Research the archive
Narrow 25,724 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 |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1899 | 1 |
24 stories matching par
- The City’s ‘Rubber’ Checks Are Finally Good as Gold
After years of city employees losing money to brokers by discounting city warrants, the Mayor forces a policy of redemption at par value.
- The Hop Growers' Scrip Solution
Local banks and merchants collaborate to issue IOUs as cash to help farmers survive the harvest season.
- The Great Greenback Tug-of-War
A Seattle reader squares off against national editors over the power of the government to define the value of money itself.
- The Price of a Courthouse
King County officials weigh costly real estate deals while taxpayers are struggling with mounting debt and devalued county script.
- The Fire That Paid: How a Grocery Store’s Loss Became a Lesson in Civic Trust
When a fire destroyed the premises of Mossfeldt & Pratt on Jackson Street, their insurance company didn't just pay up—they published a public thank-you note. A rare moment of transparency in 1889 Seattle.
- The Divine Sarah Bernhardt’s Theatrical Meltdown in Seattle
When the legendary French actress discovered her grand stage at the Columbia Theater had been booked for a minstrel show, she didn't just walk off—she unleashed a legendary, multi-lingual tantrum.
- The Bank-Issued Currency of 1893
Facing a national economic panic, Seattle merchants and bankers agree to honor certified checks as local tender to keep the hop harvest moving.
- City Laborers Find Relief at the Bank
Mayor Phelps intervenes to stop the exploitation of city laborers by 'scrip buyers' who were charging fees to cash municipal pay checks.
- The City Hall Bond Crisis of 1893
Facing a financial panic, Seattle's mayor proposes an experimental fix to keep public works moving and labor employed.
- The City’s New Bonding Power
New legislation grants Seattle the authority to issue local improvement bonds, shifting the financial burden of street and sewer projects directly onto benefited property owners.
- Who Should Own the Canal That Would Make King County?
In a long letter to the editor, a Seattle correspondent takes apart the bill letting King County buy the Washington Canal — and warns that handing the region's only outlet to a private company would 'sell the birthright of the future citizens.'
- The Streetcar That Ate the Profits: Third Street Line May Shut Down
A federal receiver gets permission to issue $15,000 in certificates, but the order bars any more money from being sunk into Seattle's losing Third Street railway.
- The Looming Financial Chasm of 1877
As Seattle navigates a national economic crisis, editors reflect on the precarious transition from paper 'greenbacks' to gold, revealing the anxieties of a frontier town tethered to a shifting national currency.
- The Great Egyptian Mystery: Living People Dissolve Into Air
Seattle audiences are treated to a 'London Sensation' at Yesler's Hall this week, featuring the world-renowned Mademoiselle Ilma and illusions that defy nature.
- Seattle's School Board Votes $400,000 in Bonds—and Pockets the Audit Demand
The board funds a debt, hears charges that thousands were mismanaged, then lets an audit resolution die for lack of a second.
- The Railroad That Bought Its Way to Glory
While the rest of Seattle debates politics and morality, a coalition of bankers and developers is quietly laying the groundwork for the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad, betting millions on land and gold bonds.
- Seattle's Teachers Refused to Take 85 Cents on the Dollar
Paid in warrants the district could not back, 140 educators asked voters to bond the school debt so their salaries would be worth face value.
- The Day Seattle Stood Still: A Century of Celebration on the Frontier
On July 4, 1897, Governor John H. Temple welcomed thousands of visitors to a parade so massive it stretched half a mile long, featuring floats from local industries and veterans of the Spanish-American War.
- The Match King’s Monopoly: How Edwin Gould Bought Seattle’s Competition
A look at the massive consolidation of the American match industry by J.P. Morgan’s ally, Edwin Gould, and what it means for local manufacturers.
- A Bank President Accused of Looting His Own Vault
Deputy Internal Revenue Collector James P. Gleason says he bought $10,000 in Commercial National Bank stock on promises that turned out to be worthless—and that H. W. Wheeler used a mortgage company to hide the assets.
- The Great Pig Entrapment of 1886
A pig's quest for kitchen scraps leads to a neighborhood-wide ordeal in downtown Seattle, involving the Fire Department and a very persistent squeal.
- The Cable Company Wanted More Time. Yesler Avenue Wanted Its Double Track.
In 1895, Seattle’s aldermen weighed whether to give a struggling street railway more time to double-track Yesler Avenue—or force it to honor the franchise the neighborhood had bought into.
- The First Lacrosse Game Ever Played in Seattle
Five hundred spectators packed Madison Street Park as picked teams from Victoria introduced the city to lacrosse — and a stocky second-home nicknamed 'Billy' ran away with the show.
- The Logger’s Dilemma: Why Cheap Labor Is Killing Washington's Future
In a fierce editorial from January 1877, the Puget Sound Dispatch argues that low wages for loggers don't just hurt workers—they stunt the growth of the entire territory, creating a class of 'mental and physical wrecks' instead of future statesmen.