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 |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 18 |
| 1877 | 21 |
| 1878 | 10 |
| 1880 | 5 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 9 |
| 1884 | 14 |
| 1885 | 15 |
| 1886 | 5 |
| 1887 | 8 |
| 1888 | 18 |
| 1889 | 25 |
| 1890 | 10 |
| 1891 | 25 |
| 1892 | 59 |
| 1893 | 35 |
| 1894 | 46 |
| 1895 | 12 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 16 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 18 |
| 1904 | 9 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1909 | 14 |
| 1910 | 12 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1912 | 5 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 5 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
437 stories matching mass
- The Day Ellensburg Burned
A devastating fire leaves 12 city blocks in ruins, highlighting the catastrophic failure of the local water system.
- The Eastern Oregon Burned at Percival’s Wharf
A repair crew’s paint store caught fire aboard the steamship Eastern Oregon, forcing men to jump forty feet to the mudflats and killing one cook; the blaze threatened Percival’s Wharf before rain helped firefighters.
- The Sheriff Who Refused to Enforce Mob Rule
In 1885, as anti-Chinese sentiment gripped Seattle, Sheriff J.H. McGraw defied a mass meeting of local citizens by refusing to join an exclusionary committee, citing his oath of office and the rule of law.
- Mukilteo residents protest Japanese labor at Crown Lumber Company
A local improvement club organizes a mass meeting to demand the hiring of white workers, marking the start of an anti-Japanese campaign in the region.
- The Treasury Dept. Helps a Seattle Woman Recover Buried Riches
After her nephew buried $150 in greenbacks near Gilman five years ago, the money decayed into an unrecognizable mass. Local bankers and federal experts worked together to save her investment.
- Snohomish Workers Call for General Strike
A mass meeting in Snohomish resolves to strike on the day of the McNamara brothers' trial to protest their 'kidnapping' and the abuses of the master class.
- Workers Plan Mass Protest Against Wage Cuts
Trade unionists organize a rally to voice grievances against local corporations and the city of Seattle.
- The Mystery of the Ice-Forming Caves
A scientific inquiry into why midsummer ice forms in the lava tunnels of the Washington wilderness.
- Walla Walla Labor Unions Celebrate First Anniversary
One year after the first systematic organization of local trades, the city's labor council hosts a mass meeting to honor its progress.
- Tumwater's Mass Meeting Cast 65 Votes With Only 50 Voters in the Room
A local nominating meeting for council seats turned harmonious—and hilarious—when the ballots outnumbered the attendees.
- The Miracle of the Daily Paper: How Pullman’s New Herald Brings the World to Your Doorstep
In its inaugural editorial, the newly launched *Pullman Herald* reflects on the alchemy of journalism—transforming rags into news—and celebrates the fertile wheat lands of the Palouse.
- Chinatown Ash and Ember: A City Under Siege
A devastating fire levels the Chinese quarter in Tacoma, leaving the community in ruins and stoking the fires of anti-Chinese agitation.
- Labor Groups Mobilize Against Japanese Workers in Mukilteo
Everett labor leaders join forces with local clubs to push for the exclusion of Japanese employees from the Crown Lumber Company plant.
- The Cudahy Packing Plant Fire
A catastrophic fire destroys a waterfront warehouse, turning tons of meat into a 'seething mass of flames.'
- The Town of Oakesdale Is Reduced to Smoldering Ruins
A three-story hotel blaze consumes the city's business district in just two hours, leaving merchants devastated and the community reeling.
- The Town That Washed Away
A sudden deluge destroyed nearly the entire county seat of Okanogan County, leaving survivors homeless and struggling.
- The Iron Giant Lands: Moss Bay Steel Chooses Seattle Without Asking for a Penny
In a stunning victory for civic pride over corporate bribery, the massive Moss Bay Iron and Steel Company has selected Lake Washington as its site, rejecting lucrative bonuses from rival cities and the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- 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 Mass Departure of Chinese Laborers
After the completion of the Cedar River extension, the Oregon Improvement Company arranged for the mass transport of 1,700 Chinese workers out of Seattle.
- Mukilteo Residents Battle to Oust Japanese Workers
A simmering local movement against the employment of Japanese workers at a Mukilteo mill intensifies as residents plan a mass protest in Everett.
- Three Thousand Pack the Armory to Cheer Debs and Denounce Pullman
Seattle workingmen and their allies fill Armory Hall to hear the strikers' side of the fight — a night of fiery speeches, white ribbons of peace, and one heckler hustled out the door.
- The Citizens' Revolt Against the 'Official Ring'
When an informal mass meeting in 1872 Seattle bypassed party conventions to nominate their own candidates, the local press didn't just report it—they waged a war against the city's political machine.
- The Armory Uprising: Seattle’s Battle for Public Transit
As the City Council prepares to vote on a controversial 40-year franchise for private street railways, citizens are mobilizing for a mass meeting at the Armory, demanding municipal ownership over corporate profit.
- The Great Skagit Jam: How Local Men Tried to Unplug the River
In 1876, a massive logjam blocked the Skagit River for miles. While officials debated expensive dredging projects, local loggers took matters into their own hands with picks and dynamite.
- The Battle for Shilshole Avenue
The Ballard city council faces down powerful railroad interests after a heated mass meeting at Berg's Hall.
Also about this, in other words
- Snohomish to Everett: ‘We’ll Teach You a Lesson in County Politics’
A cannon-call mass meeting at the Cathcart Opera House rallies Snohomish against the county-seat removal campaign, with cheers loud enough to reach Everett.
- The Sudden Call for a Mass Meeting
Local property owners protest a suspiciously hurried political meeting held while key citizens were out of town.
- A Massive Land Grab near Scott
A Missouri doctor orchestrates a massive acquisition of Adams County land, planning to settle twenty-two sections with his kin and neighbors.
- There's "Dough" in Every Street Contract: A Preacher Takes On City Hall
Rev. Napoleon Hoagland reads the nation's municipal record aloud — reeking streets, a million-dollar franchise given away, councilmen who elsewhere would count themselves lucky to stay out of prison — and asks why democratic America breeds more thieves than the Tsar's Europe.
- A Centennial Benefactor
A local church society, struggling under the weight of debt, receives a surprise donation from a 101-year-old woman in Massachusetts.
- A School Board Battle in Everett
A state representative refuses to resign his seat on the local school board, sparking an outcry over transparency and political maneuvering.
- A Woman’s Plea for Autonomy in 1892
After decades of marriage, Margaret Brown files for divorce, seeking to secure her household goods and land against a husband she says has abandoned and abused her.
- The Pastor and the Organist
A physical brawl between a clergyman and his church organist raises the question of how to handle insubordination in the pews.