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 |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 6 |
| 1876 | 16 |
| 1877 | 21 |
| 1878 | 26 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 8 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 19 |
| 1886 | 11 |
| 1887 | 7 |
| 1888 | 7 |
| 1889 | 25 |
| 1891 | 9 |
| 1892 | 24 |
| 1893 | 17 |
| 1894 | 21 |
| 1895 | 21 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 6 |
| 1899 | 4 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1904 | 7 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 4 |
| 1928 | 1 |
285 stories matching premis
- The City's Water Problem: A Nuisance in the Making
After the Great Seattle Fire, one man's attempt to build a makeshift shelter leads to a messy public legal battle over fire hazards and sanitation.
- The Unfinished Business of the Great Fire
Months after the Seattle Great Fire of 1889, local businesses and residents were still embroiled in legal battles over destroyed property and forced evictions from the ruins.
- The Violent Eviction at the Medical Offices
A landlord's dispute over unpaid rent turned into a street brawl in downtown Tacoma, with professional men resorting to brute force to secure the premises.
- The Lease a Husband Had No Right to Sign
A Tacoma mercantile firm stopped paying $500-a-month rent, arguing the leased property was community property and the wives had never signed. Washington’s Supreme Court said the lease was not absolutely void—but the tenants had rights too.
- The Dream of the La Grande Marsh Colony
Developers in the 1880s marketed a fertile Snohomish County marshland as an ideal site for a family colony, selling the promise of self-sufficiency just four miles from town.
- The Unintended Boarding House Scandal
A Seattle property owner finds themselves in court after leasing a building to tenants who turned the premises into a 'disorderly house,' sparking a legal debate over landlord responsibility.
- The Seattle Athletic Club Rejects Prize Fighting
A newly formed club at the Hotel Northern officially bans professional boxing matches on their premises, signaling a shift toward amateur sport in the young city.
- The Soapy Scandal of South Seattle
A federal revenue collector busts a clandestine distillery masquerading as a soap-making business.
- The City’s Blueprint: Codifying Seattle’s 1886 Charter
A comprehensive look at the new municipal laws defining everything from fire prevention to drainage, setting the legal foundation for a growing city.
- The Sanitary Crisis of 1885
Dr. J. M. W. Hedges demands immediate action on open cesspools, raw sewage, and the 'lodging house' filth threatening the health of early Seattle.
- The Promised Land on the Sound
A speculative real estate pitch from 1880s Snohomish invites settlers to a 'colony' on the river, promising prime marshland and a booming industrial future.
- The Neighborhood Siege on Commercial Street
A century and a half ago, a massive petition of Seattle residents demanded the city ‘cleanse’ a house of ‘contagious pollution,’ setting a precedent for civic moral panics.
- The Sheriff’s Auction Block in Territorial Seattle
A look at the brutal cycle of debt and displacement in 1878 Seattle, where land holdings were sold off on the courthouse steps to satisfy unpaid loans.
- The Price of a Bulldog Bite
A Seattle millhand secures a $4,000 judgment after a vicious guard dog attack on the tide flats, despite the owner's attempt to deny responsibility.
- The Price of Development in 1878
A wave of land foreclosures hits King County as local settlers see their riverfront properties seized to satisfy debt.
- The Struggle for Local Control Over Seattle's Saloons
A new 1886 ordinance tightened the grip of the City Council on the city’s liquor trade, imposing strict licensing, background checks, and Sunday bans in an attempt to regulate the chaos of the frontier economy.
- The Mukilteo Colony Dream
Promoters pitched a 32-tract 'colony' in Mukilteo as a perfect, self-sustaining opportunity for families to own land and work the Sound, promising everything from shipbuilding to fertile marshland farming.
- Midnight Raid for Water Pipes
The City of Tacoma seizes infrastructure from a private utility company in a daring, late-night maneuver.
- Knockout Drops at the Standard Saloon
A Tacoma man swears he was drugged, fleeced of $210, and knocked toothless—then asks the city to revoke the saloon's license.
- The Forgotten Colony of 'La Grande Marsh'
Promoters promised a thriving agricultural paradise on the outskirts of Snohomish, marketing deep-water access and fertile soil to lure a new generation of settlers.
- The Shadowy Resort on the Reservation
Neighbors allege a dance hall and illicit bar near Bay Street are a hub for vice, liquor sales to minors, and persistent noise, while city officials look the other way.
- Police Raid Swope Hotel in Opium Crackdown
The manager of the Swope Hotel faces court charges after authorities discover two men smoking opium on the premises.
- Fire Destroys Home in Loomis
A local family lost their home to fire, triggering a massive show of support from the generous Loomis community.
- A Daring Nighttime Intrusion on Fourth Street
An attempted burglary at a private residence in Seattle is foiled by a sharp-eyed family member, sending a large suspect fleeing into the darkness.
- The Great Soap Bust of South Seattle
A federal raid on a clandestine distilling operation leaves a local man out of soap and out of luck.