Research the archive
Narrow 22,457 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 |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1890 | 22 |
| 1891 | 135 |
| 1892 | 119 |
| 1893 | 76 |
| 1894 | 61 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 3 |
| 1925 | 1 |
430 stories
- The Prosecutor Who Prosecuted Himself: How Aberdeen’s DA Ignored a White Mob’s Attack on Chinese Residents
When a mob drove Aberdeen’s Chinese community out of town and stole $550, the county’s prosecuting attorney charged the victims with libel instead of the perpetrators—sparking a furious editorial defense of civil rights in 1890.
- The Great Exodus: Aberdeen’s Chinese Community Vanishes in the Night
A local editorial and a sympathetic 'Communicated' letter reveal the forced departure of Aberdeen’s Chinese residents, highlighting both the racial hostility that drove them out and the rare moral outcry against their mistreatment.
- The Water Monopoly Fight
A local property owner challenges Aberdeen's city council over water rights, accusing officials of steering the public toward an expensive, pre-owned system for their own profit.
- Aberdeen's Water Wars: A Town at Odds
When the city council held a public meeting at the Acme Opera House to rally support against a legal challenge to the town's water works, the bitter internal feuds of 1891 spilled out for all to see.
- The Grays Harbor Sawmill Strike
The President of the State Federation of Labor details the brutal suppression of striking sawmill workers in Aberdeen and Hoquiam.
- 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 Great Aberdeen Conflagration
A wooden city faces total annihilation as a massive fire sweeps through the business district, claiming hotels, banks, and the opera house.
- Exploiting Labor at Grays Harbor
A scathing report reveals how labor contractors are cheating workers with predatory 'discounts,' abysmal living conditions, and wage theft on harbor improvement projects.
- A Hero Betrayed by Paperwork
A local Indigenous hero, renowned for saving shipwrecked crews, faces the loss of his homestead due to a bureaucratic failure.
- The Railroad That Wanted Aberdeen's Streets
A homegrown rail company asked for a thirty-foot right of way, the eastern entrance to town, and the whole waterfront. The council had to decide how much public street to give away.
- The tugboat blockade at Grays Harbor
A local editor exposes a corrupt tugboat manager for sabotaging a critical federal survey of the harbor bar.
- The Waterfront War of 1893
Sailors and vessel owners clash as labor unrest cripples Grays Harbor shipping.
- Mill Workers Resist Bank Seizure
When bankers attempted to seize a safe from a shuttered Aberdeen mill, furious workers threatened to 'lick any man' who tried to stop the operation.
- The Rapid Transformation of Grays Harbor
A traveler returning to Aberdeen after ten years finds the town unrecognizable amidst an industrial boom.
- The Door-Casing Defense
A violent husband lands in jail—then his injured wife takes the stand and says she fell.
- The City Hall Bond Brawl
Aberdeen city officials trade barbs over reckless boom spending and the city’s mounting debt crisis.
- The Settlers' League Takes on the Railroad Monopoly
Local homesteaders are challenging the Northern Pacific Railroad's land grants in a high-stakes legal battle that could redefine the ownership of the Columbia River corridor.
- A Terrifying Night at Sea
After battling a violent southeaster off the Columbia River bar, the crew and passengers of the steamer Point Loma narrowly survived a waterlogged, freezing disaster by forming a bucket brigade.
- Grays Harbor Boom Town Stalls as Newspaper Folds
A speculative boom town faces extinction as rail lines bypass its empty streets.
- The Engineers' Plan for Grays Harbor
A government report details an ambitious $150,000 scheme to redirect the Chehalis River's flow, potentially deciding the fate of competing town sites.
- The Battle for the Iron Horse
Aberdeen’s civic leaders clash over property rights, local industry, and the high-stakes ultimatum from the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- Grays Harbor City Townsites Scheme Ends in 1891
How professional townsite boomers once built a 'city' of imagination that existed only on paper, leaving investors with nothing but worthless lithographs.
- Aberdeen Citizens Grab Shovels to Build Their Own Railroad
Facing economic uncertainty, the people of Aberdeen unite to personally construct a railroad grade to secure the city's future.
- Legal Battle Over Wishkah River Timber Rights
A local man is held on charges of cutting timber on government land, setting the stage for a major legal test involving the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Deadly Silence of the Mill
A young fireman is killed instantly when a mill boiler explodes, leaving the community to wonder how his body was thrust beneath the furnace.
Download all 430 as a spreadsheet (CSV) · Show them on the map