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.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1885 | 5 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 6 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
65 stories matching plunder
- The 'Pirates' of Hood Canal Were Actually the Men Who Chased the Thieves
A Port Townsend dispatch mistakenly branded two Bangor residents as robbers; they were the ones who caught the real thieves and recovered a boatload of plunder.
- The Tax Collector’s Secret: How Seattle Officials Hid Debts to Profit from Advertising
A local newspaper exposes a scheme where the School District collector withheld tax information, forcing taxpayers to pay exorbitant advertising fees to clear liens they didn't know existed.
- The Great Seattle Printing Conspiracy
When the Dispatch editor exposed a 'plunder' scheme by rival newspapers to inflate public printing costs, he revealed the messy, graft-filled reality of 1878 municipal administration.
- The Loot Stashed in the Shadows of the Great Seattle Fire
While the city scrambled to recover from the devastation of the Great Fire, scavengers used the chaos as cover to plunder private homes.
- Thief Raids Adventist Camp in South Tacoma
While campers attended services in the main tent, a local man allegedly pilfered valuables from their temporary settlement.
- The Vultures on Steilacoom's Streets
A furious 1858 editorial accuses local authorities of letting California gamblers plunder the town in plain sight.
- The Pirates of the Pacific: When Salvage Means Plunder
A biting critique from 1886 argues that maritime 'salvage' laws in the Pacific Northwest have transformed honest sailors into modern-day pirates who hold ships hostage for ransom.
- The Unlucky Burglar of the Indian Reservation
A habitual offender is caught in the act at the government Indian school.
- Burglar’s Stash Includes Dentist’s Gold
A suspect arrested for burglary is linked to a past theater district crime after his room is found filled with stolen dental gold.
- The Investigation of the Friendless Dead
Seattle's medical establishment faces a reckoning over the exploitation of vulnerable patients.
- The Seattle Doctrine: 'Live and Let Live' in 1876
An editorial from the pioneer era argues that local business growth shouldn't be a zero-sum game, warning against the 'vampire' spirit of monopoly.
- Police Capture Burglary Ring Near Interbay
Four suspects were apprehended without a struggle in Seattle, though police found no evidence linking them to recent high-profile hotel robberies.
- Judge Intervenes to Save Boys from Reform School
A Seattle judge issued a last-minute stay to keep two boys from being sent to the state reformatory, instead using them as witnesses against the man accused of training them in crime.
- The River Bandit of Port Madison
A Swede with a taste for plunder steals a haul of supplies and clothing, only to be chased down by local Indigenous residents.
- Daylight Raid on Anacortes
A trio of thieves plundered a waterfront home and fled into the maze of islands, sparking a dramatic boat chase.
- The Murder on the Train: A Snohomish Mystery
An Indian man is found dead with his throat cut aboard a local train; suspicion falls on two men from Pratt Point.
- A Burglar’s Failed Heist at the Cherry Valley Hotel
A hotel proprietor used a lamp and a revolver to fend off an armed intruder who demanded the contents of his safe.
- Holiday Crime Wave Sweeps Tacoma
While crowds gathered for the Fourth of July celebration, a brazen spree of burglaries and robberies left residents on edge.
- Scavenging in the Ashes
While Seattle recovers from the Great Fire of 1889, opportunists sift through the debris of the burned post office in search of mail—and valuables.
- The Ghostly Burglar of Main and 12th
A Seattle household tried everything to stop a persistent intruder—from chair barricades to tin-pan alarms—but the culprit bypassed every obstacle, leaving the family baffled.
- Brazen Neighborhood Burglary Spree in North End
Three Sixth Avenue homes hit in a single hour by thieves utilizing a jimmy.
- Ralph Beaumont Takes the Stage
Thousands gather at Pioneer Place to hear a blistering critique of corporate power.
- County Surveyor Ames Accused of Skimming Wages
A scathing editorial calls for the immediate removal of County Surveyor Ames for payroll fraud.
- East Side Workers Demand a Free Bridge
Fed up with paying tolls while their taxes fund empty infrastructure projects elsewhere, east side residents threaten to block city bond measures.
- The Battle for the Capital: Yakima vs. The Railroads
A fiery local editorial argues that Yakima, not Olympia, should be the state capital to break the corrupt influence of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Also about this, in other words
- Sacred Vessels Stolen from St. Mark's
Thieves desecrated the altar at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, leaving the sanctuary in ruins and stealing holy silver.
- They Robbed the Dead as the Surf Came In
A Pacific County newspaper condemned beach scavengers who stripped bodies and trunks after a shipwreck—and recalled the shame of the Grace Roberts disaster.