Research the archive
Narrow 25,688 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 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 6 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 11 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 10 |
| 1886 | 5 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 15 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 25 |
| 1893 | 27 |
| 1894 | 22 |
| 1895 | 24 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 9 |
| 1904 | 12 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1909 | 30 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 5 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1923 | 3 |
| 1924 | 1 |
248 stories matching intox
- The Mayor Moves to Shut the Dives and Gambling Rooms
A sweeping message from the mayor demands that the council revoke the licenses of saloons and music halls where girls sell liquor and gamblers run their games—passed in full by the aldermen even as auditors report a $27,000 hole in the street-improvement funds.
- The Chief Knew Seattle’s Dance Halls Were Selling Beer. He Had One Question.
A Post-Intelligencer investigation found liquor flowing openly in variety theaters despite state law and police orders—then the police chief asked reporters whether it was true.
- The Price of a Drink in 1885 Seattle
A newly passed city ordinance lays out a complex, bureaucratic, and cash-heavy system for anyone hoping to open a saloon or bottle house.
- A Wife's Testimony Was Enough: Supreme Court Reverses Divorce Denial
The Washington Supreme Court ruled that a wife's own account of cruelty and habitual drunkenness could justify a divorce, reversing a lower court that had dismissed Nellie Lee's case.
- The Mayor's War on 'Vice' at the Pavilion
Mayor J. T. Ronald refuses to license liquor sales at the Laurel Shade resort, citing its proximity to a cherished family park.
- The Train Waited for Its Drunk Captain
Capt. W. P. Goodwin faced a court-martial after his command waited at the Spokane depot while he was missing—and allegedly intoxicated—during the 1894 railroad strike.
- Streetcar Tragedy on the Hill
A buggy collision with a freight motor car leads to the death of a horse and the arrest of its driver for public intoxication.
- A Seattle Woman’s Day in Tacoma Police Court
After being arrested for intoxication, a visitor challenges a patrolman's honesty in court before fleeing back to Seattle.
- The Absinthe Defense: How a 'Swissess' and a Headache Saved a Murderer's Life
In the high-profile Spencer trial in Spokane, witnesses testified that Edward Spencer drank absinthe to sober up before killing Ella Mundt. The court heard he was 'jolly' until the end.
- A Sobering Plunge from the Eleventh Street Bridge
After attempting to end his life in the harbor while intoxicated, a local laborer decides that everyday life is worth holding onto.
- A Plea for the Drowned Soldiers
A survivor of a tragic drowning incident at Fort Townsend writes to defend the character of his fallen comrades against charges of intoxication.
- A Brother's Bullet: Deputy Marshal Dies, and the Accused Killer Asks Only for a Match
Shot by his own brother at Pioneer Place and James Street, Deputy U.S. Marshal Edward Minsch lingers a day and dies at Providence Hospital — while Frank Minsch, cool and indifferent in the city jail, shows no grief and admits only that he is 'subject to epileptic fits.'
- The Judge Who Was Too High to Rule
Washington state legislators launch an impeachment investigation into a Spokane judge accused of being a 'morphine fiend' who presided over court while intoxicated.
- A Family Tragedy in Walla Walla
An intoxicated man hunts down his grandfather, killing him and burning the family home to the ground.
- Tacoma’s Police Chief Under Fire
Accusations of public intoxication and failure to enforce gambling laws turn the city council into a battlefield.
- A Whiskey Flask on the Pend Oreille: Laborer Drowns at Usk Landing
Fred Campbell fell from the Steamer Spokane while intoxicated; his body was brought to Newport as officials searched for anyone who knew him.
- Drunken Assailant Attempts Point-Blank Shooting on Pacific Avenue
An intoxicated man confronted an employee of the Richmond Paper Company, but the victim managed to deflect the weapon during the struggle.
- The Unchecked Violence on Front Street
A young boy is victimized by an intoxicated man in broad daylight, sparking community outrage and frustration over the lack of a legal remedy for such a crime.
- Sheriff and Editor Clash in Spokane
An intoxicated Sheriff and a local editor settle a long-standing journalistic feud with revolvers in downtown Spokane.
- Tragedy at the Lake Shore Depot
A Swedish laborer, carrying Christmas gifts home to his neighbors, dies in a horrific accident while intoxicated.
- Kennewick Declares War on the Bottle
With state prohibition looming, the city council passes a sweeping ordinance to criminalize the possession, sale, and even the advertisement of alcohol.
- Driven From Home: A Mother and Three Children at the Police Station
Found drunk in a waterfront saloon with her children in tow, a 23-year-old woman told a police matron a story of beatings and of a husband at a coal camp near Palmer who cast her out with the babies.
- The Man Who Couldn't Sleep: A Murderer's Five-Year Nightmare Ends in Seattle
William Devitt, a fugitive from a Pennsylvania railroad murder, surrenders to Seattle police after five years of wandering the South, claiming his conscience has finally caught up with him.
- Hasheesh, Absinthe, and a Human Pelvis in the Page Murder Trial
Defense experts told a Seattle jury that a drug could explain Page's condition on the morning he shot Fraser, while the state argued he remembered everything.
- The 'Habitual Drunkard' List
A proposed law would have forced Seattle barkeepers to publicly post a list of 'habitual drunkards' in their establishments, effectively blacklisting them from purchasing alcohol.
Also about this, in other words
- Customs Inspector Targets Smuggling Rings
A federal investigation into the movement of opium and undocumented laborers reveals widespread document forgery in the Pacific Northwest.
- A Desperate Plunge from the Coal Bunkers
A delirious man, suffering from the effects of alcohol, jumped forty feet from the Oregon Improvement Company's coal bunkers into the sound, surviving the fall only to be hauled back to shore.
- The Terrier Who Took His Bedtime Seriously
When his mistress tried to teach a pet a lesson in discipline, the dog showed he was two steps ahead.
- Violence in the Opium Dens of Colfax
A brutal feud between laborers in a remote Eastern Washington opium joint ends in a horrific shooting and a manhunt.