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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 6 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 37 |
| 1877 | 31 |
| 1878 | 18 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1882 | 7 |
| 1883 | 34 |
| 1884 | 23 |
| 1885 | 21 |
| 1886 | 10 |
| 1887 | 18 |
| 1888 | 23 |
| 1889 | 78 |
| 1890 | 24 |
| 1891 | 74 |
| 1892 | 117 |
| 1893 | 96 |
| 1894 | 98 |
| 1895 | 107 |
| 1897 | 9 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 22 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1903 | 72 |
| 1904 | 55 |
| 1905 | 9 |
| 1907 | 6 |
| 1908 | 14 |
| 1909 | 78 |
| 1910 | 25 |
| 1911 | 33 |
| 1912 | 9 |
| 1914 | 6 |
| 1915 | 9 |
| 1916 | 23 |
| 1917 | 16 |
| 1918 | 3 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1924 | 6 |
| 1928 | 1 |
1,245 stories matching system
- A Costly Palace for the Poor?
Walla Walla County commissioners face criticism over a proposal to replace the contract system with a twelve-thousand-dollar brick building.
- 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.
- Oroville Council Pushes for Bond-Funded Water System
After years of fiscal hesitation, the City Council moves to finance a new water pumping station and reservoir to support the town’s growing population.
- The Price of Tacoma’s Water
As Tacoma looks toward the Green River gravity system, Mayor Wright tallies the high cost of the existing well-water infrastructure.
- The War Over Fruit Marketing
Kennewick growers face a high-stakes choice: gamble on independent shipping or join the pool-based Big Y system.
- The Library Overwhelmed
Seattle's public library is struggling to keep pace with an insatiable public, as staff and patrons debate the merits of a complex new cataloging system.
- The City Council’s High-Stakes Plumbing Fiasco
When Seattle hired a famed Eastern expert to redesign its city sewers, they ended up with a costly mess of mismatched theories and local engineering rebellion.
- The Fight Over Who Owns Seattle's Water
Promoters offered to build a gravity system and sell the city millions of gallons—if Seattle let them run it, with an option to buy it back later.
- Everett Trades Council Endorses Public Water System
Organized labor throws its weight behind municipal control of Everett's water supply to protect public resources.
- Kennewick Valley Farmers Move to Buy Their Irrigation System
After decades of friction, local growers organize an irrigation district to take control of their water supply from a private company.
- Northern Pacific Moves to Consolidate Regional Rail Control
A major shift in railroad management sees the parent company absorbing auxiliary lines, including the Washington and Columbia River Railroad.
- The Electric Charge Sweeping Seattle
Horse cars are officially a relic of the past as the city embraces the new-fangled Thompson-Houston electric system to conquer Seattle's steep hills.
- Tacoma’s Transit Expansion Plans
A new street railway system proposed by the Commercial Trust Company aims to connect the waterfront with the Narrows, South Tacoma, and Point Defiance.
- The Old Water Tower Falls
A local landmark built in 1912 is dismantled after the town shifts to a new well-pumped system.
- Fire Loss Fuels Push for City Water System
After a devastating local fire, the city council faces allegations of corruption, backroom dealing, and profit-seeking at the expense of public safety.
- Everett City Hall Clears Path for Public Water System
Mayor Hartley assures voters that city debt refinancing will precede a municipal water survey, easing tensions at a local ward meeting.
- The Great Tacoma Water Flimflam
A look back at the 1890 council scandal that left the city with a mountain of debt and a useless water system.
- Ballard's Water Fight Goes to Court
When a lawsuit tried to block the young city from buying the West Coast Improvement Company's springs and pipes, Ballard's answer warned that an injunction would leave the water system in peril.
- Spokane Workers Spark Telephone Revolution
A labor strike by telephone operators prompts a move toward an independent, city-wide network to break the grip of a monopoly.
- The School Sanitation Standoff
A looming confrontation between Seattle’s Health Officer and the School Board over dry-closet systems risks the arrest of the school secretary.
- The Tax Reformer of Tacoma
A scathing 1888 editorial argues that tax exemptions for the wealthy create a 'system of injustice' that the state must dismantle for the sake of the common good.
- The Miracle Medicine of Seattle
A nineteenth-century testimonial for a ‘Histogenetic’ cure highlights the era’s wild medical marketplace.
- Tacoma’s Costly Water Scandal
City officials discover that the expensive gravity-fed water system sold to the public is a fiction, sparking a search for accountability.
- The City Lights and Waterworks Are Complete
North Yakima unveils a $176,000 infrastructure project intended to serve the city of the future.
- The 1889 Great Seattle Thirst
As Seattle boomed toward 30,000 residents, the city faced a critical choice: build a dual system of salt water for fire and fresh for drinking, or bet everything on Lake Washington.