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 |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 5 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
25 stories matching piper
- Dormitory Pranks and Faculty Feuds at Pullman
Agricultural college students torment their professor with snow-filled beds and carpet tacks while an editorial war over college management brews.
- The Fatal Dance of Washington's Ground Squirrels
Scientists at the state agricultural college tried to wipe out crop-destroying rodents with bacteria—and found a native plague that sent infected squirrels spinning until they dropped.
- A Wife, an Ox Goad, and a Land Feud: Homer Strait Butchered on a Cowlitz County Road
A lawsuit over a piece of land ended in a roadside ambush near Kalama, with Strait's estranged wife wielding an ox goad while her son-in-law emptied a pistol into him.
- The Baker Who Ran for Mayor
Seattle's Populist Party convention devolves into 12 hours of bickering before selecting a German baker to lead their ticket.
- The Ball That Shook Seattle: A Night of Masks, Money, and 'Transposed Sexes'
In the damp cold of February 1877, Seattle’s elite gathered for a masquerade ball that defied social norms, featuring cross-dressing performers and a prize for the 'best sustained character'—a rare glimpse into the territory's vibrant, chaotic social life.
- The Man Who Wouldn't Die: The Last Survivor of the Alamo Walks Among Us
A heroic frontiersman named Jimmy Kennon has resurfaced in Washington Territory, proving false reports of his death. He claims to be the sole survivor of the Battle of the Alamo and a legendary scout who once rescued a captive from Sioux hands.
- The Health Scares of Seattle’s Founders
A pioneer’s testimonial for a turn-of-the-century 'miracle' tonic reveals the desperation of health and mortality on the 1880s frontier.
- Seattle Invites the Whole Territory to Its Centennial Fourth
As the United States turned 100 in 1876, Seattle's civic leaders mobilized an elaborate city-wide committee to prove the frontier outpost was a modern, patriotic city.
- Seattle’s First 'Big' Fourth of July
As the nation prepared to mark its Centennial in 1876, the citizens of Seattle mobilized every merchant, captain, and dignitary to prove the young town was ready for the spotlight.
- The Boys in Blue Arrive in Seattle
When federal troops were deployed to suppress anti-Chinese violence in 1885, they found themselves quartered in a local opera house, leading to a strange and rowdy few days in the city.
- They Climbed Rainier First—and Slept in a Sulphur-Scented Ice Cave
In 1870, Hazard Stevens and P. B. Van Trump reached Mount Rainier's summit after a brutal 10½-hour climb, then spent a freezing night beside volcanic steam vents.
- A Fatal Fall at the Construction Site
A young carpenter fell 20 feet from scaffolding while working on a new house, leaving him with critical injuries.
- Seattle’s Temple of Learning Rises Between Two Lakes
In 1895, contractors raced to finish a $200,000 campus between Union and Washington lakes—complete with copper finials, a gymnasium and a hillside observatory—before the September opening.
- The Ghost of the Seattle Enterprise: Stockholders Escape a Dead Newspaper's Debts
A receiver's long-running suit against 85 subscribers to the failed Seattle Enterprise collapses in court, but not before the paper's brief, fiery life is recalled — complete with a building-bulging press and a strike by its own printers.
- Seattle YWCA Rents Burke Building Rooms for Working Women
With the Y.W.C.A. newly established in the Burke Building, Seattle women organize to support young laborers arriving in the city.
- A Pioneer Stove Merchant Survives Fire, Panic, and a Receivership
Z.C. Miles arrived in 1870, rebuilt after the Great Seattle Fire, and joined forces with a young executive to create a coast-wide jobbing giant in stoves and electric supplies.
- The Tumbleweed That Threatened Washington's Wheat
In 1898, a state agricultural professor traced an invasive Russian thistle to railway yards and warned that Yakima County was already infested.
- Ballard Votes to Pay the Piper
A special election in the young city of Ballard clears the three-fifths bar to fund debts that ran about $3,000 past the legal limit.
- The Pied Piper of Seattle: The Policeman Who Controlled Animals
Before Seattle became a sprawling metropolis, a local officer reportedly possessed a magnetic, inexplicable influence over stray dogs and wild creatures.
- The Mayor’s Welcome: Seattle Prepares to Embrace Its War Heroes
Mayor Humes and the Chamber of Commerce unite to orchestrate a grand reception for the Washington Volunteers returning from the Philippines, offering free rail excursions and civic honors.
- The Great Oyster Heist of 1876
Two hungry gentlemen vanish into thin air, leaving their tab and their fried oysters to a couple of unsuspecting strangers.
- Seattle’s Volunteer Firefighters Organize for Protection
Citizens and council members gather to establish the first official fire company for a growing city.
- The Great Seattle Land-Grab Controversy
A political advertisement from 1889 exposes a list of prominent Seattle figures accused of inflating real estate prices and manipulating the local land market.
- The Gentrification of Early Seattle
A 1889 land prospectus uses the promise of a new streetcar line to drive up property values, listing an elite roster of buyers to signal progress—and profit.
- The Real Estate Frenzy of Renton Addition
Promoters of a new Seattle neighborhood published a list of prominent investors to drive up property values before the arrival of a new cable line.
Also about this, in other words
- The Monkey, the Fireboat, and the Captain's Temper
A Seattle fireboat captain and a stoker face a city board investigation after a dispute involving an 'odious comparison' to a monkey.
- A Polish Colony in the Washington Woods
Organizers are recruiting hundreds of dissatisfied Polish and Swiss families from the Midwest to a planned settlement called Rapperswyl, on the south fork of the Nooksack — a Swiss name planted on the edge of Whatcom County.
- A Local Boy’s Dangerous Encounter with a Pet Raccoon
A young newsboy known as 'Pud' loses a finger after a rough encounter with a captive raccoon.
- The Chain-Gang’s Shovel Symphony
In the heart of Olympia, a group of convicts turned Pacific Avenue into their personal construction site, wielding pickaxes and shovels with obstinate pride.
- A Night of Whist and Crokignole in 1889 Seattle
A surprise party for Miss Fannie McKay at her family home on Fourth and Yesler offers a glimpse into the parlor social life of early Seattle.
- A Domestic Tragedy in Mount Pleasant
A husband's rage turns fatal when a neighbor intervenes to protect his wife and children.
- A Rough Day in the Field for Finley Student
A young girl's pony ride turns into a painful accident requiring a six-hour journey for medical help.
- The Empathetic Pup of Idol Hill
A local carpenter finds comfort in a loyal companion who mirrors his own physical struggle.