Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 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 | 3 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 55 |
| 1877 | 39 |
| 1878 | 9 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 5 |
| 1882 | 7 |
| 1883 | 50 |
| 1884 | 16 |
| 1885 | 28 |
| 1886 | 9 |
| 1887 | 13 |
| 1888 | 31 |
| 1889 | 70 |
| 1890 | 11 |
| 1891 | 36 |
| 1892 | 56 |
| 1893 | 30 |
| 1894 | 23 |
| 1895 | 31 |
| 1897 | 3 |
| 1898 | 10 |
| 1899 | 7 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1903 | 21 |
| 1904 | 20 |
| 1905 | 5 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 8 |
| 1909 | 28 |
| 1910 | 7 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 8 |
| 1915 | 7 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1923 | 6 |
| 1924 | 3 |
| 1925 | 2 |
686 stories matching growth
- Managing the Fragile Growth of Kennewick Orchards
Agricultural expert warns that current pruning methods are leaving local pear trees top-heavy and vulnerable.
- The Seattle Rail Boom of 1888
A massive new contract with a Canadian firm promises to connect Seattle to the transcontinental rail line, fueling the city's rapid, foundation-building growth.
- The Moose Lodge Takes Over Downtown Everett
One thousand members of the Loyal Order of Moose paraded down Hewitt Avenue to mark the rapid growth of the fraternal order in the city.
- Seattle Merchants Fight New Mortgage Taxes
The Chamber of Commerce warns that taxing mortgages will strangle the city's growth and drive away essential investment.
- Orchardists Battle the Blight
District Horticultural Inspector Luke Powell warns local farmers against over-irrigating their young apple trees to prevent the spread of fire blight.
- Newport's Schools Open to a Crowd—and a Growth Chart
With 211 pupils enrolled on the first day and 250 expected, Newport reads its own boom in the school register, five years after a single teacher taught about 30 children.
- The Coal Rush: How 1876 Industry Linked Seattle and Tacoma
A historic editorial argues that the expansion of Northern Pacific Railroad coal lines from Puyallup will drive mutual prosperity for Seattle and its southern neighbor.
- A Builder's Conflict: Parkinson and the City Contract
Local contractors and workers spar over a building contract awarded to an architect, sparking a debate about public versus private interest in Seattle's growth.
- The Palace of Belltown
W. W. Bell constructs a massive, modern hotel at Front and Battery streets, signaling a new era of growth for the northern expansion of Seattle.
- Seattle’s Half-Million Dollar Federal Windfall
Senator Squire secures a unanimous committee recommendation for a $500,000 federal building in Seattle, citing the city's explosive growth and soaring customs receipts.
- Jackson Uses City Records to Defend Tacoma's Growth
A city official defends rising administrative costs by pointing to the massive expansion of Tacoma's infrastructure.
- The 1876 Pitch: Why Seattle Was Bound to Boom
A booster’s argument from the pages of 1876 explains why the town was destined to become the 'leading city of the northern coast'—and why land speculators could never stop it.
- The Curse of the Mossback Landowner
An editorial critique of local speculators and property owners blamed for stalling Aberdeen's growth during the post-boom downturn.
- The Fight for Rail Access
Local boosters push back against a cynical newspaper report claiming Aberdeen does not need a new railroad depot.
- Everett Labor Leaders Send Aid to Swedish Strikers
The local Trades Council maintains international solidarity while reporting growth in local union membership.
- The Struggle for Space: Seattle’s Overcrowded Schools in 1887
An 1887 inspection of Seattle's public schools reveals a city straining against its rapid growth, featuring dilapidated buildings, overcrowding, and a desperate search for adequate space for its pupils.
- Seattle Laid Out Its Streets for 7,000 People. It Was Already Too Small.
In 1883, Seattle citizens worried that the young city's twenty-foot business streets could not carry the growth already under way, and a movement began to widen them to eighty feet.
- The Free Real Estate Gamble of 1876
Facing a housing crunch, a prominent developer offers free land to anyone willing to build—a desperate move to spur growth in North Seattle.
- The Queen City’s Wealth
Seattle's tax assessments reveal a period of explosive growth, positioning the town as the financial center of the Pacific Northwest.
- The Mystery of the Degenerate Wheat
A local doctor presents a strange botanical specimen that challenges the agricultural wisdom of 1859.
- Everett’s Fire Chief Sounds the Alarm on City Infrastructure
A scathing report from Chief Taro highlights crumbling fire stations, outdated equipment, and the city's struggle to keep pace with rapid growth.
- The Motherlode of Mason County
A report on the incredible timber yield of a Satstop River quarter-section, highlighting the massive economic potential of Washington's old-growth forests.
- The Puyallup Land Dispute: A Forgotten Fight for City Growth
In 1892, Representative John L. Wilson proposed liquidating the Puyallup Indian Reservation to spur the growth of Tacoma, highlighting the long-standing tension between tribal sovereignty and urban expansion.
- Rudyard Kipling's Western Frontier Dispatch
The renowned writer muses on the frantic growth of new towns, the 'epidemic of politics' in the Canadian prairies, and the restless ambition of the Pacific Northwest.
- Ex-Governor Ferry’s Case for Washington
Former Governor Elisha Ferry compares Washington’s explosive growth to California’s stagnation, arguing that railroads are the lifeblood of civic progress.
Also about this, in other words
- The Growing Divide: A 1889 Look at Wealth Inequality
A century before modern debates on income disparity, a Seattle newspaper reflected on a New York attorney's grim statistics concerning the extreme concentration of American wealth.
- Seattle's Frontier Expansion
A report on the rapid growth, construction, and economic development of Seattle in 1883.
- The Wages of Growth: Seattle's 1876 Economic Anxiety
As Seattle struggled to establish a foothold in a rugged, isolated frontier, local business owners lamented the 'high' cost of labor and warned that economic survival depended on lower pay.
- The Original Seattle Growth Strategy
In 1877, business leaders debated how to fund a private office to lure immigrants from 'grasshopper-stricken' regions, mirroring today's debates over attracting talent and industry to the Pacific Northwest.
- The Boom Will Not Be Questioned
Three months in Spokane Falls and the Review answers the doubters: the hammers are still ringing, the hotels are full, and when the Northern Pacific opens in September the real rush begins.
- The Growing Pains of Everett
A nostalgic look at the early days of Everett, from the rough-and-tumble construction boom to the economic despair of the 'hard times' and the eventual rise of a working-class city.
- Seattle's schoolhouses couldn't keep up with the boom
A new census showed Seattle's school-age population far outstripping its two schools, forcing the district to plan a third—and maybe a fourth and fifth—building.
- The Boomtown Myth of 1889
As Seattle entered the year of the Great Fire, the local press touted a narrative of unstoppable, 'solid' growth that masked the fragility of an exploding city.