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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 53 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 6 |
| 1860 | 12 |
| 1861 | 60 |
| 1862 | 65 |
| 1863 | 44 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 14 |
| 1876 | 10 |
| 1877 | 12 |
| 1878 | 8 |
| 1879 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 4 |
| 1883 | 39 |
| 1884 | 12 |
| 1885 | 19 |
| 1886 | 11 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 58 |
| 1890 | 8 |
| 1891 | 218 |
| 1892 | 194 |
| 1893 | 111 |
| 1894 | 19 |
| 1895 | 112 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 24 |
| 1904 | 6 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 95 |
| 1910 | 7 |
| 1911 | 11 |
| 1912 | 4 |
| 1914 | 11 |
| 1915 | 8 |
| 1916 | 11 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 13 |
| 1924 | 4 |
| 1925 | 10 |
1,327 stories
- Call for Cavalry to Patrol the Frontier
The Governor of Oregon calls for volunteers to suppress raids and secure the frontier against the Snake Indians.
- The Fight Against the Rotten Boroughs
Legislative critics blast Washington State's failure to reapportion seats, arguing that rural 'cow counties' have kept power by ignoring population shifts.
- The Deadly Hazards of the Timber Frontier
Tragedy strikes workers in Lewis and Thurston counties as multiple men are killed by falling trees during the logging season.
- Corporate Lobbying Against Miners' Eight-Hour Day
A major mining company pays to bring immigrant miners to Olympia to lobby against the very labor protections intended to help them.
- State Snub for Tacoma
Legislators in Olympia move horticultural headquarters to Kennewick, leaving Tacoma behind.
- Tragedy in Olympia: A Brutal Killing of a Chehalis Man
Chehalis man John Heo was found in Olympia with his head half severed; two drinking companions were blamed.
- National Guard Encampment Canceled Due to Budget Woes
Legislative underfunding forces the cancellation of the state's annual military encampment, sparking friction between the Adjutant General and brigade commanders.
- 'The Railroads Have Had It Long Enough'
A railroad-rate bill passed the House almost unanimously and now sits in the Senate, where the Post-Intelligencer warns that any man who stands between the people and the railroads will be crushed — and notes the governor can call an extra session if the legislature balks.
- Her Wages Bought the House at Fourth and Plum. The Sheriff’s Deed Was Canceled.
Elizabeth Burkett turned a $700 gift into a hotel and a home. When a Pierce County judgment against her husband threatened it, a Thurston County judge traced the property back to her own labor.
- A Missing Lawyer, a $350 Deed, and the North Olympia Land Scheme
With Attorney D. P. Ballard absent, Olympia lawyers are tracing suspicious transfers in a platted addition—land already sold to dozens of owners, now used as security for a $4,000 mortgage.
- The Blind Doctor’s Lethal Prescription
Dr. William Campbell, a blind pioneer and one of Olympia’s oldest residents, was charged with manslaughter after a 14-year-old epileptic girl died under his lobelia-and-capsicum treatment. A justice set bail at $2,000 and sent the case to the January superior court term.
- The Governor, the Corporations, and the Session He Wouldn't Call
A leaked cabinet meeting shows Governor Ferry weighing an extra legislative session against the wrath of corporations—and his own officials split over whether the state can wait.
- A Wife's Testimony Was Enough: Supreme Court Reverses Divorce Denial
The Washington Supreme Court ruled that a wife's own account of cruelty and habitual drunkenness could justify a divorce, reversing a lower court that had dismissed Nellie Lee's case.
- Olympia's Volunteer Firefighters Warn the City: We Are One Blaze Away From Disaster
In 1891, the city's three fire companies pushed to reorganize as a single department, citing a 25-year-old hand engine, unfurnished sleeping quarters, and waterfront shacks that could turn a small fire into a catastrophe.
- 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 Railroad Comes Collecting: Olympia's Subsidy Fight Heads to Court
Northern Pacific's own attorney admits the line into Olympia cost the company $40,000 more than it took in — and announces he will sue every citizen who signed the bond anyway.
- The Tunnel Under Seventh Street: Two Property Owners Take On the Railroad
Captain Hatch seeks $10,000 and J. A. Silsby $5,000, blaming the Northern Pacific's new tunnel for damage to their buildings — while the railroad insists the city, not the company, should pay.
- Olympia's Whole City Government Quit Rather Than Face the Voters Again
After a botched bond election sank the city in debt, the mayor and councilmen resigned en masse — and the Tribune says the incoming administration must come clean about the finances before asking for another dollar.
- A Family's Desperate Winter
A local family faces extreme poverty and illness, highlighting the precarious nature of life in the territory.
- The Jailbreak at the Thurston County Courthouse
A prisoner awaiting trial for larceny makes a daring escape from the county jail, leaving authorities scrambling.
- The Crumbling Courthouse Scandal
County officials halt construction on the new courthouse after discovering contractors used substandard materials and ignored building specifications.
- The Acquittal of Dr. Campbell
After a grueling trial, a jury finds the doctor not guilty in the death of a patient.
- The County Courthouse Construction Scandal
A superintendent is forced out after refusing to accept substandard materials for the new county building.
- The School Bond Fight Turns on Who Gets the Work
As Olympia weighs a new high school, school board members promise home labor and local material—if the bonds pass. A workingmen's meeting wants that promise made binding.
- Who Owns the Shoreline? Olympia’s Tide-Land Fight
A citizens’ commission debated street grids, meander lines, and property values as appraisers prepared to price the Olympia waterfront.