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 |
|---|---|
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 5 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 5 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 5 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
39 stories matching shorten
- Opening the Cascade Pass for Commerce
New improvements to the Snoqualmie wagon road are rapidly shortening travel time between the interior and Seattle, promising to boost the city's trade reach.
- The Wire Comes to Aberdeen
A town finally speaks to the outside world, instantly shortening the distance between the harbor and the rest of the globe.
- Domestic Workers Organize for Better Conditions
Kitchen hands and domestic servants in Spokane push for a revolutionary new union to secure higher wages, shorter hours, and rest periods.
- The Grand Coulee Canal Dream
A bold proposal to divert the Columbia River into the Grand Coulee to irrigate millions of acres of desert land.
- The Struggle for an Inland Connection
Citizens of Olympia gather to fund and build a new rail line toward the Pacific to break the town's isolation.
- Seattle Synagogue Modernizes Ritual
Congregation Ohaveth Sholom adopts a conservative reform minhag to shorten and simplify services.
- The Transformation of the Potlatch
Indigenous communities around Skokomish evolve the ancient tradition of the potlatch into a Fourth of July celebration.
- Redirecting the River: Reclaiming the Stuck Valley
Pierce County engineers cut a new channel through the Stuck River to drain 2,000 acres of farmland and end the cycle of sand-choked floods.
- Local cooks and waiters fight for a six-day work week
Everett's Cooks and Waiters' union moves to shorten the work week, aiming to align local conditions with Seattle's standards.
- The City Trims Its School Budget
Facing economic pressure, the school board cuts teacher salaries and shortens the school year, sparking a detailed accounting of educator compensation.
- The Right to Keep Your Home After a Tax Sale
Judge Langley rules on a pivotal case challenging whether the city can cut off a homeowner's redemption rights after property is sold for back taxes.
- A Cannery Comes Courting Puyallup Valley
Chicago investors scout the valley’s fruit crop, eye the old Pacific Meat Company building, and dangle $1,000 for a bridge at Sumner.
- A Parting Call for Reform from Governor Mead
In his final message to the legislature, Washington's outgoing governor challenges the political status quo, targeting the saloon industry, gambling, and the exploitation of child labor.
- The Price of a Cold Spring
Unseasonable weather caused Kennewick’s strawberry harvest to fall short of demand, costing local growers thousands in lost revenue.
- Seattle’s First Battle for a Long Weekend
In 1889, Seattle’s hardware merchants pioneered a movement to close shops early on summer evenings to give workers time for leisure and self-improvement.
- The Price of a Filthy City
In 1877, Seattle editors warned that stagnant water and neglected gutters were more than just a nuisance—they were a matter of life and death.
- The Gateway to the Skagit Gold Fields
Developers race to establish a supply town at the head of navigation as miners push into the remote wilderness of the Skagit River.
- Three Votes Kill Washington's Eight-Hour Day for Women—Then a Fight Nearly Breaks Out
A bill to shorten women's workdays from ten hours to eight died in the Olympia house after a cannery exemption and a corridor confrontation between two lawmakers.
- Senate Rejects Eight-Hour Workday for Women
Legislators kill labor reform, prioritizing industrial profits over the well-being of working women.
- A Dry Spell Finally Ends for Walla Walla Farmers
A much-needed rainfall brings relief to local agriculture after a month of concerning precipitation deficits.
- The Forty-Minute Commute: A Plan to Link Seattle and Tacoma
Promoters announce an ambitious electric interurban rail project designed to connect the two cities in under an hour and transform the Puyallup Valley.
- The Desolation of the Arid Belt
A pioneer reflects on four decades in Washington and Idaho, warning that unchecked grazing and timber harvesting are turning fertile mountain valleys into sagebrush barrens.
- Olympia Cut Salaries and School Terms to Survive the Panic of 1893
Facing depression, Washington’s capital city slashed official pay, shortened the school year to six months, and bet on harbor work and a new capitol to pull itself out.
- The Steamboat That Opened a Hidden Kitsap Country
In 1883 a new Seattle steamer route began serving isolated Kitsap farms south of Bainbridge Island, where settlers hoped for a post office, a mail route and the beginnings of a town.
- The Sudden Death of Editor James Madison Adams
A leading Yakima journalist collapses while attempting to secure his tenement, marking the end of a life defined by political combat and the fight for the Yakima Valley.