Decades before modern paving, Seattle’s civic leaders struggled to build a passable road to the Renton coal mines, leaving thousands of settlers and farmers stranded in the mire.
- The Darkest Hour: Temperance Leader Declares Cause 'Dead' Amidst Political Corruption
At the State Temperance Alliance meeting in Seattle, Rev. Clark Davis delivers a scathing indictment of the liquor industry's grip on politics and religion, while Rep. De Steiguer rallies support for Watson Squire.
- A Murder Near Auburn, a Suspect Who Almost Walked, and a Translator Called In
The killing of a Japanese man near Auburn left investigators with little cooperation and a suspect named Joe; a Japanese-born interpreter was brought in as officials waited for more evidence.
- A Desperate Hour at Front and Main
A young man, weary of the 'burden of life,' is rescued from a suicide attempt in the heart of downtown Seattle.
- The Brutal Survey of Cedar River
Engineers and directors trek through 20 miles of 'impenetrable thickets' to survey a potential rail expansion for the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad.
- The 'Scrawniest Things' on Second Street: A 1889 Fight Over Slum Housing
When the city's building inspector sought clarification on code, he triggered a blistering critique of the shoddy, dangerous 'rookeries' being erected in the shadow of the Great Seattle Fire.
- The Bridge at the Commissioner's Back Door
A group of settlers in the White River Valley accuses a King County commissioner of misusing taxpayer money to build a bridge near his own property, ignoring the needs of the actual traveling public.
- Tacoma Postmaster Fires Women to Hire Men
Local postmaster justifies replacing female clerks with men and his own son by citing efficiency and gossip concerns.
- The Campaign to Open a Mountain Wagon Road
Booster George Smith lobbies Seattle merchants to fund a vital freight route over Snoqualmie Pass.
- The Hop Pickers' Bargain: Growers Cut Wages as Harvest Opens
In the Puyallup Valley, growers try to hold the line at two cents a pound. Crews register, balk and bargain — while Native pickers from British Columbia are turned away in favor of white workers.
- Land Speculation or Lifeline? The Fight Over Seattle’s Lake Washington Canal
Senator Squire battles Southern committee members and rumors of a land grab to keep Seattle’s canal in the federal river and harbor bill.
- The Great Snohomish Church Hunt: Why Our Clergy Keep Fleeing
A local editorial lambasts the community's inability to retain a minister, blaming itinerant preachers for their incompetence and demanding a permanent, educated clergyman who will actually work rather than just preach.
- Forging the Frontier: The Perilous Push for a Stillaguamish Road
A survey team traverses the wilderness from the Snohomish valley to Kent’s Prairie, scouting a path for a wagon road that promised to open the interior to settlement and trade.
- The Governor’s Vision: Washington Territory in 1885
A wide-ranging interview with Governor Watson Squire details the rise of the Cascade division of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the economic optimism of a growing frontier.
- The Struggle for a Green River Road
Settlers in the isolated Green River valley are fighting for a direct road to Seattle, claiming the Northern Pacific Railroad is trying to isolate them to siphon their trade to other towns.
- A Christmas on the Ice King: The Climb That Saw Rainier Smoking
In 1894, Major Ingraham led six men, seven homing pigeons, and a camera onto Mount Rainier’s glaciers. They came back with frostbite, a story of steam and smoke rising from the crater—and one pigeon missing.
- The Cowychee Valley Road Struggle
Settlers in the Cowychee Valley fight for a direct path to North Yakima, trapped by encroaching fences and rugged terrain.
- The State’s Powerless Labor Inspector
A deputy labor commissioner finds poor conditions for women and children in Everett, but discovers the law offers her no teeth to force compliance.
Also about this, in other words
- The 'Easy' Job That Wasn't
A classic tale of a hotel proprietor in Snohomish trying to hoodwink a miner into an impossible, unpaid-labor arrangement.
- The Persistent Promise of Easy Money
A classic 19th-century 'work from home' pitch promises Snohomish laborers a fortune for minimal effort.
- The Smooth Stranger’s Trap: A Banker’s Warning Against the 'Get Rich Quick' Scam
In 1920s Kennewick, local banks warned citizens that 'smooth strangers' peddling investments were likely frauds, urging residents to keep their money in trusted institutions rather than chasing phantom profits.
- Why the Local Editor is Tired of Being an 'Easy Mark'
A frank admission from the Lynden Tribune editor on why local newspapers are finally charging politicians for their campaign announcements.
- The Myth of Easy Prosperity
A Northern Pacific railroad superintendent tells local business leaders that a geographic location on the Columbia is useless without the infrastructure to back it up.
- The Automatic Newsie: Seattle’s 1892 Vision of the Future
Before the digital age, Seattle inventors attempted to automate the news industry with a coin-operated machine that could sell papers, make change, and handle varying formats.
- The State's War on Goiter
Public health officials launch a statewide initiative to prevent goiter in school children using iodine tablets.
- The Struggle for Sidewalk Accessibility in 1877 Seattle
An early editorial plea highlights the difficulty of navigating the city’s unpaved streets where cows, not just people, claimed the right-of-way.