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.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 22 |
| 1876 | 119 |
| 1877 | 88 |
| 1878 | 67 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 20 |
| 1882 | 22 |
| 1883 | 85 |
| 1884 | 47 |
| 1885 | 124 |
| 1886 | 77 |
| 1887 | 58 |
| 1888 | 94 |
| 1889 | 179 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 76 |
| 1892 | 288 |
| 1893 | 296 |
| 1894 | 236 |
| 1895 | 50 |
| 1899 | 64 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 13 |
| 1904 | 9 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 3 |
| 1924 | 1 |
2,050 stories matching hous
- The Missing Will That Would Have Given Seattle a Library
Henry Yesler's widow and two doctors are arrested, accused of burning a will that left the pioneer's fortune—and his mansion—to the city.
- The House on J Street: A Tenant’s Defiance
When Milton Spinning bought a house in Seattle for his own use, he didn't expect to find a stranger occupying it against his will.
- The Queen Anne Fire That Nearly Took Mrs. Geddes
A lamp explosion before dawn sent Professor Geddes into a smoke-filled house to rescue his unconscious wife.
- Seattle's Fire Chief Accused as the Council Wrestles a Telephone Franchise and a Paving Bill
Both houses of the city council meet late into the night: charges that Chief Hunt holds office under false pretenses, a twenty-five-year franchise for the Seattle Home Telephone Company, and a fight over who pays for the sick and injured.
- A Yesler Avenue Divorce Scandal Gets a Merciless Airing
Testimony closes in one of Seattle’s most notorious divorce cases, with Mary Steel cross-examined for hours and a money collector named Dugan on the defensive.
- The Mayor Fires Two Police Commissioners to Keep Blackchapel Shut
In a single day, Mayor Phelps removed two police commissioners, accused them of conspiring to protect a red-light district and oust Chief Rogers, and installed replacements before the House of Delegates could slow him down.
- A Desperate Jump at the Spring Street Wharf
Deserted, drinking, and despondent, Kate Johnson tried to drown herself in Seattle harbor—then fought the men who pulled her out.
- The Bloody Hammer and the Brewer's Wife
Seattle prosecutors rest their murder case against Craemer after a courtroom day of fire, hidden gold, and a suspect whose hands shook at the sight of the weapon.
- 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 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.
- A Missing Man, a Dead Wife, and a Sewing Machine Full of Money
Joseph Von Lingenau vanished after his wife died in childbirth. His friends fear murder; his neighbors remember a man coming apart.
- A Wall of Smoke and Flame Across Puget Sound
Forest fires from Hood Canal to the Nooksack Valley left dozens of families homeless in 1894, while smoke turned steamboat travel blind and daily life in Seattle into a gray haze.
- She Fought a Sailor in the Dark—and Helped Police Find Him by Morning
Mary Kriser, who ran a lodging house at South Second and Weller streets, was robbed and sexually assaulted in September 1894. A neighbor broke down a door, and police identified a suspect within ninety minutes.
- A Suicide Attempt at the Columbia House—and a Landlord's Cold Comfort
Flora Sullivan, separated from her husband, took morphine in her room at Third and Columbia. She survived, but the paper made her despair a public story.
- A Church Scandal Erupts in a Seattle Libel Trial
M. H. Nichols stood accused of criminally libeling Presiding Elder T. B. Ford. The defense spent the day trading rumors, old grudges, and one complaint about the prosecutor's booming voice.
- The Price of Admission: A 1887 Seattle Real Estate Crisis
When the city's housing shortage became so acute that a book dealer had to buy an entire printing business just to secure a roof over his head.
- The Great Statehood Gamble: How Washington Territory Bet Its Future on a Coin Flip
In February 1889, Congress passed the 'Omnibus Bill' granting statehood to four territories simultaneously. For Seattle and Tacoma, this wasn't just political news—it was a high-stakes gamble that would determine their city limits, tax structures, and place in history.
- The Chief Says the Victims Were Drunk
Two men said they were robbed and ignored by Seattle police. Chief Enright answered with a saloon-to-alley account of drink, deeds, and a woman called 'Big Six.'
- The Schoolhouse That Wasn't: Seattle’s Bureaucratic Battle Over Public Education
In 1877, a local dispute over the construction of a new school in Helltown reveals the early struggles of civic infrastructure and the tension between taxpayer demands and administrative delay.
- The Dynamite of Gilman: A Murderous Grudge Ends in Lynching
In a fit of rage over a domestic dispute, Albert Schaeffer blew up his neighbor's home in Gilman, killing three people. The town’s response was swift and brutal.
- Pay for a Job That Wasn't There: Seattle's Employment-Agency Scam
A city council committee heard workers describe paying fees to G.W. Crane's employment office and arriving to find no jobs, with agents accused of splitting fees with contractors.
- The Open Secret: Seattle's Booming Gambling District
While city authorities collected monthly fines, three major gambling houses operated in plain sight on the Seattle waterfront, catering to thousands of working men and sailors.
- The House That Slid Down the Hill
A ramshackle boarding house on Main Street collapses after heavy rains and poor construction send it sliding down an unstable Seattle hillside.
- The Theater That Never Rose
A legal war erupts over a prime downtown corner as competing developers and a frustrated landowner fight over a failed opera house dream.
- The Judge Bans Messenger Boys from Seattle's Vice District
Declaring an end to the era of 'errand boys' carrying notes and parcels into houses of ill-repute, a local judge mandates a crackdown on child labor in the red-light district.