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.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1871 | 2 |
| 1872 | 38 |
| 1876 | 156 |
| 1877 | 140 |
| 1878 | 73 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 35 |
| 1882 | 34 |
| 1883 | 130 |
| 1884 | 84 |
| 1885 | 168 |
| 1886 | 88 |
| 1887 | 104 |
| 1888 | 95 |
| 1889 | 236 |
| 1890 | 5 |
| 1891 | 86 |
| 1892 | 318 |
| 1893 | 368 |
| 1894 | 422 |
| 1895 | 555 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 3 |
| 1898 | 9 |
| 1899 | 108 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1902 | 3 |
| 1903 | 39 |
| 1904 | 18 |
| 1909 | 16 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
| 1928 | 6 |
| 1929 | 10 |
3,374 stories matching would
- The Fight to Stop Seattle's Exclusion from the Grain Trade
A proposed legislative bill threatens to reignite old regional rivalries and disadvantage Seattle's grain producers in favor of Tacoma.
- A 28-Mile Dream Road Between Seattle and Tacoma
A landowner's 1895 letter urges the legislature to charter a direct highway from South Park through Des Moines to Tacoma, selling it as relief for the unemployed, a check on speculators and the making of the 'Twin Cities of Puget Sound.'
- The Political Economy of 'Free Silver'
An editorial critique of the Populist push for silver currency, warning that inflation would only devastate the working class.
- Kill Every Seal? An Alaska Official's Radical Fix for the Bering Sea
Sheldon Jackson told a Seattle reporter that wiping out the Pribilof herd was cheaper than chasing Canadian poachers—and warned that England would bulldoze the boundary if the U.S. didn't fight.
- The Senator’s Lament: Puget Sound vs. the Columbia River
In 1892, Senator Watson Squire sparred with his colleagues over federal infrastructure spending, arguing that sinking millions into the Columbia River served only Portland while neglecting the burgeoning commercial potential of Puget Sound.
- The Chemist Who Couldn't Name the Killer's Weapon
In a Seattle courtroom drama, defense attorney John Y. Torum argues that the poison used in a murder was too obscure for any professional chemist to have selected—unless the killer had access to something far more common.
- Seattle's Filipino Editors Draw a Line: Restrict Us If You Must — But Never Shut Us Out
As agitation builds in Congress to bar Filipinos from the mainland, the editors of Seattle's Filipino Forum weigh the Johnson bill and conclude that a quota, however bitter, is preferable to outright exclusion — which they call an imperialist injustice.
- The Telephone Franchise Fight: A Speculator's Bid Rejected
Aldermen refused S. H. Piles a phone franchise because he wouldn't name his backers or put up a bond — and the competitor they did trust never built a line.
- The Political Shuffle Before Statehood
As Washington Territory neared statehood in 1886, Republican leaders in Seattle scrambled to settle on a single, unified candidate for Delegate to Congress—a move that local power brokers hoped would avoid the bitter factionalism of the past.
- The University Is Coming. Where Will the Students Live?
With no dormitories planned for the new Union Bay campus, Seattle wonders whether streetcars and spare bedrooms can absorb 600 students by September.
- A Miraculous Escape from the Josephine Explosion
A local woman and her children avoided tragedy on the doomed steamer by a mere thirty minutes.
- The Economic Anxiety of 1888
A fiery editorial warns that proposed national tariff reductions threaten to collapse Seattle's burgeoning industries and ruin the working class.
- The City Council Battles Over Liquor Fees
A sharp political divide emerges over raising liquor license fees, with arguments ranging from moral restriction to fear of creating a monopoly.
- The Northern Pacific's Elusive Cascade Branch
A skeptical look at how the Northern Pacific Railroad tried to rebrand its lines to secure land grants in King County.
- The Colored Independents Demand Recognition: A Fight for Political Dignity in 1886 Seattle
As the city prepares to elect Frank Black as mayor, a newly formed club of Black voters secures a rare agreement from Republican leaders for political recognition, rejecting bribes and demanding respect in a segregated era.
- James J. Hill's Railroad Ultimatum to Seattle
The Great Northern president tells Seattle's council he will build freight and passenger terminals 'right away'—if the city grants the track franchises he wants across the tide flats and South Third.
- The Great Garbage Debate: Seattle’s Early Fight for Sanitation
While the city council opted for a cheap, pollutive scow system to dump waste into the Sound, local doctors warned that the tides would only bring the filth right back to Seattle’s doorsteps.
- A Nighttime Divorce to Escape Violence
A woman schedules her divorce hearing late at night to ensure her husband—who had threatened to kill her—would not be present to interfere.
- The Outlaw's Only Friend Comes Home to Seattle
Tom Blanck's sole confidant returns from Victoria and tells a reporter what the notorious Northwest criminal was really like — a killer who never touched liquor or tobacco, and who swore he'd never be taken alive.
- The Economic Anxiety of the 1893 Tariff Debate
Washington's leading industries feared that a new trade bill would prioritize Eastern markets and force local businesses to lower wages to compete with international labor.
- Six "Extra Secretaries" and $60: How Seattle Paid Its Way Into the Tacoma Fair
A committee of Seattle boosters comes home from Tacoma with free space, free light and a free steamboat ride — then talks the city council into funding an exhibit through a bookkeeping dodge.
- The City's Indifference to Religious Debate
A week-long debate on religion at the Armory draws apathy from a changing Seattle.
- The Violent End of the McDonald Marriage
A domestic dispute over a $100,000 ransom led to a desperate shoot-out at the Arcade Hotel.
- The Con Artist of the Y.M.C.A.
A smooth-talking grifter exploited the goodwill of Seattle churchgoers by playing on his 'sick wife's' needs, until an umbrella heist landed him in the city jail.
- The Street That Couldn’t Get Paved
Contractors forfeited $250 rather than grade Cherry Street at their bid, and the paper argued Seattle should wait until 1884 rather than rush a muddy, expensive job.