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 |
|---|---|
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 5 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1909 | 6 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
33 stories matching ole
- Ole Hanson Declares War on the Senate—and the Race Tracks
Blocked by a two-thirds rule, the fiery legislator vows lawsuits, subpoenas and a statewide hunt for betting losses until the senate bends.
- City Leaders Take a Stand Against Gambling
Tacoma citizens pack the First Presbyterian Church to demand the legislature pass Ole Hanson’s bill to ban racetrack betting.
- The Perpetual-Motion Man Came Downtown Armed
Before Dr. Hannibal Mills shot a man in the Occidental saloon, he told a restaurant waiter he would not live until morning and announced, “I'm God, the devil and himself.”
- Bullets for a Neighbor on Vashon Island
A rancher says George Weston, his only neighbor, fired through his cabin window and later drew a bead on him from the beach. Now Ole Christofersen wants the law to bind Weston to keep the peace.
- The Art of Getting Helped
A clever traveler tricks two impatient men into doing the labor he was too tired to finish.
- The Sudden Passing of Ole Eine
A longtime laborer at the Weatherwax mill collapses on his way home, leaving behind a family across the ocean.
- The Firebrand of the Legislature
How Ole Hanson, a future mayor of Seattle, made his name by fighting party bosses and winning on the house floor.
- The Senatorial Candidate and the Canal
Ole Hanson brings his fiery brand of politics to the Kennewick Commercial Club, debating the Panama Canal's toll exemption.
- A Solo Voyage in an Open Boat
Shipbuilder Ole Johnson navigates the rugged coast from Puget City to Grays Harbor in a 17-foot open boat.
- 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 Great Skagit Flood of 1887
Thousands of acres of farmland are submerged as the Skagit River hits record-breaking, catastrophic levels.
- The Day Seattle Shut Down: Sailors, Longshoremen and the First Labor Day
Banks, courts and public offices closed for the first time in the city's history, 2,500 people packed Pioneer Place for a 36-minute tug-of-war, and a labor orator told the crowd that good wages are the engine of everyone's prosperity.
- The Ill-Fated Theft of the La Paloma
A steam launch stolen in a confidence scheme is found wrecked in a remote bay near Victoria, British Columbia, with no survivors reported.
- A Week of Tragedy in Pierce County
A string of suicides, murders, and accidents shocks Tacoma as a young student and an asylum patient end their own lives.
- The Mystery of the Duwamish River Murder
A Norwegian immigrant is found brutally murdered in a ravine, leaving behind a cold trail, a missing peddler, and a community unsettled by itinerant crime.
- The Hundred-Thousand-Dollar Ballard Land Grab
A decades-long legal battle over a prime section of Ballard real estate winds its way toward the U.S. Supreme Court.
- An Honor Vindicated in Spokane
After being falsely accused of a highway robbery, a Walla Walla man clears his name by hiring his own investigator to prove a perfect alibi.
- A Convict’s Violent Outburst in Whatcom Court
A notorious criminal threatens a judge with violence before being transported to the state penitentiary in Walla Walla.
- The Blue Glass Cure: A Barber’s Quackery and a Seattle Elder’s Rage
In March 1877, an elderly Black man named Uncle Dan nearly came to blows with a white barber over a ridiculous 'medical' treatment involving blue window panes and sunlight.
- The Great Thaw: Mountain Snows Turn Every River Into a Rampage
An unusually cool spring held a winter's worth of snow until a few hot days sent it all down at once, flooding the Skagit, Cowlitz and Columbia, drowning farmland and putting Portland under water.
- Ballard’s Ousted Councilman Refuses to Give Up His Seat
Thomas Winsor was removed for selling lumber to the city. He showed up at council with a lawyer, the mayor vetoed the removal, and the council overrode him. Now a judge will decide who sits.
- The Mysterious Disappearance of a Mill Worker
A search for a Swedish sawyer leads to a grim conclusion after he vanishes from his shift in North Seattle.
- Highwayman Attacks Laborer on the Waterfront
A beachcomber is robbed of his money and watch by two masked men at the foot of Virginia Street.
- Commuter Struck by Streetcar in South Tacoma
A Spanaway man was sent flying into a snowdrift after attempting to flag down an outbound trolley.
- The Elopement That Tore a Family Apart
A South Prairie father assisted his 14-year-old daughter in her secret elopement, only to find his own marriage dissolved by his wife's outrage.