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.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 6 |
| 1883 | 6 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 8 |
| 1894 | 5 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1918 | 1 |
77 stories matching sex
- The Forgotten Bid for Washington Suffrage
While the 1878 proposed state constitution for Washington Territory was largely a blueprint for governance, it contained radical separate articles granting women the right to vote and hold office long before the 19th Amendment.
- The Forgotten Ballot for Women’s Suffrage in Washington
In 1878, Washington Territory’s proposed constitution contained specific articles to enfranchise women and restrict the sale of liquor, marking a radical early push for civic equality.
- First Felony Conviction Under New 'Living Off Earnings' Law
A Seattle man is the first in the county to be sent to the penitentiary for profiting from sex work under a new state statute.
- "Great Scott! Is That Dr. Mary Walker?" — Two Seattle Clerks Ditch Their Skirts on a Dare
A druggist's cashier and stenographer appear on Front Street in bifurcated skirts, betting their boss they'd do it. The town stares; the women report no other inconvenience.
- The Inhumanity of the City Jail
A plea for the humane treatment of women in Seattle's overcrowded, mixed-gender prison system.
- Washington Sets First Minimum Wage Standards
A newly empowered industrial welfare commission begins enforcing minimum pay for women, girls, and minors across mercantile, laundry, and factory sectors.
- A Tragic End in Colfax
A woman took her own life in Colfax after being forced into sex work by her husband, a gambler.
- Scandal at the Capital
A public altercation between a visiting 'Dean' and Olympia's Mayor leads to calls for her departure.
- Two Women Who Held Their Own Land for Eighteen Months
Estelle Williamson and Gertrude McCann pass through Ocosta on the way to Olympia to prove up on homestead claims they worked alone — braver, a neighboring paper says, than most men.
- A daring descent into the dark
Two women make history by descending 2,000 feet into the Oregon Coal Company mine at Coal Creek.
- The Price of 'Protection': Seattle’s Managed Vice in 1892
A rare glimpse into the city's early, transactional relationship with sex work, where police collected 'license fees' under the guise of liquor violations.
- The Pulpit Versus the Millinery
Tacoma and North Yakima ministers spark a public outcry by demanding women remove their hats during church services.
- A Fatal Jealousy in the City's Red-Light District
A jilted lover kills a woman at a brothel on West Third Street after she refuses his plea to return to him.
- Should a Woman Lead Washington Territory?
Following the Territorial Legislature's grant of suffrage, a public meeting has petitioned the President to appoint a woman as Governor.
- A Woman's Seven-Day Trek Through the Snoqualmie Pass
While critics mocked women’s ability to handle physical labor, one traveler proved the skeptics wrong by hiking the Cascade Range alongside her husband.
- The Senator Who Saw Woman Suffrage as the Only Cure for a Dying Republic
In February 1889, Senator Blair introduced a constitutional amendment to grant women the vote, arguing that the denial of this right was an injustice equal to slavery and the only thing saving the nation from ruin.
- The New Rules of Mortality
Aberdeen codifies the role of the health officer in managing public sanitation and mandatory reporting for every birth and death.
- Seattle Moves to Put a Woman on the Police Force
The city council finance committee backed $175 a month for a woman police officer who would advise young women, investigate cases, and enter saloons and hotels.
- The Skokomish Jubilee
Hundreds of Indigenous people from across the region gather for a major tribal assembly, despite the perils of travel.
- The 'Royal Endeavor' Insurance Fraud
A shady order claiming to be an insurance society dupes citizens of Prosser before being unmasked as a total fraud.
- The Territory Opens Its First University Schools
A new collegiate and primary institution launches in Seattle under the leadership of A. S. Mercer.
- Organizing Women in the Industrial Workforce
Labor organizers discuss the rising number of women in the workforce and the urgent need for unionization to secure basic dignity and safety.
- Spokane Editor Grudgingly Concedes Women the Ballot — and Fears for Their Womanhood
Washington Territory's 1883 suffrage bill passes the legislature, and the Spokane Falls Review's editor can't decide whether to congratulate women or mourn the loss of their 'sphere.'
- The City's Monthly 'Tax' on Prostitution
A reader questions the 'reform' administration’s police policy of extracting monthly fines from sex workers as a form of state-sanctioned blackmail.
- The Trial of Ursula Boyd: A Labyrinth of Coercion
A woman stands trial for the murder of the man who, according to her testimony and a cache of intimate letters, forced her into prostitution and systematic blackmail.