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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 62 |
| 1858 | 29 |
| 1859 | 52 |
| 1860 | 27 |
| 1861 | 101 |
| 1862 | 87 |
| 1863 | 69 |
| 1864 | 32 |
| 1865 | 11 |
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 812 |
| 1877 | 678 |
| 1878 | 526 |
| 1879 | 64 |
| 1880 | 180 |
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 911 |
| 1884 | 499 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
| 1888 | 440 |
| 1889 | 1,324 |
| 1890 | 287 |
| 1891 | 1,115 |
| 1892 | 2,855 |
| 1893 | 2,829 |
| 1894 | 2,116 |
| 1895 | 1,830 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 62 |
| 1898 | 196 |
| 1899 | 446 |
| 1900 | 114 |
| 1902 | 34 |
| 1903 | 1,332 |
| 1904 | 1,126 |
| 1905 | 124 |
| 1907 | 53 |
| 1908 | 351 |
| 1909 | 1,545 |
| 1910 | 413 |
| 1911 | 160 |
| 1912 | 73 |
| 1914 | 261 |
| 1915 | 300 |
| 1916 | 545 |
| 1917 | 332 |
| 1918 | 45 |
| 1919 | 5 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1922 | 18 |
| 1923 | 185 |
| 1924 | 151 |
| 1925 | 64 |
| 1928 | 14 |
| 1929 | 19 |
52 stories
- The Senate Ratifies the Treaties That Remade the Northwest
Ratified in 1859, the 1855 treaties with tribes across Oregon and Washington promised annuities, schools and mills while ceding millions of acres to settlement.
- A Town Organizes a Vigilance Committee to Keep 'Northern Indians' Off Its Shore
Citizens meet at the Court House, resolve that 'no Northern Indians at any time be allowed to land at this place,' and appoint a standing Committee of Vigilance to enforce it.
- Two Governors, One Island, and a War Called Off by Letter
Gen. W. S. Harney writes to Queen Victoria's man at Victoria to explain why United States infantry are dug in on San Juan; Gov. James Douglas writes back hoping no 'collision' follows. The boundary quarrel that became the Pig War, in the principals' own words.
- A Majority of 108 from Seventy Voters
The territorial election returns smelled of the ballot box: Whatcom County, with barely eighty voters, reported a majority of 108 for Stevens.
- Steilacoom Empties Its Garrison for a Near-War on San Juan Island
On Aug. 9, 1859, soldiers and two brass cannon left Steilacoom aboard the steamer Julia to reinforce Capt. Pickett’s tiny command, as the U.S. and Britain edged toward war over a boundary and a pig.
- A Chief Seized at Fort Bellingham
Acting Governor Mason's requisition sends soldiers after Kitup and Nelson; a visit to the Indian agent ends in a scuffle, an escape attempt, and a military arrest.
- The Night Steilacoom's Records Burned
A Tuesday-night blaze destroyed the county auditor's office, forced the demolition of a neighboring building, and nearly took Anthony's Hotel—until soldiers joined the bucket brigade.
- A Settler's Plea for Too-e-pi-ti
An old Pierce County resident says a white man, Jim Riley, shot an Indigenous man without cause—and asks voters not to let the case die.
- The Surrender Demand That Came Before Peace
Father De Smet escorts Kamiakin, Skloom, and other chiefs to Vancouver to meet Gen. Harney—but the terms are blunt: the 'ringleaders' must be handed over first.
- Pioneering the Snoqualmie Pass Road
Citizens of King County organize to build a wagon road across the Cascades, raising over a thousand dollars to bridge the wilderness.
- Opening the Cascade Gateway
A committee of citizens reports on the progress of a new wagon road through Snoqualmie Pass, promising a vital link between the Sound and the interior.
- The Sewing Machine Tragedy
A neighborly loan of money for a sewing machine leads to a fatal confrontation on a Steilacoom road.
- A Murdered Pioneer's Scalp, Kept as a Relic in Olympia
A grisly relic of Col. Isaac Ebey's 1857 killing on Whidbey Island turns up in Olympia, a reminder of the violence that shaped Washington Territory.
- A Territorial Judge, a Killing, and a Governor's Bad Appointment
A grand jury has charged Judge E. C. Fitzhugh with murder in the death of Andrew Wilson, turning a territorial appointment into a test of Governor Stevens's judgment.
- Speculators Send a Surveyor to San Juan, and a Boundary Dispute Turns Hot
Americans from Victoria and Puget Sound move to preempt land on the disputed island, betting that U.S. jurisdiction will follow—and warning that trouble may follow first.
- The Schooner That Never Came Back
A Steilacoom resident and a captain vanish after leaving Port Townsend; a rumor from Vancouver Island speaks of a wreck and murder.
- The Quartermaster’s Arithmetic: Scrip, Pork, and Profiteering in Washington Territory
A detailed audit of Quartermaster General W. W. Miller’s books exposed inflated prices, unexplained payments, and scrip issued for vouchers the commissioners had already disallowed.
- The Fur Company’s Land Empire Is Declared Public Domain
A letter from Washington City reports that the Hudson’s Bay and Puget Sound Agricultural companies’ territorial claims have been ruled forfeit, opening their Nisqually and Fort Vancouver lands to American survey and settlement.
- A Fatal Mistake in the Nursery
A young child dies after accidentally consuming sulfuric acid left in a tub.
- The Steilacoom Gold Rush Fever
Reports from Colville suggest a new mining boom is drawing men away from the territory's established industries.
- A Plan to Move Indigenous People to San Juan Island Stirs a Border Dispute
A Victoria proposal to resettle Native people on disputed San Juan Island draws a sharp warning from Washington Territory.
- Settling Claims on the Puyallup Reservation
Superintendent E. R. Getty visits Steilacoom to resolve land disputes involving settlers on the Puyallup Indian Reservation.
- Four Canoes, One Lighthouse, and a Midnight Theft on the Strait
The keeper at New Dungeness reported that a party of Northern Indians broke into the lighthouse storehouse and made off with oil; a revenue cutter was dispatched in pursuit.
- A Territorial Legislature Grants a Divorce
In 1859, Alice Davis asked Washington's lawmakers—not a court—to end her marriage, and the House obliged by an 18-to-3 vote.
- ‘Rule or Ruin’: A Territorial Lawmaker Turns on Governor Stevens
Confined to his room with a cold, a member of the Washington Territorial Legislature answers his critics — defending his right to name the governor's unpopular appointees and accusing a ruling clique of trying to shut the rest of the territory up.