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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 207 |
| 1892 | 35 |
242 stories
- Bypassed by the Railroad, Olympia Grabbed a Shovel
When the Northern Pacific chose Tacoma, Olympia’s citizens turned Thursdays into railroad-building days—then remade their town as a bustling capital of 8,500.
- A Judge Ate Candy While a Man's Life Hung on the Verdict
The state supreme court overturns a Jefferson County murder conviction after Judge Sachs reads newspapers and passes sweets on the bench — and delivers a rebuke that is the longest opinion of the term.
- A City on the Brink: Olympia’s 1891 Debt Crisis and the Fight Over Jobs
Facing a constitutional debt limit, Olympia’s city council considers firing the deputy clerk, assistant city attorney, and city engineer—while a motion to revoke the street railway franchise fails by a tie.
- A Civil War Veteran Vanishes Between Saloon and Lodging
Charles Honige, a 71-year-old Olympia character known for selling hot weinerwurst after dark, left Hosneider's saloon at 10 p.m. and was never seen again.
- Olympia’s Booster Year: Brick, Bridges and a 50,000-Person Promise
As 1891 closed, the capital city counted $3 million in new buildings, a record bridge, electric lights and new rail lines — and predicted 50,000 residents within a decade.
- The Streetcar Company That Asked Olympia for Land—and Promised the Moon by July 4
In 1892, the Olympia Light & Power Company pitched an electric railway to Tumwater as a bargain for landowners: donate a strip or an acre, and watch city-limit land double in value. The trust deed gave them until Independence Day to make it real.
- Where Is D. P. Ballard? The Lawyer Who Vanished With the G.A.R. Fund
A well-known Olympia attorney disappears leaving debts, a destitute family, and a fraternal post asking what happened to its money.
- Four Years, Then a Federal Appeal: Lybarger Ordered to Walla Walla
Convicted in Thurston County of a sexual offense against 13-year-old Elsie Patnude, John G. Lybarger loses his state appeal; his wife and father-in-law had posted $3,500 bail while the case dragged on.
- The Governor's $50,000 Bond
A defaulting King County treasurer's case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, leaving Governor Ferry and other bondsmen on the hook for $34,000.
- The Worst Storm on the Sound: A Train Wreck, a Drifting Ship, and Dead Wires
A landslide derails a Northern Pacific freight near Castle Rock, a British ship is blown across Tacoma bay, and the telegraph goes dead from Seattle south.
- A Rail-and-Timber Empire Offers Its Workers a Cut
A new corporation tied to former governor Elisha P. Ferry acquires the Mason County Central railroad and Shelton sawmill, plans a Grays Harbor line, and sets aside $50,000 in stock for employees.
- The Ten-Foot Map That Would Sewer Olympia
In 1891, an engineer drew a room-sized map and planned a drainage system for a city of 20,000—if the council could get around the Seventh Street tunnel.
- The Case for Naming an Olympia Street After Judge Hewitt
A memorial sermon for a territorial judge becomes a plea to carve his name into Olympia's street map—and a meditation on what makes a public life worth remembering.
- The Claim-Jumper Who Hired a Man to Sleep on His Land
A wanted land locater near South Bend left his wife and children on a contested homestead and used a hired sleeper to guard three other claims—until neighbors called his bluff.
- The Westside Gets Left Off the Mail Route
Olympia divided its new free-delivery service into three districts, but the neighborhood that paid its taxes and owned its homes was excluded—again.
- The Night Olympia Went to War — and Nobody Shed a Drop of Blood
A touring tragedian closes his engagement with six acts of Shakespearean murder, and the army court-martial in town turns out in force to watch.
- Two Miles Perched on the Lower Circle of a Rainbow
A Shelton legislator's private letter describing a steamer passage up Hammersley's Inlet becomes the best prose in the paper — a circle of prismatic color, starfish, glaciers and one awestruck captain.
- The Newspaper Owner Who Disavowed His Own Editorial
Francis Murphy reads L.S.J. Hunt’s letter to a Seattle crowd, disowning the Post-Intelligencer’s anti-temperance editorial and sending $200 for the cause.
- The Electric Gate: An Olympia Father Declares War on Front-Gate Courting
A gadget-minded Eastside householder wires his front gate to deliver a jolt to lally-gagging sweethearts — and proves it first on an unwitting dog and a cabbage-loving cow.
- A 'Godsend' on Fourth Street: Olympia's Mothers Furnish a Room to Keep the Boys Out of the Saloons
In a hard-times autumn, the women's auxiliary of the new Young Men's Christian Association canvassed the town for chairs, papers and games — and promised the doors at 406 Fourth Street would open December 1.
- A Sunday Earthquake Rattles Olympia, Stopping Clocks and Startling Diners
At 3:15 p.m. on Nov. 29, 1891, a sharp tremor shook the city, rattled windows, swayed chandeliers, and sent one hotel guest diving for the stairs.
- Olympia's Streetcar Franchise Shell Game
A franchise extension granted on a promise of negotiations turns out to be empty—and the editor wants electric cars for the capital.
- Forty-Three Old Soldiers at Orting — and the Olympia Women Furnishing Their Rooms
The state soldiers' home that legislators once laughed at now shelters 43 Civil War veterans, and cities across Washington are racing to outfit their quarters — Olympia's Relief Corps is fitting up an 'Olympia room.'
- 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.
- Orting’s New Soldiers’ Home Is Running on 47 Cents a Day
Forty-six veterans—including a father who lost three sons at Antietam—are already living at the state’s new home, which needs a federal per-resident allowance and a library.