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 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 9 |
| 1876 | 40 |
| 1877 | 26 |
| 1878 | 20 |
| 1880 | 7 |
| 1882 | 4 |
| 1883 | 28 |
| 1884 | 12 |
| 1885 | 20 |
| 1886 | 15 |
| 1887 | 8 |
| 1888 | 12 |
| 1889 | 39 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 17 |
| 1892 | 19 |
| 1893 | 41 |
| 1894 | 41 |
| 1895 | 84 |
| 1899 | 8 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1928 | 1 |
460 stories matching portion
- The Battle for Belltown's Fire Engine
A citizen's fiery demand that the city stop hoarding firefighting resources in the business district and grant the northern residents the protection they pay for.
- Engineer Crushed in Tragic Depot Accident
A Great Northern engineer is seriously injured while assisting with an unloading job at the local depot.
- The Unkind Spring of 1892
A biting cold snap across the Washington territory freezes out the fruit harvest and stalls farm work.
- The Hill Is Sliding Into the Sea: Seattle’s First Landslide Crisis
In November 1876, a slow-motion disaster threatened to bury a jeweler’s home and block Mill Street as nature reclaimed the southern slopes of Pioneer Square.
- Rain Turns Early Seattle's Front Street to Mud
When heavy rains turned downtown thoroughfares into impassable quagmires, residents demanded better engineering than the temporary, 'penny-wise' patch jobs of the 1870s.
- Waterfront Wharf Collapses Into The Bay
Decaying piles succumb to teredos, dumping 50,000 feet of lumber into the Elliott Bay waterfront.
- Clearing the Beach Squatters
City authorities order the removal of squatters living on the tide lands as the city begins to enforce strict land claims.
- The Battle for Seattle's Soul: Who Owns the City?
As the Northern Pacific Railroad, wealthy speculators, and the City of Seattle clash in Olympia over a massive land claim, the future of Seattle’s streets and growth hangs in the balance.
- The War on Lice in the Hop Fields
A local hop merchant reveals the specific, labor-intensive chemical formula needed to save the crop from blight.
- Seattle’s Crumbling Infrastructure Crisis
City Engineer R.H. Thomson warns that the city’s aging wooden box sewers are on the verge of collapse, threatening the streets above.
- Steamer Collision at Yesler's Wharf
The steamer State of Washington smashed into the docked Cascade, nearly destroying the smaller vessel in a chaotic wharf-side accident.
- The City's 'Pest House' Under Siege
A Seattie facility for contagious diseases is damaged by wayward debris from local riverfront construction.
- The Mud Hole at the Arlington Hotel
A local property dispute on Commercial Street exposes the messy reality of 1885 Seattle infrastructure.
- Court Opens Salmon Bay to Harbor-Line Rules
The state Supreme Court reverses a lower-court writ and lets harbor line commissioners regulate Salmon Bay—even though the bay nearly drains at low tide—because Puget Sound freight boats still use it at high water.
- A Gilded Vision of the Northwest Frontier
Celebrating the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad, a booster-style manifesto maps out a future for Washington’s 'infant cities.'
- Seattle's New Railroad Depot to Anchor Future Prosperity
City leaders anticipate that the construction of a grand new depot at the foot of Second Street will permanently shift the city's wholesale trade district.
- Seattle's Mayor Calls for Modern Infrastructure
In his annual address, Mayor H. G. Struve urges the city to build a modern sewer system and expand city limits to meet rapid population growth.
- Seattle's Business District Destroyed by 1889 Fire
The entire business district of Seattle was reduced to ashes in a massive conflagration, leaving the city without a single standing business house.
- Seattle Rebuilds After the 1889 Great Fire
A catastrophic blaze levels the city’s business district, triggering a massive relief effort and ushering in new urban planning.
- The Great Reconstruction: Seattle’s Waterfront Rises from the Ashes
Less than a month after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city’s wharves are a hive of frantic, round-the-clock labor to restore the vital commerce of the Pacific.
- The Taxman Cometh: A Seattle Pioneer Defends His Reputation
Prominent settler George Kinnear clarifies his position after appearing on a list of delinquent taxpayers for street improvements.
- The Great Rent Refund Fight
A landmark Seattle court case establishes a precedent for tenants demanding rent back after their buildings are destroyed.
- The Seattle Fire That Almost Burned the Town
An incendiary blaze at the old Coffee and Elbow Saloon nearly consumed downtown Seattle in a narrow escape that left hundreds of men standing by with buckets.
- The Death of Whitechapel: Great Northern’s Seattle Land Grab
A major expansion of the Great Northern railway threatens to erase the working-class district of Whitechapel to build a central passenger depot.
- The Great Mud Flat Land War
An armed confrontation breaks out over disputed tide lands as settlers use cannon and rifles to defend their property claims.
Also about this, in other words
- The Weight of Little Things
A century and a half ago, a Seattle writer mused on how the smallest details of life—a penny, a word, a drop of water—shape our massive, often overwhelming destinies.