Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine1 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 53 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 7 |
| 1860 | 13 |
| 1861 | 59 |
| 1862 | 65 |
| 1863 | 46 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 14 |
| 1876 | 9 |
| 1877 | 11 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 36 |
| 1884 | 11 |
| 1885 | 18 |
| 1886 | 10 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 57 |
| 1890 | 8 |
| 1891 | 221 |
| 1892 | 194 |
| 1893 | 107 |
| 1894 | 18 |
| 1895 | 113 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 23 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 94 |
| 1910 | 7 |
| 1911 | 11 |
| 1912 | 4 |
| 1914 | 11 |
| 1915 | 8 |
| 1916 | 11 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 13 |
| 1924 | 2 |
| 1925 | 10 |
1,310 stories
- The Saloon Men's Secret Caucus: Liquor Money Picks a City Ticket
On the eve of Olympia's municipal election, the liquor dealers meet behind closed doors at Columbia Hall and settle on their candidates for council — and the Tribune names names.
- Close Washington Street to Wagons: Olympia's 1891 Dream for the Public Square
As the new county courthouse nears completion, the superintendent in charge proposes grading the square level with Seventh Street, banishing heavy teams, and laying winding, shrub-lined walks with a pavilion for evening concerts.
- Olympia Building Loan Association Reports 47% Profit and Three New Homes
The local building and loan association closes a successful first six months, announces a new series of shares.
- Four Shirts, Soft Hands, and Ten Years: Olympia Sends a Window-Smasher to the Penitentiary
A burglar who broke into two downtown jewelry stores and made off with a watch and some plated ware gets the maximum from Judge Robinson — and nearly faints when he hears it.
- The Mayor's Chair Is No Bed of Roses
Olympia's old city officers resign to clear a ballot-printing challenge, the new mayor takes the oath—and both incoming and outgoing officials warn that public service brings more abuse than thanks.
- The $10 Million Dream to Turn Olympia Into the Hub of the Northwest
J. R. Chaplin pitched a grand Olympia Improvement Company and a ship canal from Black Lake through the Chehalis to Grays Harbor—enough, he promised, to leave Seattle, Tacoma and Portland behind.
- The Captain Who Sailed North to Sell Ice — and Found There Wasn't Any
A would-be ice merchant arrived in Puget Sound expecting a frozen market. The climate had other plans, so his crew started cutting piling instead — and stumbled into the region's real fortune.
- The Tax Assessors' Cold Shoulder
Washington's county assessors struggle to find a warm place to meet, eventually retreating to the State Auditor's office to set property valuation standards.
- A New Home for the Grand Army of the Republic
Veterans of the Civil War plan a grand new headquarters in Olympia, complete with a public hall and space for other lodges.
- Olympia's High School Bond Fight, Priced at 25 Cents
The Tribune urges voters to approve a $40,000 school bond, rebutting claims of contractor influence and calculating the cost to a $7,000 homeowner at about a quarter.
- Three Hundred Olympians Pack Columbia Hall to See Who Takes the Cake
A novelty dance craze two weeks in the gossiping arrives at last: one hundred couples, a flag, a pair of clashing cymbals, and a ten-cent ticket for every march — all to raise money for the YMCA's women's auxiliary.
- A $107,000 Courthouse Still Without a Roof
Thurston County's grand new courthouse blows past its March 1 deadline with $73,000 already paid out — and a local builder predicts the final bill will top $150,000, every dollar of it leaving the county.
- The Old Capitol Gets a Hurried Remodel Before the Legislature Returns
Secretary Weir is shoring up sagging foundations, rebuilding the Senate chamber, and squeezing five or six more years out of Olympia's aging statehouse.
- The Groom’s Armed Ultimatum
A wedding ceremony in Olympia was interrupted when the groom drew a six-shooter to prevent the minister from claiming the traditional first kiss.
- Olympia’s Streetcar Service Suspended
The city’s 'bob-tail' line has ceased operations following a sale to the Olympia Light and Power Company, leaving residents without transit until electric service begins.
- A Beardless Boy's 1855 Passage Through Puget Sound—and the Death of Abe Moses
A reminiscence from the Montesano Vidette recalls Olympia as a village in the woods, a kindness in Steilacoom, and a fatal ambush during Washington's early Indian wars.
- Olympia Rolls Out the Torchlight for Judson
John P. Judson's 1876 campaign swing through Olympia brought cannon fire, bonfires and a packed Columbia Hall—and the Argus predicted a Democratic landslide.
- 'As Cold as a Barn': The Olympia Theater Fight That Spilled Into Print
When the Tribune panned the Olympia Theater, the rival Standard accused it of kicking without reason. The rebuttal names icy dressing rooms, one-dollar seats and a manager in over his head.
- A Parent Asks What Olympia Is Paying to Police Its New Variety Theater
A letter to the editor complains that a new theater below the “dead line” is drawing drunken loggers, running a bar, and selling private boxes—and asks what the city gets for its license and police protection.
- The Sewer Plan That Imagined a City of 200,000
Engineer J. S. Camp presented Olympia’s council with a tide-powered reservoir and automatic flush tanks, a system meant to grow with the capital city.
- A Hatchet Charge, a Mayor's Household and a Chinese Worker in Court
In 1891 Olympia, a Chinese man known as Jim was arraigned for an alleged hatchet attack on an Olympia News clerk, with the mayor's wife among the first bondsmen.
- The Coal Miner Who Took the Capitol: Labor's 1911 Push in Olympia
Four hundred union delegates descended on the legislature, and a soft-spoken miner made the case for workmen's compensation — while the federation set its sights on women's eight-hour work and direct legislation.
- The National Theater Manager Skipped Town With the Glassware
H. H. Kline vanished from Olympia's National Theater, leaving unpaid salaries, a bar tab, and empty beer bottles—while police took charge of the building.
- The sheriff seizes Olympia's streetcars, mid-block, over a bond
A lawyer's objection leaves a Main Street horse car standing stock still at Sixth for hours while the company's backers scramble for a new bond.
- A Family on a Float, a Dead Baby, and a Neighbor's Kindness
When the Gore family was found feverish and destitute aboard a float at the foot of Franklin Street, Olympia's charity could not save their youngest child—but it did not abandon them.
Download all 1,310 as a spreadsheet (CSV) · Show them on the map