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 |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 4 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 42 |
| 1877 | 26 |
| 1878 | 24 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 6 |
| 1882 | 11 |
| 1883 | 62 |
| 1884 | 22 |
| 1885 | 37 |
| 1886 | 15 |
| 1887 | 18 |
| 1888 | 19 |
| 1889 | 68 |
| 1890 | 20 |
| 1891 | 59 |
| 1892 | 135 |
| 1893 | 130 |
| 1894 | 166 |
| 1895 | 31 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 30 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 58 |
| 1904 | 56 |
| 1905 | 15 |
| 1907 | 4 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 54 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 15 |
| 1915 | 22 |
| 1916 | 30 |
| 1917 | 16 |
| 1918 | 4 |
| 1923 | 5 |
| 1924 | 12 |
| 1925 | 4 |
1,247 stories matching engin
- The Engineer’s Ash-Box Ghost: A Tale of New Year’s Eve Peril
In a column dated October 1870, the Seattle Daily Intelligencer reprints a harrowing tale from an old engineer about surviving a wreck by hiding under his locomotive's ash pan during a blizzard.
- The City Pits Engines Against Each Other at the Waterfront
A competitive trial at the foot of University Street tests a new firefighting engine against the city's established standard.
- The Tacoma Strike, Undone and Redone in a Single Day
Northern Pacific tries to declare victory, but firemen, switchmen and engineers vote to stay out—while Debs wires that the fight is still solid.
- Under Fire on the Way to Spokane: Seattle's Militia Rode Into a Rail War
Col. Joseph Green's detachment returns from Spokane after escorting a mutinied company through burned bridges, ambushes and striker country—and the city turns out to cheer.
- Olympia Bought a $1,500 Sewer Map Critics Called Worthless
A letter to the editor accuses the city council of buying a stranger's sewer plan without scrutiny—complete with a harbor reservoir already condemned in San Diego.
- The Battle for Belltown's Fire Engine
A citizen's fiery demand that the city stop hoarding firefighting resources in the business district and grant the northern residents the protection they pay for.
- The 1893 Plan to Untangle Seattle’s Government
A powerful city official wanted a stronger mayor, a one-house council, and fewer commissions—arguments Seattle still has today.
- The City’s New Fire Engine Takes a Dive
A brand new, expensive fire engine rolls off a wharf and sinks into the bay during a botched test run.
- The Engine House Was Locked—and the Janitor Was at Church
When two fires broke out in Seattle's Chinese quarter, the engine house was locked and the janitor held the key. Bystanders put out the flames—and the paper demanded a fire department overhaul.
- The Navy Wants a Freshwater Harbor in Seattle
A federal board backs the Lake Washington canal as a strategic refuge for steel ships—and a way to escape the teredo worms eating Puget Sound's timber wharves.
- Seattle's New Fire Engine Wrecked on a False Alarm
Answering a call from the Tremont block, the Watrous engine hit the streetcar tracks between South Second and South Third, snapped an axle and toppled—leaving driver Charles Murray and engineer F. M. Collins lucky to be alive.
- A Switch Thrown in the Dark: The Plot to Wreck the Portland Train
Someone opened a Northern Pacific switch on a waterfront trestle just before the night express from Seattle came through — and a quick-thinking crew stopped a hundred passengers short of the deep water.
- The Water Under Walla Walla
As the city weighs Mill Creek against artesian wells, old-timers warn that riparian lawsuits could drown the project.
- A Cow on the Track, a Freight Train in the Air, and Two Dead Railroad Men
A wandering cow derailed a freight train near Latona in 1894, killing two railroad workers and scattering thirteen cars while crewmen ran ahead to flag the passenger trains.
- The Steam Engine Scandal of 1878
When Seattle’s city government faced accusations of graft over a new fire engine, the paper stepped in to defend the city council against 'personal defamation.'
- The City Council Seized Our Engine: A Firehouse Rebellion
When the city government stripped Seattle Engine Company No. 2 of their apparatus to give it to a new company, the firefighters organized a defiant public meeting to protest the 'unwarranted usurpation of authority.'
- The Black Engineer Who Guarded Franklin Mine—and Was Cleared of Assault
After the mine disaster, Oscar Martin stopped a trespassing engineer with a gun. A justice ruled he was doing his job.
- Fairhaven's First Chemical Fire Engine
Without a municipal water system for fire protection, local business leaders are importing a chemical hand engine to prevent city-wide disaster.
- Two Freight Trains Meet Head-On at Van Asselt
A Northern Pacific freight slammed into a Columbia & Puget Sound train near the Denny Clay works, injuring a passenger and forcing crewmen to jump.
- Death on the Seattle Waterfront: A Call for Boiler Safety
An 1886 letter to the editor demands accountability for the 'shoveling engineers' and shoddy steamship maintenance risking lives in Puget Sound.
- The Navy's $600,000 Question: Was the Dry Dock Built on Bad Piles?
A special commission of Army engineers is rushed to Puget Sound to test whether the navy's new dry dock was built on bad piling and inferior concrete.
- An Open Switch, a Tipped Engine, and a Depot in the Dark
A Lake Shore passenger train hit a tampered switch at Dubuque station near Snohomish; the engineer was badly hurt, but every passenger walked away.
- The First Engine: How One Machinist Built Seattle’s Heart
In April 1877, a local machinist named Mr. Bullene constructed the first engine ever built in Seattle for Stetson & Post’s new lumber mill, marking a pivotal moment in the city's industrial infancy.
- The Last Hurrah for Walla Walla’s Volunteer Firemen
An era of local firefighting comes to a close as the city ships off the historic hand engines and hook-and-ladder trucks that defined the volunteer department for decades.
- Steam Engineers Eye Unionization
A committee of local engineers is interviewing workers across the city, hoping to bolster professional standards and gain representation in the Trades Council.