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 |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 11 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 11 |
| 1894 | 11 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
72 stories matching hell
- The Bullet That Missed: A Masked Highwayman’s Attempt on a Seattle Merchant
C.H. Helling of 112 Seventh Avenue was left with a burned face and a shredded lapel after a masked robber opened fire on him while walking with his companion near Pike Street.
- The War on the Farmer’s Telephone Line
When the Northern Pacific Railroad declared that it owned the right of way 'from heaven to hell,' it sparked a bitter, violent fight with rural farmers in Whitman County over their right to connect their communities.
- The Day the 'Mercury' Office Became a Shambles
After an article called his theater a 'branch of hell,' a local theater manager stormed the newspaper office, triggering a violent brawl and a shooting.
- The Whistleblower Who Risked It All on the House Floor
When Washington legislator Metcalfe turned in a bribe, his colleagues turned on him. In a dramatic trial for expulsion, he dared to tell them their political machine was 'as corrupt as hell.'
- Inside the 'Hell Hole': Life for the Unemployed in 1893
An anonymous laborer provides a harrowing account of the brutal conditions and daily struggle for survival in Seattle's winter saloons.
- The Seattle Lottery Scandal of 1876
A local editor confesses his regret for backing a 'legal' lottery that turned the city into an open gambling hell.
- The Hell of Black Diamond
A local clergyman takes a fiery stand against a saloon and dance hall he claims is corrupting the village.
- The Editor, The Gambler, and The Incorruptible Judge
A fiery editorial from 1876 exposes a local feud between the press and the judiciary, revealing a landscape of 'dance houses,' gambling hells, and political bitterness.
- The Struggle for Dignity in Old Age
An editorial reflection on the cruelty of industrial labor and the call for systemic justice for elderly workers.
- "All the Devils in Hell Can't Get Me Out of This Position"
Puget Sound steamboat men spent a year trying to oust the federal hull inspector they accuse of padding his travel expenses. Their affidavits went to Washington City and vanished into red tape — and Bryant kept his job.
- The General Who Couldn't Say 'No' to a Bigot
Lt. Col. George Newton’s stinging reply to a letter writer reveals the ugly underbelly of Seattle’s civic elite in 1897.
- 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 Siege and Tragedy at Friday Harbor
A reclusive farmer's descent into madness and murder in the San Juan Islands ended in a gruesome, fiery standoff with local law enforcement.
- The Effigy in the Pine Tree
Charles Gloystein crossed Spokane County's Populists and woke to find himself hanged in straw. Then he vanished.
- Seattle’s 1876 Anti-Chinese Riot Targeted Chinatown
A white mob swept through Seattle’s Chinatown in 1876, destroying property and threatening residents amid economic fear and racial hatred.
- Olympia Editor's Fatal Shooting Goes to Trial
A high-stakes murder trial begins in Seattle as the prosecution argues a jilted lover's cold-blooded premeditation against the defense's plea of emotional insanity.
- The 'Hell-Trap' Murderer Sentenced to Ten Years
A man who built a lethal spring-gun trap in a remote cabin is sentenced for the death of a laborer who simply sought shelter from the cold.
- 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.
- The Lumber Town That Held Worker's Luggage Hostage
A Grays Harbor mill company is exposed for a predatory scheme that left hundreds of laborers stranded without their personal belongings.
- The Son-in-Law from Hell
A pioneer father-in-law sues for extortion, alleging his relative seized his farm and tossed him out in the rain.
- "That Ticket Has Blood on It": The Night Seattle Was Haunted by a Cursed Bill
A mysterious $5 bill with a death threat scribbled on the back sparked a city-wide panic and a frantic search for two young women who vanished into the night.
- The Devil's Own: Oak Harbor's Waggish Protest Against the Preacher
When a reverend tried to post a notice for his Sunday sermon in the Grange Hall, the locals of Oak Harbor responded with a satirical flyer that dared the Devil himself to show up.
- The Soapbox Fury of Pioneer Place
On a shivering evening in 1892, disgruntled citizens and Populist agitators took to the streets of Seattle to decry 'subsidized editors,' crooked bond issues, and the 'damnable state of things.'
- The Constable and the Club
A Snoqualmie lawman claims self-defense in a Christmas Eve shooting.
- The Mayor and the Judge Clash Over Profanity
A power struggle in Seattle’s municipal court erupted when the mayor and city prosecutor refused to follow a judge's orders to prosecute a case involving a 'cursing' boat captain.