Historical Newspapers in Washington

The Historical Newspapers in Washington is a project of the Washington State Library and is designed to allow students, teachers, and citizens greater access to our historical sources. The project began with the scanning of Washington's first newspaper, the Columbian, from Olympia and was followed by the scanning of the Walla Walla Statesman and the Washington Pioneer. Recently issues from the Spokane Falls Review and The Pioneer and Democrat were added. Users can choose from a subject list or search by keyword, personal name, date, city and county.
Historical newspapers "document the daily life of communities in a way that no history book can reproduce, from the grand scope of world events to the minutiae of lost horses and the claims of patent medicines. Business concerns buy space to advertise and legal notices announce the dissolution of partnerships. Births, deaths and marriages appear next to essays, poems and amusing anecdotes. They are a unique resource."