Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 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.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 6 |
| 1885 | 7 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 17 |
| 1891 | 4 |
| 1892 | 20 |
| 1893 | 43 |
| 1894 | 67 |
| 1895 | 65 |
| 1899 | 13 |
| 1909 | 1 |
279 stories matching motion
- The Saloon Wars: How Seattle’s Council Killed the Fight to Ban Bars from Residential Streets
In a heated March 1904 council meeting, reformers fought to keep saloons off streets where wives and children walked. The measure failed, revealing deep corruption and the powerful grip of liquor interests on city government.
- City Council Charges Corruption in Fire Department
A motion is introduced to investigate grave accusations made against the Mayor and Council concerning the illegal passage of a fire department ordinance.
- The Great Northern Wins Right of Way
A court ruling clears the tracks for the Great Northern Railway to proceed with construction, defying attempts to freeze development.
- A Convicted Killer's Last Chance at the King County Bar
Defense attorney Melvin G. Wylie attacks the murder conviction of Holmes for the killing of William Russell, while Prosecutor Miller fights to keep the verdict.
- The Perpetual Motion Inventor's Wild Night
Dr. Hannibal Mills, a local crank obsessed with his 'perpetual motion' machine, shoots a saloon keeper after a drunken argument.
- The Conductor, the Turntable, and the Judge Who Said 'Somebody Has to Pay'
A Seattle streetcar conductor sues the Madison Street Cable Railway for injuries, but Judge Humes rules the company isn't liable — because the tracks were slippery and the man should have known better.
- A Black Miner’s Last Chance: Court Refuses William Holmes a New Trial
Convicted of killing William B. Russell in a drunken brawl at Franklin, Holmes loses his bid for a new trial—then his lawyers challenge the court’s jurisdiction.
- The City Council’s Late-Night Ordeal over Waterworks
A stormy session of the Seattle City Council lasted until after midnight as members wrestled with the city waterworks contract and debated the appointment of a new sanitary officer.
- The Yesler Forgery Scandal
The legal drama surrounding Mrs. Yesler, a member of one of Seattle's most prominent founding families, continues to divide the courtroom.
- The Price of a Manslaughter Verdict
A convicted man sentenced to twenty years after a jury trial that Judge Humes believed was lenient.
- The Forgery Charge Against Mrs. Yesler Collapses
A technicality involving a legislative change to the law lets Mrs. Minnie G. Yesler and her co-defendants off the hook for alleged forgery.
- The Business Men's Club Picks Its Candidate
A rowdy, divided convention at the Standard Theater results in John Leary’s nomination for Mayor of Seattle.
- The Peanut Stand and the Disorderly House
A Seattle husband convicted as a disorderly person produced a Denver marriage license and a tribute to his wife—while police described a peanut stand used as cover for something else.
- The Surveyor’s Stalling Tactic
King County officials struggle to remove a surveyor accused of administrative misconduct as he leverages legal loopholes to keep his job.
- The Right to Keep Your Home After a Tax Sale
Judge Langley rules on a pivotal case challenging whether the city can cut off a homeowner's redemption rights after property is sold for back taxes.
- The Seattle Bar Confronts Its Own
A committee of influential attorneys seeks to disbar colleagues Junius Rochester and George Venable Smith for their roles in the violent expulsion of Seattle's Chinese population.
- The Trial of City Treasurer Adolph Krug
A Seattle judge rejects the defense's motion to dismiss embezzlement charges, invoking the history of the law against modern corporate corruption.
- The Fire Chief’s Citizenship Crisis
A political showdown at the Fire Board reveals deep divisions over the city's control of the department.
- The Mayor Tells the Fire Commission Who's Boss
A monthly meeting erupts into a power struggle over Chief Hunt, with Mayor Phelps warning Commissioner Meek that he alone will decide when the fire chief goes.
- An Editor Pleads Not Guilty to Calling Out a Police Chief
Charles H. Lugrin of the Telegraph faced libel charges for reporting that Seattle's police chief took gambling money — and the judge warned him not to comment further.
- A Midnight Move to Pack the Populist Rolls
Seattle’s First Ward Populist Club suspected Democrats were trying to flood its membership before the primary—and threw one deputy marshal out of the hall.
- Pioneering the Snoqualmie Pass Road
Citizens of King County organize to build a wagon road across the Cascades, raising over a thousand dollars to bridge the wilderness.
- The Strange Odyssey of Lee Fook Bow
After an indictment for perjury is quashed, a man accused of human trafficking faces months more in jail and claims to have returned from the afterlife.
- Convicted in Five Days: The 1877 Murder Case That Shocked a Seattle Editor
After Solomon Baxter was killed, John Thompson went from arrest to a first-degree murder conviction in less than a week. The local paper called it a 'summary proceeding' with no parallel in American law.
- The Ladder Gave Way: A Conductor’s Leg and the Railroad’s Defense
Michael J. Fitzmaurice was hauling gravel when a caboose ladder threw him under the train. He lost his leg at the knee and sued Great Northern for $29,500.