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 | 2 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 6 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 12 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 12 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 18 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 13 |
| 1892 | 20 |
| 1893 | 20 |
| 1894 | 18 |
| 1895 | 39 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 11 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 9 |
| 1916 | 7 |
| 1923 | 4 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
242 stories matching map
- The Railroad Map That Erased Seattle
A Northern Pacific map circulating in 1883 omitted Seattle entirely—while granting bold capital letters to towns of fewer than 100 people—and the city's paper took the insult personally.
- The Land Grab That Built Tacoma: How the Northern Pacific Railroad Stole Millions of Acres
A furious editorial in the Seattle Star exposes the Northern Pacific Railroad’s scheme to misappropriate public lands for a private coal line, arguing that the company is using legal loopholes to steal from settlers in King and Snohomish counties.
- The Railroad Map That Erased Seattle
Northern Pacific's latest map omits two under-construction Puget Sound lines and reduces Seattle to a dot. The Post suspects a land-selling scheme behind the silence.
- Seattle’s Yesler Donation Claim Goes on the Auction Block
An administrator petitions to carve 86 lots out of Sarah B. Yesler’s donation claim to settle an estate drowning in debt and taxes.
- The State Draws a Line Along Seattle’s Waterfront
In 1896, Olympia fixed the harbor boundary from West Seattle to Meadow Point, mapped new Duwamish and Salmon Bay waterways, and cleared the way to sell tide lands.
- The Ten-Foot Map That Would Sewer Olympia
In 1891, an engineer drew a room-sized map and planned a drainage system for a city of 20,000—if the council could get around the Seventh Street tunnel.
- One Street, Eight Names: The Tide-Land Map That Broke Seattle's Addresses
When the tide-land appraisers published their new plat, they named the filled waterfront after the states and the big cities — ignoring every street already on the ground. City Engineer Thomson's renaming scheme collapsed on the spot.
- The State Moved the Line, and the Waterfront Went With It
Tide-land owners at Port Angeles say they filled in the harbor in good faith, paid their money, and then learned the state had redrawn the meander line to swallow the most valuable frontage — and that the attorney general now refuses to issue their deeds.
- Olympia Bought a $1,500 Sewer Map Critics Called Worthless
A letter to the editor accuses the city council of buying a stranger's sewer plan without scrutiny—complete with a harbor reservoir already condemned in San Diego.
- The Great Ellensburg Map Scandal
A bitter, humorous local feud between North Yakima and Ellensburg reveals the lengths to which frontier boosters went to lure railroads and settlers with 'imaginary' geography.
- Harbor Line Commission Ends, Leaving 120 Maps and Court Disputes
After two years of mapping Washington's vital waterways, a state commission is dissolved mid-work, leaving harbor development in legal limbo.
- The Art of the Real Estate Hustle
A satirical look at the 'Sunset Addition' land boom, where maps lied and conscience was an impediment to profit.
- Tacoma Fights the Railroad for Its Own Waterfront
At a state land commission hearing, city officials and citizens demand a wider public harbor line to keep the Northern Pacific and Tacoma Land Company from controlling the waterway.
- Who Drew Tacoma's Harbor Lines? A New Affidavit Deepens the Tide-Land Fight
As Tacoma and the Northern Pacific fought over the waterfront, a witness swore he saw a Tacoma Land Company representative preparing the very maps the state used to fix the harbor line.
- The Map That Erased a Business on the Seattle Waterfront
Property owners revolt as tide-land appraisers redraw the shore and wipe an upland business house off the map.
- The River That Wasn't: A Captain’s Quest to Put Kennewick on the Map
Captain Martin L. Volwiler isn’t just shipping strawberries; he’s filming them from a boat deck to prove that the Columbia River is worth knowing about.
- The Map That Wasn’t Evidence May Reopen a State Boundary Fight
Washington’s special attorney says the Supreme Court relied on a colored map never introduced in the Oregon-Washington boundary case.
- Renaming the Great Mountain
After years of dispute with Seattle, Tacoma officials celebrate a victory in restoring the Indigenous name of the mountain to Northern Pacific Railway maps.
- The Porcupine Rush: How an Indian Map Led Seattle Men to Gold
A group of home seekers departed Seattle for the Yukon, armed with a hand-drawn map provided by an Indigenous guide who claimed the region was rich in gold.
- The Railroad Finally Calls It Mount Rainier
Under pressure from a newspaper expedition and the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, the Northern Pacific abandons 'Mount Tacoma' in its maps and ads.
- Railroad Land Grab Defeated
A Supreme Court ruling halts the Northern Pacific Railroad's attempt to claim homesteaded lands in King and Yakima counties.
- Railroads Drew Pencil Lines to Claim Millions of Acres
A scathing official report exposes how railroad corporations in Washington Territory and beyond used fraudulent land maps and 'pencil-line' routes to displace settlers and hoard public resources.
- The Deadly Road: Washington's Campaign to Map Every Crossing
Engineers on gasoline speeders are crisscrossing 6,000 miles of track to end the fatal collisions between cars and trains.
- The Blurred Map of Seattle's Early Real Estate Boom
A local property surveyor exposes a deceptive mapping practice meant to obscure the true boundaries of land parcels during a heated period of development.
- A Damning Report on Seattle's Water Works
A Chamber of Commerce committee found a hastily built municipal water system, political patronage and missing maps—and urged Seattle to hire a professional engineer at $5,000 a year.
Also about this, in other words
- The First Professional Survey of the Puget Sound
In 1875, a new map sought to define the rugged, uncharted beauty of the Washington Territory for settlers and investors alike.
- The First Real Map of Seattle
Before the city could be built, it had to be measured—an 1876 engineering project that defined the street grades of early downtown.
- The Fight for Indigenous Names on Territorial Maps
A territorial legislator argues that replacing English place names with Indigenous ones will stop mail from being misdirected and honor the region's history.
- Surveyors Map a Path for the Lake Washington Ship Canal
A mysterious but well-funded crew begins the long, arduous work of designing a canal to connect the Sound to Lake Washington.
- The Forgotten Map: When North Idaho Was Seattle’s Neighbor
For years, North Idaho residents pushed to break away from their own state and join Washington Territory, citing geographic reality and political isolation.
- Kennewick Snubbed on the Map
Local boosters clash with Pasco neighbors over the routing of a major automotive trail.
- The Struggle to Find Your Way in Early Seattle
Before the city had a standardized grid, navigating its muddy, stump-filled streets was a chaotic task—until one resident proposed a system that still echoes today.
- Surveyors Find a Rich Country Behind a Brutal Trail
A government surveying party returns from Chehalis County with tales of an impassable road, a hotel meal that required a salmon spear, and soil and timber worth the misery.