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 |
|---|---|
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 8 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 5 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1923 | 1 |
48 stories matching johnston
- A Rancher Found on the Riverbank—and a Family That Suspected Murder
Thomas Johnston was found dead near Blueslide in December 1908. A justice's inquest blamed exposure; his relatives demanded a second look, and a postmortem found no broken neck.
- The Double-Voting Scandal at the School Board
A Seattle man is convicted for voting twice in a single school election, sparking a tense courtroom drama involving local political heavyweights.
- The Wrong Man in the Wrong Room
A Seattle police raid on a lodging house intended to capture a notorious forger nets his innocent twin brother instead.
- The Jailbreak That Failed at Lake Union
A failed escape attempt by three young prisoners leaves a jailer with a gun, a missing saw, and a mystery about who was smuggling tools to the jailbirds.
- A Bullet Meant for a Lover Killed the Wife
In Pataha City, a butcher who blamed a neighbor for breaking up his home took a shotgun to the man—and shot his wife instead. The town's sympathy lay with the shooter.
- The Waterfront Collapse
McNaught's wharf at the foot of Virginia Street crumbles into the bay, destroying a warehouse and a local fish packer's livelihood.
- The Seduction Warrant
A Woodinville rancher avoids the altar until a persistent constable and a threat of criminal charges force his hand.
- Judge Strikes Down State Road Laws
A landmark superior court ruling declares the state's method for seizing private property for public roads unconstitutional, throwing years of county construction projects into legal limbo.
- The Price of a Seaman's Hand
A mariner sues for $3,000 in damages, claiming gross negligence led to a permanent injury aboard a ship docked at Port Blakely.
- The Great Chicken Crackdown of Tacoma
A local crime spree left Tacoma poultry-less until an arrest at a YMCA service broke the case.
- Range War on the Wenas
Settlers in the Naches and Wenas valleys organize against encroaching sheep men, threatening legal action to protect their land.
- The Desperate Foraging of the Waterfront Four
When four men living in an abandoned Seattle shack ran out of supplies, they launched a clumsy, doomed heist—leading to a quick sentence and a warm bed behind bars.
- Explosion Levels Burlington Hotel
A saloon lamp explosion causes a total loss for a hotel and bar in Burlington, forcing a guest to leap from a second-story window to survive.
- Fire Destroys Oroville Laundry and Livery Stable
A late-night blaze claims a steam laundry and an unoccupied livery stable in Oroville’s 'old town' after a suspected electrical short.
- The Local Democratic Party Rallies Against City Hall
Opposition candidates and speakers gather to blast the sitting Republican administration's policies and cozy relationships.
- McNaught’s Wharf Collapses Into the Harbor
A collapse of a waterfront warehouse leaves a local fish merchant with a total loss as scavengers claim the debris.
- Seattle's Early Basketball Craze: Church Teams Pack the Y.M.C.A.
In 1893, just two years after basketball was invented, Seattle's church teams drew a standing-room-only crowd to the Y.M.C.A. for a lively night of hoops.
- A Sailor's Crushed Hand and the Ship That Had to Answer for It
A seaman's right hand was crushed aboard the bark Cambridge at Port Blakely. He sued in Seattle for unpaid wages and $5,000 in damages, dragging the vessel into federal court.
- The Venison Peddler of South Tacoma
A Thurston County man finds the local market for illicit game isn't as lucrative as he hoped after a run-in with a game warden.
- Sailors Sue the Ship Challenger Over Abuse at Sea
Eight sailors sue for wages and damages after allegedly being beaten with clubs and belaying pins during a voyage from Philadelphia to Tacoma.
- The Power Grab: Tacoma Businessmen Battle Utility Monopoly
Prominent citizens organize to fight an electric franchise they fear will cripple local industry and inflate power prices.
- A Hospital for the Poor, Not the Pauper House: Seattle General Prepares to Open
The Seattle General Hospital will open June 15 in the leased Avon house on Front Street, offering free treatment to the needy and a training school for nurses—backed by a women's auxiliary that has already raised funds through lunchrooms.
- The Mysterious Death at King and Commercial
A man is found dead in a derelict shack, prompting a coroner’s jury to declare foul play, while the Police Chief dismisses it as a bizarre accident.
- Stevens County Votes the Saloons Dry — Then Newport's Saloon Men Go to Court
A low-turnout local-option election shut down thirty rural saloons, with Newport precinct voting 18 to 5 dry while Ione held out wet and the legal fight moved to the next court term.
- Stevens County Votes Itself Dry, Two to One
On November 9, 1909, the precincts outside every incorporated town in Stevens County went to the polls on a single question — liquor or no liquor — and closed the saloons by 1,419 votes to 814.
Also about this, in other words
- Vanished in the Night: The Tragedy of 'Long Johnson'
A well-known Port Gamble boatman disappears in the gale, his cries for help lost to the dark sea.
- A Gavel, a Roar, and a Populist Ticket Born in Chaos
King County's People's Party convention at Turner Hall turned into a shouting, proxy-fighting, faction-splitting marathon—and buried Dr. J. Eugene Jordan and Jack McDonald on the way to nominating a ticket.
- The Ghost of the Johnson House
A boarder in Ellensburg vanishes on the morning train, leaving behind a spouse in poverty and a wake of unpaid debts.
- The Fight Against the Federal 'Pork Barrel'
Progressive candidate M. A. Peacock slams Congressman LaFollette’s vote on reclamation funding, warning it invites corruption into the Northwest's irrigation projects.
- A Hero Betrayed by Paperwork
A local Indigenous hero, renowned for saving shipwrecked crews, faces the loss of his homestead due to a bureaucratic failure.
- A Near-Fatal Encounter on the Seattle Waterfront
A rower’s hesitation nearly costs him his life under the paddles of the West Seattle ferry.
- The Conflict at Jarmon Prairie
A violent confrontation between loggers and local Indigenous people in Skagit County ends in bloodshed and conflicting accounts.
- Two Explosions on the Great Northern Grade Killed a Powder Driver
A load of dynamite tumbled into the upper Wenatchee River; days later, 100 kegs of black powder went up and Swan Johnson was blown eighty feet.