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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 170 |
| 1892 | 154 |
324 stories
- The $25,000 Question: Where Olympia's New High School Should Stand
A proposed exchange for the Blinn block on Main Street would give the district room for a full-block school—but cost $12,000 to $15,000 more.
- Rapid Transit to Eternity: Olympia's Kerosene Trolley, Minus the Matches
George Marvin Savage's homemade coal-oil motor car is about to carry paying passengers down to the Fourth Street track — if it doesn't explode first. Riders get accident insurance, and their obituary verses have already been written.
- Hand Grenades for Passengers? The Perils of Olympia’s Naphtha Streetcar
An editorial imagines the explosive risks of Mr. Savage’s naphtha-powered streetcar on Main Street, citing a recent launch fire near Aberdeen.
- A Streetcar Franchise on the Line Over Naphtha Power
A citizen charges the Olympia street railway is violating its charter with an unsafe naphtha motor and neglected trackwork at Fifth and Main.
- A Local Bank Closes Its Doors as Its Officers Head to Seattle
The State Bank of Olympia winds down after its president and cashier leave for Seattle, transferring accounts to the First National Bank.
- Olympia Mourns a Lincoln-Appointed Chief Justice
Judge O. C. Hewitt, who presided over Washington Territory’s courts for eight years, was remembered as an honest jurist and beloved pioneer.
- The Taxpayer Who Couldn’t Sue the State
Washington’s Supreme Court dismisses the Agricultural College case, ruling that a private resident cannot halt state spending in equity—only the attorney general can.
- No Appropriation, No Warrants: Washington's 1891 Budget Standoff
The state treasurer refuses to honor university and militia warrants the legislature never funded, the Supreme Court backs him up, and Governor Ferry — in poor health — lets the idea of an extra session die.
- The State Is Broke: Why Olympia Needs an Emergency Legislature
A supreme court ruling on university lands has left Washington's brand-new state government without money to pay its own debts — and the Olympia Tribune argues the legislature must be hauled back to the capital before the state's credit collapses.
- The Governor's Cabinet Meets as Washington's Bills Go Unpaid
With public servants holding $103,000 in IOUs, Olympia officials debate whether to call the legislature back for an emergency session.
- The Eastern Oregon After the Fire
A board of survey finds the burned steamer's machinery ruined and its safe intact, while the crew buries the ship's cook.
- The Letter That Asked: Is Olympia's Street-Tax Ordinance Even Legal?
A citizen signing himself 'Marius' argues that the city's method of charging property owners for street paving and grading violates due process — and warns that if the assessments collapse in court, every taxpayer in town will pay for it.
- A Four-Term Mayor Dies, and Tumwater Shuts Its Doors
Clark Biles — pioneer tanner, founder of a public life in Tumwater, and its mayor four years running — succumbs to typhoid at 43, and the town suspends all business for his funeral.
- The Streetcar That Would Wake Olympia: A $250,000 Bet on Electric Rails to Tumwater Falls
Olympia's gas and electric companies merge, buy up the Deschutes waterfalls, and float gold bonds to run the first electric cars between town and Tumwater.
- The Women of Olympia Organize for the War Effort
Local women form a society to provide aid and supplies to soldiers, reflecting the community's mobilization during the conflict.
- A Call for Jewish Unity and Resilience
A historical appeal to the Jewish community, urging solidarity and the preservation of heritage amidst the challenges of the late 19th century.
- Olympia's Boosters Had a Plan for the Tide Flats: Give Land to Factories
In March 1892, five local men formed an improvement company to buy waterfront tide lands, donate parcels to manufacturers, and press governments to dredge a deep-water harbor.
- The Railroad President Who Said No to Olympia
A Great Northern snub prompts the Olympia Tribune to rally the capital city behind its railroad ambitions.
- The Supreme Court Stops a Judge From Sending Yakima County the Stenographer’s Bill
A superior court judge tried to force the county treasury to pay for trial transcripts. The state Supreme Court said no—and used a rare writ to stop the warrants before they became county debt.
- The Silver Question and the Workingman's Wage
A political maneuver in the House of Representatives forces a debate on whether wages and savings should be paid in gold or silver.
- The Tribune Demands Its Senators Back Chinese Exclusion
On the eve of the Geary bill vote, Olympia's paper pressures Washington's senators to keep Chinese laborers out — and takes a swipe at any candidate who hires them.
- The Court Let Harbor Lines Reach Beyond the City Limits
Washington’s Supreme Court reversed a lower court and held that harbor-line commissioners had jurisdiction in front of incorporated towns like Ballard, not just cities—then sent the case back to be dismissed.
- A Lincoln Judge Buried: Olympia Mourns C. C. Hewitt
The bar and superior court adjourn as pioneers honor the ex-chief justice of Washington Territory, remembered as a plain, honest man who served from the bench through stormy years.
- The State Must Pay the Men It Called to Put Down the King County Riots
The Washington Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Gov. Ferry's National Guard troops were in state service during the King County riots—and that the state, not the soldiers, must bear the cost.
- Settlers Beat the State to the Best School Lands
Washington's land commissioners say squatters are claiming the best parcels before the state can select them for schools, putting millions at risk.