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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 15 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 10 |
| 1893 | 16 |
| 1894 | 11 |
| 1895 | 11 |
67 stories
- The Convicts Who Walked the Streets: A Walla Walla Jailbreak
In March 1889, prisoners in a Walla Walla jail refused to work on city streets. Their defiance sparked a standoff that ended with the threat of starvation rations and the promise of armed guards.
- The Governor Who Wasn't: How a Walla Walla Businessman Became Washington's First Territorial Governor
In March 1889, President Harrison appointed Miles Moore to steer the territory toward statehood, bypassing Eastern political machines in favor of local 'home rule.'
- The Missionary Who Claimed the Pacific Northwest
A century of folklore credits Marcus Whitman with winning Oregon and Washington for the United States through a patriotic Fourth of July ritual.
- Washington State’s Hidden Fire Opals
Gem expert George Frederick Kunz reveals that a jeweler's chance find in a well-digging site near the Idaho border uncovered a treasure trove of opals.
- The Fight for a State Prison
Senator Watson C. Squire pushes for federal funds to build a Washington penitentiary, arguing the state has been left behind while Dakota and Montana received their due.
- Passenger Train Derails Near Walla Walla
An engineer is severely scalded after a train crashes through a bridge near Riparia, prompting insurance agents to offer a reward for arsonists.
- A Tavern Shooting Over a Refused Drink
A notorious local man opens fire in a saloon after a laborer refuses his offer to share a round.
- The Bishop, the Convicts, and the Sparring Match
Bishop Wells insists a prisoner-run entertainment at the penitentiary was decorous and proper—not the prizefight rumor made it out to be.
- Walla Walla Tells Its Lawmakers: Drop Everything and Fight the Railroads
The Commercial Club wired the legislature to back the Morgan bill—and warned that any half-hearted local representative would be treated as “an enemy to this town.”
- The Burglar Who Walked Out
A Seattle convict who claimed he was 'railroaded' into prison for a crime he didn't commit has escaped the state penitentiary.
- The passing of a pioneer farmer
Michael B. Ward, who hosted President Rutherford B. Hayes and Governor Watson C. Squire at his Walla Walla homestead, has died at age 75.
- A Shortage Behind the Prison Walls, and a Legislature Out of Time
A joint legislative committee grills the penitentiary directors at Walla Walla over the missing funds of a defaulting official, while senators privately admit the session will end before the truth comes out.
- A Close Call at Taylor’s Store
A young woman escapes serious injury in Walla Walla when her hat catches fire from a store’s light fixture.
- The Ghost of the Underground Railroad in the Pacific Northwest
A peculiar rumor spreads through Seattle of a coordinated, clandestine effort to relocate thousands of Black Southerners to Washington and Montana.
- The Forgotten Fight for Proportional Representation
In 1891, a Walla Walla thinker proposed a radical 'preferential system' to break the grip of party bosses and end the buying and selling of votes in Washington.
- The Unseen Women of Walla Walla's 'Pike's Creek' Camp
A rare glimpse into the labor and living conditions of the women supporting the work crews in the frontier wilderness of Washington Territory.
- The Gold Rush That Never Was: Walla Walla’s Delusion of Wealth
In January 1889, a local paper in Walla Walla, Washington, published an ecstatic report claiming the city was awash in gold dust and twenty-dollar pieces, comparing its prosperity to the heyday of the Salmon River mines. It was a stark contrast to the reality of a region still recovering from economic busts.