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 |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 11 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 7 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 17 |
| 1886 | 7 |
| 1887 | 8 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 12 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 13 |
| 1893 | 12 |
| 1894 | 22 |
| 1895 | 30 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1908 | 6 |
| 1909 | 12 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1929 | 2 |
218 stories matching idl
- The Price of Panic: 1876 Seattle Views on Labor and Economic Depression
An editorial from the Seattle Daily Intelligencer explores the deep-seated economic anxieties of the era, blaming trade disputes and 'idle' men for the systemic instability of the Pacific Northwest.
- A Global Timber Tycoon Eyes Bellingham
A millionaire shipowner from Chile secures control of the long-idle Bellingham mill, hinting at the international stakes in Washington's lumber boom.
- A Warning to Labor: Everett's Carpenter Surplus
As unemployment hits the building trades, the local Labor Journal warns workers from other cities to stay away.
- The 1876 Plea to Ditch the City for the Soil
Amidst economic stagnation in a young Seattle, a local editorial poem urges the 'idle clerks' and unemployed of the city to trade their pens for plows.
- The Sad State of McNeil Island
A former inmate calls for books to replace the monotony of prison life.
- The Silent Crisis on Everett's Sidewalks
A local labor leader details the quiet desperation of forty idle carpenters as the city's housing and employment market hits a wall.
- Keeping the Miners Fed When the Coal Market Collapsed
Receiver John H. Bryant asks a judge to spend $500 clearing company land near the Gilman mines so idle miners can grow hay for the company's horses — and keep drawing wages through the slump.
- A Town Determined to Stay on the Map
Cusick lays fresh sidewalks to the depot, grades its muddy streets, breaks ground on a drainage dike, and chases a long-idle sawmill back to life.
- The Art of the Industrial Squeeze
How the Steel Trust uses deliberate idleness and wage competition to break unions and keep workers in poverty.
- South Tacoma’s Water Crisis
A broken pumping station leaves local residents drinking from Clover Creek instead of the city's new wells.
- The Rebirth of Seattle's Idle Mill
A dormant Seattle sawmill gets a new lease on life under San Francisco capital, signaling an era of rapid industrial expansion for the town.
- Two Newport Men Stake a Claim on the Old Katydid Mine
Charles Waterman and A. L. Reis revive a long-idle galena mine north of town—and challenge the timber-and-stone claim that has covered it.
- The Struggle Against Railroad Monopoly
A political demand for the forfeiture of unearned land grants given to the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Ghost Ships of Lake Union
After sitting idle since the Great War, a fleet of wooden hulls will be burned for salvage, with their deckhouses repurposed into makeshift homes.
- The Struggle to Protect Queen Anne from Fire
Mayor's proposal to repurpose idle street horses and equipment for a new fire station reveals the city's scramble to serve growing hilltop neighborhoods.
- The Forgotten Children of the Mill
A look at the brutal reality of the city's youth laboring in factories while adults remain idle, and the local call to end the practice.
- Why is the City Buying Eastern Hydrants?
A citizen questions why the city administration is shipping tax money to Michigan for inferior equipment when local iron workers remain idle.
- The Wheat Trap: Is Colfax Over-reliant on One Crop?
Local boosters worry that low wheat prices are driving farmers to the wall and suggest a shift toward mixed agriculture.
- The Ghost Ship of Schwabacher Dock
A schooner that spent months idling in Seattle’s waterfront suddenly departed on a mysterious voyage, leaving local shipping men baffled and its owner tight-lipped about its destination.
- The Criminalization of Unemployment
A Seattle candy maker, down on his luck during hard times, faces repeated arrest for the 'crime' of being unable to find work.
- Fatal Mill Accident at Port Discovery
A worker dies after becoming entangled in industrial machinery, highlighting the extreme dangers faced by laborers in the Puget Sound timber industry.
- Summer Storms Cut the Juice
A severe thunderstorm fried local electrical transformers, leaving the White Bluffs pumping plants idle for three days.
- The Idle Crowd: Seattle's 1877 Moral Panic over 'Street Loafers'
A local editor observes the growing ranks of the unemployed and 'non-descript' men gathering on Seattle corners, questioning how they survive in a bustling, labor-dependent territory.
- Ainslie Lumber Mill Resumes Production
After standing idle, the large mill near Chehalis is firing up its boilers, offering a vital economic lifeline to the community.
- The Struggle for Housing in Booming Seattle
As Seattle's population surges, new residents struggle to find housing in a city already pushed to its limits.