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 |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 13 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1872 | 10 |
| 1876 | 36 |
| 1877 | 29 |
| 1878 | 78 |
| 1879 | 8 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 5 |
| 1883 | 36 |
| 1884 | 18 |
| 1885 | 30 |
| 1886 | 21 |
| 1887 | 16 |
| 1888 | 33 |
| 1889 | 62 |
| 1890 | 11 |
| 1891 | 38 |
| 1892 | 100 |
| 1893 | 102 |
| 1894 | 83 |
| 1895 | 95 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1897 | 10 |
| 1898 | 22 |
| 1899 | 16 |
| 1900 | 6 |
| 1902 | 4 |
| 1903 | 62 |
| 1904 | 52 |
| 1905 | 3 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 12 |
| 1909 | 37 |
| 1910 | 7 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 13 |
| 1915 | 10 |
| 1916 | 36 |
| 1917 | 16 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 6 |
| 1924 | 6 |
| 1925 | 3 |
1,164 stories matching sell
- The Man Who Bought His Own Death
In a Seattle saloon in 1877, a gambler named 'Hilly Hacker' was challenged by a stranger with a shotgun. Hacker’s response? He bet the man $50 that he could buy him 20,000 shares of stock at a higher price before the market opened—proving his nerve was stronger than any weapon.
- When Eggs Became Legal Tender: How the Palouse Survived the Panic of 1893
After the rains wrecked the 1893 wheat crop and merchants slammed shut the credit system, Palouse farmers discovered that the hen — and then the hog — could save them.
- The Cattle Boom That Was Selling Off Its Own Future
A Northern Pacific land examiner warns that Nebraska buyers are sweeping up Washington breeding stock, prices are surging in Yakima County, and an Adams County artesian well could open a new grazing frontier.
- Prohibition Raids Reach Benton County Cellars
A Hover couple is left in tears after the Sheriff enforces the state's dry laws on their home-made vintage.
- The Great Liquidation: Herman Wise’s Desperate Plea to Sell Everything in Aberdeen
A frantic letter from a Seattle merchant to his Aberdeen agent reveals the volatile nature of late-19th-century real estate and retail, urging a fire-sale 'regardless of cost' as business conditions sour.
- The Secretary Asks the Puyallups Whether They Are Fit to Hold Their Own Land
Interior Secretary John W. Noble met 200 Puyallup people on the reservation and promised to carry their wish to sell to President Harrison — after satisfying himself that they could be trusted with the money.
- Seattle Newsboys Battle the 'Ledger'
A newly formed union of newspaper sellers takes a stand against a Tacoma paper, sparking a confrontation over 'scab' labor and restaurant-bought loyalties.
- The Battle Over Seattle's Ten-Acre University Landmark
A spirited defense of the board’s refusal to sell the original university grounds in downtown Seattle for a 'trifle.'
- Grand Jury Exposes Seattle Brothels and Liquor Sales to Native Americans
In September 1876, a King County grand jury reported widespread lawlessness in Seattle, including indictments for selling liquor to Native Americans, running gambling houses, and maintaining public nuisances.
- 1889 Plan to Sell Washington’s Tide Lands
A scathing editorial from 1889 warns that the state's proposed policy for selling tide lands is a 'farce' designed to gift public waterfront to private speculators.
- The Shame of the Wharf: Child Labor on Seattle’s Waterfront
A local paper condemns the sight of young girls selling apples among 'hard cases' and criminals at the O.R. & N. dock, demanding police intervention.
- The Chief Knew Seattle’s Dance Halls Were Selling Beer. He Had One Question.
A Post-Intelligencer investigation found liquor flowing openly in variety theaters despite state law and police orders—then the police chief asked reporters whether it was true.
- Seattle Ends the 'Pay-to-Play' Liquor Fines
A local judge breaks with a years-long precedent of allowing restaurant owners to pay a monthly fee in lieu of a full liquor license.
