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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 242 |
| 1892 | 226 |
468 stories
- 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.
- The Big River Never Came Back
A tug captain spots a wreck on the Grays Harbor bar and identifies it as the overdue schooner Big River, lost with five hands.
- 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.
- The Healing Lake That Hid a Walking Fish
On the Columbia plateau near Spokane lies a strange saline lake with no inlet and no outlet — credited with curing rheumatism, foaming like soap in the wind, and home to an axolotl that fooled the naturalists.
- A Minister Takes a Geologist's Hammer to Genesis
Rev. Napoleon Hoagland tells a packed hall that the rocks do not show six days of creation, and that reason — not an infallible book — is the believer's best authority.
- The Road That Would Remake the Des Chutes Shore
Tumwater landowners and boosters want a new beach road to Olympia, promising easier travel, new homes, and higher property values.
- The Churchgoer With a Murder Warrant Waiting
For three years, Sprague knew R. J. Howard as a trusted young man and Methodist probationer. Then a Lincoln County sheriff walked into Lewis' store and called him by another name.
- Hot Ashes Nearly Burn Down Olympia’s Pride
A carelessly discarded batch of hot ashes smoldered for hours in the Capitol Steam Laundry before bursting into flame beneath the Olympia Hotel.
- The Westside Railway Deal and the Councilman Who Didn't Read It
Olympia's council weighed a cheaper route through C. M. Moore's block to reach the Westside Railway—until one committeeman admitted he had signed the report blind.
- Seven Men Taken in a Roche Harbor Smuggling Raid
A country store, a captured sloop, and a federal night raid on San Juan Island.
- Colonel Haines Arrested Ahead of Olympia Court Martial
Governor Ferry orders Col. J.C. Haines under arrest; his regiment passes temporarily to Capt. Joseph Green of Seattle as the court martial convenes at the Olympia Hotel.
- A Girl Is Dead, and Her 'Thompsonian' Healer Stands Charged Again
Clara Linton died a few days ago; now her father has sworn out a second manslaughter complaint against the botanical practitioner who treated her, and Justice Rathbun's courtroom is packed for the hearing.
- Surveyors Find a Rich Country Behind a Brutal Trail
A government surveying party returns from Chehalis County with tales of an impassable road, a hotel meal that required a salmon spear, and soil and timber worth the misery.
- The 'Daisy' Who Insured Tacoma
A Tacoma insurance man mortgaged Southeast Tacoma lots at $90,000, then told assessors the same ground was worth a fraction of that.
- The Midnight Murder Cry That Was Only a Baby
Union Street neighbors grabbed clubs and prepared to storm a house after screams of murder—only to learn the household had just grown by one.
- A Court-Martial Ends in Smoke and a Handshake
A state militia tribunal in Olympia was suddenly closed by the governor, its findings kept secret. Then the colonel apologized, the officers shook hands, and the state got a $1,000 bill.
- A Storm Cuts the Northern Pacific and Strands the Capital
A weekend storm washes out the Northern Pacific, cuts telegraph lines, and leaves travelers—and would-be supreme court attorneys—stuck between Tacoma, Olympia and Montesano.
- City Attorney Blocks Olympia’s Columbia Street Assessment
A legal opinion found that street grading and planking done without contracts could not be charged to abutting owners beyond $500—putting more than $2,000 in assessments in doubt.
- The Valley Nobody Surveyed: Pioneers Wait for a Government Pen
A settlers' advocate returns from the surveyor-general with promises and a rapturous account of a hidden valley where poor young farmers are hewing homes out of the forest without so much as a title to their land.
- The Brick Blocks That Told Olympia It Had Arrived
In 1891, three pressed-brick buildings rose along Olympia’s business streets—and boosters read them as proof the wooden capital was becoming a real city.
- The Night Fourth Street Lit Up: Ellis's Furniture Warehouse Burns
A fire breaks out above a frame warehouse after ten o'clock, the east side of the city glows, and firemen haul chairs and mattresses into the street until the heat drives them back.
- A $25,000 View, a Deed, and a Debt: The Land Fight South of Olympia
Ben Turner says George A. Barnes took an 80-acre donation-claim tract as mortgage security—then refused to deed it back after Turner tendered the money.
- The Railroad Beats the Steamboat on Puget Sound
Olympia’s favorite steamer Bailey Gatzert makes its last run as Northern Pacific trains drain the passenger trade.
- The Quarter-a-Day Skim: County Surveyor Accused of Shorting Road Crews
In 1891 Olympia, affidavits alleged the surveyor billed taxpayers $2.50 a day for chainmen but paid the crews $2.25—so Thurston County commissioners sent the matter to the county attorney.
- Olympia’s Streetcar Franchise Fight Heads for the Courthouse
A requested extension for the Westside railway sparks a council move to forfeit the Savage Main Street franchise, with a two-year court threat hanging over the city.