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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
- The Governor’s Sudden Exit
After maintaining order during the 1885 anti-Chinese riots, Washington’s Republican Governor Watson C. Squire is ousted by a Democratic administration, leaving a polarized territory behind.
- The Land Sharks of the Sound
A Seattle real estate firm is trapping local farmers in predatory contracts that cloud property titles for years, leaving settlers fighting for their deeds.
- The Struggle for the Speaker’s Gavel
Legislative chaos in Olympia as Republicans deadlock over the speakership, threatening to delay the inauguration of the new state government.
- Harbor Line Commission Lapses After Heated House Debate
Legislative gridlock leaves Washington's tide lands in a state of administrative limbo.
- The Militia vs. The Populists
A political firestorm erupts in the state capital after the local People's Party claims Seattle's guardsmen acted like drunken hooligans.
- A Deadlock at the Capitol
As Washington's state legislature struggles to elect a U.S. Senator, tales of bribery and party pressure dominate the halls in Olympia.
- Labor Congress Confronts the Legislature
A delegation of workers brings a broad platform of demands to the state house, sparking a heated debate over the treatment of labor and the dignity of the legislature.
- Anti-Allen Dark Horse Scheme Fails in Olympia
While anti-Allen forces scramble for a candidate, the state legislature remains paralyzed by 'dark horse' rumors and fabricated desertions.
- Washington's House Votes to Ban Cigarettes — and the Tobacco Trust Moves In
In 1893 the state House passed a prohibition on cigarette sales after a debate that mixed moral reform, monopoly fears and anti-Chinese prejudice. Lobbyists were already working the Senate.
- Political Rebellion in the State Legislature
Senator Hutchinson breaks with the Democratic caucus in Olympia to challenge railroad-backed influence in Washington politics.
- The Governor’s Executive Fiat
After the state legislature deadlocked and failed to elect a U.S. Senator, Governor McGraw unilaterally appointed John B. Allen to fill the seat.
- Timber Syndicates Used Dummy Squatters to Seize Washington’s State Lands
A state land cruiser describes a systematic scheme: Eastern syndicates paid men to squat on the best timber, commute it cheaply, then move on to the next quarter section—land meant to fund schools and public institutions.
- A Territorial Governor’s Controversial Advice
Governor William A. Newell's 1883 message to the Territorial Legislature advocates for the forced assimilation of Indigenous people and a rigid, unadorned approach to public institutions.
- The Fight for Women’s Right to Serve on Juries
Prominent attorneys challenge the presence of female jurors in Washington territory, igniting a constitutional battle.
- A Settler's Deadly Stand at Johnson's Point
After a dance near Olympia turns hostile, logger Thomas Johnson shoots two Native men and wounds a woman, then surrenders to a mob demanding his scalp.
- A $10,000 Railroad Check and a Whispering Campaign in Olympia
In 1895, Washington's legislature gathered to choose a U.S. senator, and the Seattle press heard that the Southern Pacific had put $10,000 behind one candidate.
- The Railroads Wanted a Senator, and They Worked Olympia to Get Him
A Republican paper accuses John L. Wilson of backing a railroad-friendly bill while transcontinental lines quietly lobby the legislature to send him to the U.S. Senate — and Tacoma's A.P.A. splits over the fight.
- The Newspaper Letter That Nearly Started a Fight in the Washington Senate
With the U.S. Senate election deadlocked in Olympia, a Pierce County senator read a rival’s letter aloud — and the chamber erupted over money, lobbyists, and borrowed favors.
- The Wife's Side of the Story
A woman arrested for adultery in Olympia tells a harrowing tale of abandonment, abuse, and survival in the Washington Territory.
- The Judge, the Revolver, and the Impeachment Petition
A former judge tells Olympia that Judge W. W. Langhorne drinks on the bench, bullies lawyers, and has threatened to shoot him — and asks the House to remove him.
- Champagne for the Lobby, Despair for the Farmers
Washington's Senate kills the Helm-Morgan freight-rate bill after railroad agents work Olympia, and the state's press calls it a corporate victory over the people.
- Washington's Fourth Legislature Adjourns After a Marathon Final Day
Lawmakers pass 53 bills, defeat a school-book trust, kill a Seattle-Tacoma bridewell, and bury woman suffrage for at least two years.
- A Thousand Gather to Move Leschi's Bones Home
On the Nisqually reservation, chiefs and their families rebury the war leaders Leschi and Quiemuth — and Leschi's nephew tells the crowd who really started the war.
- The Shadow of Corporate Influence Over Washington's Highest Court
Attorney Herbert N. De Wolfe challenges the integrity of the state Supreme Court, alleging that corporate interests have compromised the bench.
- The Fight for the Eight-Hour Day and Industrial Justice
As Washington’s legislature debates a landmark compensation act, labor leader Peter Henretty delivers an impassioned plea for the 'soldiers of labor' working in the state’s most dangerous mines.