- Formaldehyde in the Milk: Seattle's Pure Food Prosecutions
State Dairy and Pure Food Commissioner E. A. McDonald reports eight Seattle milk sellers fined for adulteration, including formaldehyde and low butterfat, as part of a statewide crackdown.
- The 'Smuggled Goods' Confidence Trick
Two men were jailed after attempting to sell cheap, domestically-sourced goods to the local postmaster under the guise of smuggled contraband.
- The Court House Frame-Up: Farmers Cry Foul Over a $30,000 Bond Deal
Benton County taxpayers say commissioners tried to sell courthouse bonds without advertising for bids — and that the prosecuting attorney helped fight the very people he was elected to represent.
- The Farmer and the One-Dollar Fee
A Stanwood farmer’s struggle to sell his own harvest in Seattle triggers an impromptu protest against city bureaucracy.
- How an old mining ditch and a boulder patch became a $6,000 orchard
A correspondent's tour of the Methow valley and the benches above Pateros finds peaches by the boxcar, seven-pound carrots, and a warning that California land had already outrun the poor man.
- The Pool-Selling Fugitive of Victoria
After facing legal trouble in Seattle, a local man fled to British Columbia, only to find his gambling scheme unwelcome there as well.
- Judge Hanford Rules on Native Rights to Personal Autonomy
A landmark federal court decision affirms that Indigenous citizens holding land in severalty are not subject to the same liquor restrictions as those on reservations.
- Railroad Monopoly Targets Seattle’s Prosperity
The Northern Pacific Railroad is accused of prioritizing Tacoma's land values over the economic development of Seattle.
- U.S. Supreme Court Voids Northern Pacific Land Sales
A landmark ruling leaves homeowners and farmers on railroad land in legal limbo, requiring an act of Congress to resolve.
- Olympia Officials Enforce 1862 Ban on Selling Liquor to Tribes
Superintendent Calvin H. Hale warns that selling alcohol to Native people is a 'grave offence' punishable by law and military enforcement.
- The Franchise Fight: Seattle’s Battle for Control of the Streets
As the Corporation Committee prepares to report on the street railway franchise, a fierce debate erupts over whether the city should sell its public assets to private developers for 40 years or keep them in public hands.
- The Puyallup Lands Went on Sale and Almost Nobody Bid
A congressional commission put 1,100 acres of Puyallup reservation land on the block outside Tacoma, appraised at $30,000. Two days in, roughly $3,000 had been taken — and the Indians on the land were already organising their own counter-sale.
Also about this, in other words
- A Railroad, a Tide-Land Tract, and an Elevator Go on the Auction Block
A bond debt forced the sheriff to sell the Terminal Railway Elevator Company's tracks, tide land, West Seattle elevator and warehouse, and franchise at the courthouse steps.
- The End of the Ledger: Coulee City Merchants Go 'Cash Only'
Local business owners announce a shift away from credit-based commerce to lower prices and eliminate accounting headaches.
- The Real Estate Handshake: A Forgotten Legal Precedent
An 1889 court ruling from Kansas reverberated in Seattle, forcing a change in how developers and land brokers accounted for profits.
- The Pioneer's Exit: Selling a Life in Snohomish
Royal Bashum, a fixture of the Snohomish landscape, puts his substantial ranch, mill site, and home on the market in 1878 to return East.
- Bondholders Take the Street Railway at a Courthouse Auction
The Rainier Power & Railway Company sells for $15,000, handing a troubled transit line to the men who held its debt.
- The Real Estate Hustle of 1888
Before the skyline, there were the speculators: a look at how early Seattle developers used the 'Great City' narrative to sell lots in mud-soaked additions.
- The Town Divided Over Long-Distance Communication
Richland stockholders clash over selling their local phone system to a Kennewick-based manager.
- A Business Exit from the Frontier
S.D. Patterson, the first merchant to open a shop in the new town of White Bluffs, is liquidating his inventory and heading for the coast.