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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 5 |
| 1883 | 20 |
| 1884 | 8 |
| 1885 | 9 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 5 |
48 stories
- The Price of Rail Dominance
A clash over mileage rates and interest terms strains the relationship between the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company and the Northern Pacific.
- The Ghost of the River
A tragic mix-up in identity leaves a drowned man's body buried in a shallow grave until friends intervene.
- A Railroad Decision Kills a Town: Prescott Empties Overnight
When the division center moves to Wallula Junction, the mechanics of Prescott pack their tools, close their shops, and watch town lots collapse from $700 to under $100.
- The Homestead Scam That Turned Public Land Into a Speculator’s Prize
An 1883 exposé from Walla Walla describes how doctors, lawyers and merchants faked frontier residency to grab government land—and why the law made perjury easy.
- The Walla Walla Rebellion
A small-town municipal election ends in a landslide defeat for incumbent councilmen who dared to enforce an ordinance against public roaming.
- The Fortress at Walla Walla
After two years of labor, the Territory's new penitentiary stands finished—a 15-foot high stone-and-cement stockade built to hold the region’s criminals.
- The Struggle to Build the Territorial Penitentiary
A desperate plea from the prison board for funding to build essential living quarters, highlighting the dire state of the Washington Territorial Penitentiary in 1887.
- A Boston Banker Tells Walla Walla to Hold Its Wheat
A capitalist touring the territory by rail — with $75,000 already sunk in Washington land — predicts high grain prices, a finished Northern Pacific, and scolds the town's 'sleepy' businessmen for taking their money elsewhere.
- Walla Walla Council Defends Debt to Build City Hall
A finance committee report from 1883 reveals the staggering debt and tax burden required to build Walla Walla’s civic infrastructure.
- The Forgotten Pioneer Missionary
Before Marcus Whitman, there was Samuel Parker, an elderly preacher who braved the frontier to map the way for the mission of 1836.
- The Price of Hospitality
Walla Walla's city council debates how much it should pay to entertain railroad tycoon Henry Villard.
- The Walla Walla Wooden Leg Incident
A spectacular blaze in an Eastern Washington town ends with an unexpected, wooden-legged dance.
- The Judge Who Demanded Women Jurors
When a grand jury panel ran dry in Walla Walla, the local judge preferred women to 'scrubby' men.
- The Sheriff’s Shabby Costume: A Prisoner’s Trick to Escape the Penitentiary
In a bizarre twist of early Washington Territory justice, a sheriff attempted to smuggle a prisoner into the territorial penitentiary by disguising him in shabby clothes. The trick failed, but not before the warden made a memorable quip.
- The Midnight Elopement of the Kitsap Valley
A teenage daughter vanishes into the night with a farmhand, sparking a desperate manhunt across the Washington Territory.
- The Price of Harvest: A Walla Walla Farmstead Lost to Fire
A devastating blaze sweeps through the property of a Walla Walla farmer, erasing months of labor in an instant.
- Washington Territory's Missing Land Maps
Would-be settlers at Walla Walla say no one can show them the government tracts they came for—and railroad lands are not what they want.
- Farmer Killed by Horse Kick While Fording River
A tragic accident claims the life of a Walla Walla farmer who perished shortly after being kicked while leading horses across the river.
- The Pioneer Missionary of the Northwest
Remembering Father Brouillet, an early missionary who faced the turbulent years of the Whitman Massacre.
- The Circus Comes to Walla Walla
A traveling spectacle transforms a sleepy town with camels, elephants, and a daredevil 'human fly' act.
- A High-Stakes Bet on Whitman College's Future
A correspondent warns that Walla Walla might lose the opportunity to house an elite college if the city fails to raise its share of endowment funds.
- The Iron Rail Pipe Dream of 1882
A century and a half ago, the Post-Intelligencer pressed for a direct mountain rail line between Walla Walla and Puget Sound, promising prosperity—a debate over infrastructure and regional connectivity that still defines Washington politics.
- The Unlucky Hotel at Wallula
In the burgeoning town of Wallula, a grand hotel venture is failing despite immense investment, leaving a trail of broken spirits in its wake.