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 |
|---|---|
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 4 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1917 | 1 |
38 stories matching williamson
- The Woman Who Defended Her Home With a Shotgun
When city laborers arrived to tear down Mrs. Williamson's fence for a road-widening project, she made it clear that some property rights are defended by force.
- A Prune Colony for Mason County
Frank Williamson sells 1,200 acres on Big Skookum Bay for $20,000, promising five-acre orchard tracts on easy payments.
- The Price of a Puyallup Valley Land War
A long-standing dispute over a donation land claim ends in a deadly shooting on a farm near Sumner.
- The $70,000 Rebellion: Olympia Refuses to Pay Its Railroad Bill
Northern Pacific missed its promised deadlines, so the citizens who pledged land and cash to bring the line to town decided the contract was void—and headed to court.
- The Telegraph Strike That Wasn't
When Western Union messenger boys in Seattle attempted to organize for better pay, management crushed the effort in a single afternoon.
- The Hunt for Seattle’s Teenage Outlaw
A young robbery suspect leads police on a chase through the woods near Lake View Cemetery.
- A Splinter, a Week of Pain, and a Fatal Case of Lockjaw
Five-year-old Willie Williamson died at a Commercial Street lodging house after a tiny wound in his foot turned to tetanus.
- A Gold-Headed Cane for the Mill Superintendent
Workers in Whatcom (modern-day Bellingham) threw a New Year's ball to honor their boss, celebrating the tight-knit community of the Pacific Northwest milling towns.
- Predatory Saloon Keeper Targets Puyallup Landholder
An Indian man faces the potential loss of his property after signing a document he believed was a loan mortgage, but which turned out to be a deed.
- The Waterfront Vigilante: A Seattle Harbor Scandal
A customs official and a boatman ambushed a crew of sailors returning to shore at Point Hudson, leading to a senseless shooting that left a seaman's life hanging in the balance.
- The Election of '86: How King County Voters Rejected Woman Suffrage
A landslide victory in the 1886 legislative race reveals a deeply divided electorate and the intense political maneuvering surrounding women's right to vote in Washington Territory.
- The Blue Glass Cure: A Barber’s Quackery and a Seattle Elder’s Rage
In March 1877, an elderly Black man named Uncle Dan nearly came to blows with a white barber over a ridiculous 'medical' treatment involving blue window panes and sunlight.
- Predatory Lending Against Tribal Land
Legal battle initiates to annul a property deed used as predatory collateral for a small cash loan.
- The Smooth-Talking 'Distressed Brother' Who Worked the Masons
An impostor posing as a stranded fellow Mason bilked lodges from coast to coast. Seattle's United Lodge No. 92 — whose safe was cracked last summer — believes it unknowingly armed him with the forged receipts he used to collect.
- The Great Dry Crusade: Seattle’s Religious Leaders Unite to Close the Saloons
In a packed meeting at the First M.E. Church, clergy and temperance advocates organized a new anti-saloon league, aiming to dismantle the liquor trade through moral pressure rather than just legislation.
- Benton County Sets Vote on Horse Heaven Irrigation District
After years of frustration, landowners push for an official irrigation district, hoping to finally turn arid plateaus into productive farms.
- The Great Seattle Land Battle of 1877
A federal decision sheds light on the messy early scramble for ownership of downtown Seattle, as speculators and the city vied for title to the waterfront.
- The Fiery End of the Steamer Gem
Tragedy strikes on Puget Sound as the pioneer steamer burns and sinks, claiming five lives.
- The Inspector Who Rode Free: Seattle's Steamboat Watchdog on Trial
Local steamboat inspector W. J. Bryant stands accused of favoritism in granting licenses, of padding his travel accounts while riding free, and of owing his office to his sidelines selling life-preservers and marine insurance.
- The People’s Ticket: Olympia’s 1891 Caucus Revolt
A printed slate handed out at the door, a mayor booed as 'defeated,' and a second-ward protest meeting: the fight over who would control Olympia's city nominations.
- City Hall's Saloon Showdown
A legislative battle over liquor limits and grade taxes highlights the growing pains of a booming Seattle.
- The Great Seattle Land Grab: How the Maynard Donation Claim Stalled City Growth
A legal dispute over the Catherine Maynard Donation Land Claim reveals the messy, high-stakes battle for ownership of Seattle’s central waterfront in the late 19th century.
- A Confession Withdrawn, a Wife Dead: The Smokalem Mystery
Jack Smokalem pleads guilty, then takes it back, as his daughter and coroners give conflicting accounts of his wife's violent death.
- The Never-Ending Five-Acre Legal Battle
A landmark property dispute near 11th Street in Tacoma finally nears a conclusion after years of litigation that cost more than the value of the land itself.
- The Fight to Keep Fort Walla Walla
Congressmen and senators from across the Northwest rally to block the federal abandonment of the historic military post.
Also about this, in other words
- The Chicken Yard Brawl
A trespassing dispute in the Walla Walla addition escalates from fence-line bickering to a public wrestling match.
- Prominent Rancher Ends His Life
Struggling with illness and domestic separation, William H. Foster died by his own hand in a family barn.
- An Armed Mistake on the Road to Walla Walla
Two young boys herding cattle from Starbuck were held at gunpoint by deputies who suspected them of being rustlers.
- The Hypocrisy of the Saloon Petition
The local editor lashes out at the moral contradiction of community members who sing hymns in church on Sunday while petitioning for a new saloon on Monday.
- Saloon Keeper Launches Impeachment War
After being denied a license, a local pioneer targets city officials for illegal self-dealing in Vancouver's municipal government.
- Betrayal in the Alley
A grocery store owner was severely beaten and robbed by a young man he had previously befriended.
- The Watchful Companion
An elderly saloon worker dies in a local barn, found only because his dog refused to abandon the site.
- The Panther, the Mail Route and the Ox Team: A Frontier Preacher's Long Road to Walla Walla
Rev. A. W. Sweeney, who carried the U.S. mail alone through the Arkansas wilds at eight years old and crossed the plains by ox team to the gold camps, died this morning at his son's house in Walla Walla at 76.