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 |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 6 |
| 1877 | 9 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 6 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 12 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 16 |
| 1893 | 15 |
| 1894 | 10 |
| 1895 | 14 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 7 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
144 stories matching steep
- They Climbed Rainier First—and Slept in a Sulphur-Scented Ice Cave
In 1870, Hazard Stevens and P. B. Van Trump reached Mount Rainier's summit after a brutal 10½-hour climb, then spent a freezing night beside volcanic steam vents.
- A Christmas on the Ice King: The Climb That Saw Rainier Smoking
In 1894, Major Ingraham led six men, seven homing pigeons, and a camera onto Mount Rainier’s glaciers. They came back with frostbite, a story of steam and smoke rising from the crater—and one pigeon missing.
- A Secret Birth on the Walk to Tacoma Avenue
A young woman collapsed from labor pains while climbing a steep Tacoma hill, forcing a druggist to assist in an unexpected roadside delivery.
- Fatal Train Wreck Near Cle Elum
A freight train section breaks loose on a steep grade, colliding with a passenger train.
- The Deadly First Lesson in Prescott
A wealthy farmer's first solo drive in his new automobile ends in a fatal plunge down a steep grade near Walla Walla.
- Fireman Killed in Collision Between Hose Wagon and Streetcar
Dan Noonan, a veteran relief fireman, dies after a tragic collision on the steep Twenty-third street hill.
- A Deadly Winter Afternoon on Seattle's Unfenced Sidewalks
While the city celebrated a rare snowfall with coasting, a teenager's death and multiple injuries on elevated, railing-less sidewalks turned the joy into a tragedy.
- The Runaway Street Car on Battery Street
When the brakes failed on a steep Seattle incline, passengers faced a terrifying ride as their horse-drawn car hurtled down the tracks toward the waterfront.
- Boston Capital Eyes Seattle Cable Cars
A visiting financier negotiates a massive infrastructure deal to bridge Seattle’s steep hills with new technology.
- Seattle's First Electric Streetcar Test
An experimental electric motor pulls a coach with thirty passengers up a steep incline in a successful trial run.
- Narrow Escape on the Roslyn Incline
A coal train loses control on a steep mountain track, forcing a daring rescue by the crew.
- The Original Miners: How Native Americans Discovered the Metaline's Lead Riches
Long before white prospectors staked claims, Indigenous people mined lead in the Metaline region to make bullets and slugs—and their ancient workings still dot the landscape.
- The Great Cascade: A Pilgrimage to the Roar of Snoqualmie Falls
In July 1877, three travelers walked the rugged trail from Snohomish to Fall City, documenting the lush farms, the hospitality of settlers, and the awe-inspiring power of the falls—a testament to the beauty and isolation of early Washington Territory.
- The Drunken Rampage of a North Seattle Man
After a mysterious tumble down a steep Seattle staircase, a local man terrorized his neighborhood until police intervention.
- The Logger's Last Haul: A Runaway Log Kills George Brann on Whidbey Island
A veteran head logger of the Puget Mill Company, who had served in both the army and the navy, was crushed by a log on a steep grade and lived only an hour and a half — leaving a wife and five children.
- The Audition at Leslie’s
When an art agency put out a call for a model, dozens of women showed up at a steep office staircase, each hoping for the stability of a steady wage.
- Explosion Destroys a Home on Lake Union
A coal oil lamp explosion on the bluff overlooking Lake Union leaves a local pharmacist's home in ruins, with fire crews struggling to reach the steep hillside.
- A Boulder on the Track Nearly Sends a Passenger Train Down the Hill
A westbound train strikes a fallen boulder near the Hangman Creek bridge, throwing its engine trucks off the track within feet of a steep drop. A nearby pay-car locomotive pulls the disabled engine free.
- A Runaway Grocery Team Crashes on Second Avenue
A panicked grocery wagon, fleeing down the steep slopes of Pine Street, ends in a tragic collision with a cable car, killing the horses and scattering goods.
- The Hill That Couldn't Be Saved: Fire Chief Pleads for Water on Seattle’s Steepest Slopes
In a stark report from June 1904, Chief Joshua Phillips warns that the city’s volunteer fire brigade is powerless against blazes in the steep upper districts, where gravity defeats their hoses and time kills buildings.
- A Runaway Laundry Wagon
Horses pull a laundry wagon down a steep Seattle hill, ending in a wreck that miraculously injures no one.
- A Ninety-Foot Fall Down an Icy Mountain—and He Walked Away
William Wade tumbled down a steep incline in the Cascades while hunting mountain goats, bounding off icy benches before disappearing under a snowbank. He survived with bruises and a sprained ankle.
- Seattle's Streets Were Made of Wood. The Fight to Pave Them Was On.
A City Council vote for brick on Pike Street signaled the end of makeshift plank roads—if Seattle could stomach the first cost.
- The Perils of Coasting: A Sidewalk Smash-up
Two local boys narrowly escape tragedy after a high-speed sledding accident on a steep Seattle street.
- The Waterfall That Broke the Poets: Snoqualmie’s Majestic Leap
A special correspondent describes the Snoqualmie Falls not as a mere tourist stop, but as a 'noble and striking natural wonder' that defies language, offering a glimpse into the rugged beauty of Washington Territory in 1888.
Also about this, in other words
- Monte Cristo Is Hiring: 600 Miners and the Steepest Tramway in America
F. W. Wilmans returns from the boomtown with word that the mines need hundreds more men and a 6,000-foot tramway with a grade over 45 degrees.
- A Perilous Descent Down Cowychee Hill
When a team of horses spooked on a steep grade, a local farmer had to make a split-second decision to save his family.
- A Plunge Toward the Waterfront
A teamster survives a terrifying fifty-foot tumble after his wagon loses footing on the steep grades of 1889 Seattle.
- The Fatal Climb for the Church Bells
A local carpenter attempted to scale a church steeple to settle a debate about height, meeting a tragic end in full view of the town.
- Trapped by the Mountain’s Fury
A terrifying narrow escape as a winter slide nearly claims a mountain boarding house.
- The Perilous First Ascent of Mount Meany
Three daring climbers have successfully reached the summit of the notoriously rugged peak in the Olympic Mountains after facing life-threatening conditions.
- Narrow Escape on Gabel Mountain
Three young boys go hiking, resulting in a terrifying 30-foot tumble down a ledge for one local youth.
- The House That Slid Down the Hill
A ramshackle boarding house on Main Street collapses after heavy rains and poor construction send it sliding down an unstable Seattle hillside.