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 |
|---|---|
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 6 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 7 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1899 | 4 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
64 stories matching lip
- The Man Who Laughed Through the Flames: A Snohomish Tragedy of Love and Loss
When a gas leak ignited his home in Fruitland, Washington, Chandler Chandler didn't run for safety—he shielded his wife from the blast. His subsequent conversation with the doctor reveals a stoicism that defies belief.
- The Garrison Creek Brawl
A horse trade gone wrong ended in a violent, multi-generational melee that left an entire family bloodied in court.
- The Mystery of the Sloop Clara Bell
A small vessel has been found adrift on the Snohomish River, leaving authorities looking for its owners.
- The Goddess of Slang: A Poetic Flirtation in the Territory
A whimsical verse from the late 19th century captures the playful, rhyming courtship rituals of Snohomish Territory, offering a glimpse into the lighthearted side of pioneer life.
- The Ghost Ship of Possession Sound
A modest notice from 1877 reveals the perilous, everyday reality of life on the Puget Sound, where a wayward sloop was snatched by the tides.
- The Judge Who Was Both Defendant and Accused
In a stunning legal double-header, Judge Wickersham is convicted of seduction in one court, then immediately indicted for perjury by the federal grand jury in the very same day.
- The Fiendish 'Joke' at the Seattle Waterfront
A saloon keeper is arrested for a brutal assault on an intoxicated man, having stuffed a burning newspaper into the man's throat as a spectacle for his patrons.
- 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 Day Washington Was Born: A City Holds Its Breath
As the nation celebrates statehood, Seattle gathers in a packed hall to hear speeches on liberty, land fraud, and the future of the 'Queen City.'
- The Last Laugh of Charles Nordstrom
As the Seattle Star reports on May 15, 1899, condemned murderer Charles Nordstrom sits in his cell, seemingly indifferent to the death warrant signed that morning. While the legal machinery grinds toward his execution for the murder of a police officer, one man’s sarcastic smile and contemptuous silence speak louder than any final prayer.
- Telescoped at the Crossing: A Grant Street Horror
When a Northern Pacific freight train plowed into an electric streetcar on May 20, 1909, one man died and dozens were mangled in the icy water below. The crash exposed dangerous speeds and negligent watchmen at a city intersection that remains vital today.
- The Trial of Ursula Boyd: A Labyrinth of Coercion
A woman stands trial for the murder of the man who, according to her testimony and a cache of intimate letters, forced her into prostitution and systematic blackmail.
- The Brutal Departure from Commercial Street
After years of enduring her husband's violence and the destruction of her home, a Seattle woman seeks a divorce to save her young daughter.
- The Gall and Wormwood of Olympia: Tacoma’s Defeat in the Senate Race
As Washington's first U.S. Senator is chosen in a bitter legislative battle, defeated candidate Calkins' supporters cry foul, while Jefferson County delegates secure the victory for Watson Squire.
- The Brutalization of Young David Morrison
A desperate plea for intervention as a young ward is subjected to unrelenting abuse by his guardian in King County.
- The Jailhouse Scare: Seattle's Dynamite Terror
After dynamite bombs were discovered near the city jail, the authorities tightened their grip, trapping prisoners in silence and fueling public anxiety over labor unrest.
- The Chaplain and the Murderess
A former Baptist preacher has dedicated his savings and his time to the legal defense of Ursula Juanita Unfug, the woman accused of killing Thomas Henderson Boyd.
- A Mother, a Child, and a Cold Shack Off Albert Street
A police officer's dollar leads Superintendent Gilmer to a family with no food, no furniture and no shoes—and to a quiet rescue before the county takes over.
- The City Council's Yellow Flag Fiasco
When Seattle officials passed a health ordinance to curb contagion, they refused to apply it to a notorious local brothel, sparking a public outcry against political hypocrisy.
- Billy Fife: Self-Taught Caricaturist of Frontier Seattle
A biography of Billy Fife, a sailor and self-taught caricaturist whose sharp wit and rare artistic skill captured Seattle's frontier life.
- The Boy Who Tried to Buy His Mother’s Freedom
When his mother was jailed for a minor offense, a seven-year-old Seattle boy arrived at the police station with two dollars and a heart-wrenching plea to take her place in the cell.
- The Day Seattle Discovered American Football
A brutal, blood-soaked 'whirlwind' match at Madison Street Park marks the city's first true introduction to the American Rugby game.
- The Laundry Business Dispute
A lawsuit reveals the hidden profits of a Chinese laundry operation on Fourth and Main streets.
- The Suffragist in the Hall: How One Woman’s Plea Shook Washington’s Constitutional Convention
In the sweltering heat of 1878, a delegation from Seattle petitioned the territorial convention for women's voting rights. Mrs. Dunaway was invited to speak, delivering an eloquent appeal that momentarily softened the hearts of the 'sage' delegates before the vote closed.
- “You Are the Man That Done It All”: A Murder Trial Witness Loses His Temper
The Hayward murder trial turned electric when a stubborn witness faced the accused across the courtroom—and the defense could not shake him.
Also about this, in other words
- The Solar Plexus Surprise
A local storekeeper's attempt to act tough with a schoolgirl ends in a swift, painful lesson.
- Exposing the Opium Dens of Opera Alley
A local expose reveals that teenage messenger boys are being drawn into the city's opium dens and disreputable houses, triggering a promised police crackdown.
- A Judge Ate Candy While a Man's Life Hung on the Verdict
The state supreme court overturns a Jefferson County murder conviction after Judge Sachs reads newspapers and passes sweets on the bench — and delivers a rebuke that is the longest opinion of the term.