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 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 4 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
27 stories matching surf
- A Whaleboat Vanished in the Surf Off Grays Harbor
Lieut. Freeman H. Crosby and four seamen from the survey steamer McArthur were lost trying to land through the surf at Joe Creek, fifteen miles north of Grays Harbor.
- Five Sailors Perish in Grays Harbor Surf
A survey crew's small boat capsizes in the dangerous entrance to the harbor, sparking a frantic search along the beach.
- The Heroine of North Beach
How Martha White, a solitary woman on the storm-lashed coast, braved mountain-high waves to pull dying sailors from the surf.
- Tragedy on the Sound: Government Boat Capsizes
A government surf boat capsized in a squall near Fort Madison, leading to a grim search for the lost soldiers.
- Tragedy in the Surf: Survey Lieutenant Drowns
A routine mission to erect a coastal signal turns fatal for a U.S. Coast Survey officer and four sailors at the mouth of Joe Creek.
- They Robbed the Dead as the Surf Came In
A Pacific County newspaper condemned beach scavengers who stripped bodies and trunks after a shipwreck—and recalled the shame of the Grace Roberts disaster.
- The Tragic End of the Ferndale
A British bark shattered by Grays Harbor breakers leaves sixteen dead, but a local woman's bravery saves three survivors from the surf.
- The Tragic Disappearance of the Hamilton Brothers
Two young engineers vanished while swimming in the surf at Peterson's Point, leaving behind only questions and a search party.
- The Girl Who Had No Birthplace
A tragic drowning at Ilwaco Beach recalls the erasure of a pioneer town by the shifting Cowlitz River.
- A Relic of the Ancient Rainforest
A state forestry official unearths a cedar log with a spruce growing over it, dating back to 1680, to be showcased at the World's Fair.
- Six Drowned and the Dead Looted: The Wreck of the Strathblane
Eyewitnesses described a fearful scene off North Beach as the iron ship Strathblane broke apart—farmers rode into the surf to save survivors while others rifled the dead.
- The Disappearing Lake
Residents are baffled as the waters of Surprise Lake suddenly recede, leaving property owners high and dry.
- The Wreck of the Revere
A dense fog causes the American bark Revere to run aground near Cape Flattery, resulting in a total loss of the ship but a successful rescue by local Indigenous communities.
- Tragedy on the Quillayute Coast
The Chilean bark Leanor strikes rocks in a fierce storm, claiming the lives of the captain, his wife, and four crew members.
- A Steamship Picnic on the Sound
A summer excursion by local youth captures the social pulse of Seattle in 1891.
- The Ghost Ship in the Surf
A speculative salvage mission seeks to recover a fortune in iron rails from a shipwrecked vessel buried in the sand.
- A Ship's Nameboard Comes Home, Four Years After the Ivanhoe Sailed Away
Washed up on a sand spit at Willapa Bay, the gilt scoured off by the surf, the lost ship's sign joins a life buoy as the only things that ever came back from the Ivanhoe.
- Queen Victoria's Silver, for the Men Who Pulled a Drowning Crew from the Surf
Six Washington coast men who braved the November breakers off Long Beach to save a foundering British ship's crew are honored with silver medals sent by the Queen herself.
- The Hero of the Ferndale Disaster
When the British bark Ferndale went down in a freezing storm off the Washington coast, one local woman braved the surf to save the lives of three sailors.
- The Beacon at the Edge of the World
A rare dispatch from the remote Tatoosh Island lighthouse reveals the technical marvel of the Fresnel lens and the isolation of the keepers guarding the Pacific entrance.
- The Perilous Rescue at Pillar Point
A steamship crew's desperate battle against a violent storm and a jagged coastline ends in a daring rescue on the Puget Sound.
- The Useless Life-Saving Station at Neah Bay
An 1885 editorial criticizes the federal government for failing to staff the Neah Bay station with capable crews, warning that stranded sailors would find themselves abandoned in a crisis.
- The Captain's Last Farewell: Five Drowned in the Grays Harbor Surf
Lieut. Crosby and four crewmen were lost when their survey whaleboat capsized off Westport; only one body has been recovered.
- The Tragic Wreck of the Bark Leonora
A severe storm off the Washington coast leaves a vessel destroyed and leads to a harrowing scene of survival and loss.
- The Steamboat That Dared the Rapids
Captain James W. Troup pilots the steamer *Hasalo* through the treacherous Cascades of the Columbia River in a feat of navigation that thrilled onlookers and defied death.