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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 40 |
| 1891 | 42 |
| 1892 | 27 |
| 1893 | 104 |
| 1894 | 17 |
| 1895 | 113 |
349 stories
- The State's First Great 'To-Do' List
Acting Governor Charles E. Laughton’s 1891 address to the legislature provides a rare, wide-angle snapshot of a young Washington State struggling to build its infrastructure, protect its forests, and define its civic identity.
- The State’s Office is a ‘Sailor’s Boarding House’: Olympia’s Desperate Search for a Capitol
With state officers scattered across the city in “miserably-ventilated” rooms and valuable records stored in sheds, Representative Collins introduces a bill to erect a temporary building on business property.
- A Blackmail Scheme at the Statehouse?
Legislators suspect a proposed liquor licensing bill is less about temperance and more about extorting the state's saloon owners.
- Washington Tide Land Bill Would Create Sales Commission
A new bill moves through the state legislature to codify how the state will survey and sell off the submerged lands along the shoreline.
- The 'White River Assembly' Takes on the State Senate
A scathing labor petition read aloud in the Washington State Senate sparks both laughter and warnings of political reckoning for those who ignored the working class.
- The Salmon Wars of 1891: Puget Sound’s Battle for Fishing Sovereignty
While the Columbia River dictated state fishing laws, Washington’s northern waters faced an existential threat, prompting a legislative clash over spawning cycles and local control.
- The Doomsday Cult of South Union
While the rest of the country debated silver and trade, a group of Thurston County farmers were preparing for the final apocalypse.
- The Political Betrayal of Seattle
At the 1892 State Democratic Convention, a coalition of Pierce County delegates and King County defectors successfully turned the party platform against Seattle's Lake Washington Ship Canal project.
- A Slanderous Campaign Against John H. McGraw
A rival paper spreads a rumor that the Republican gubernatorial candidate was born abroad and thus ineligible for office, prompting a sharp defense from the Post-Intelligencer.
- The Battle for Olympia's Waterfront
A local judicial candidate sparks a red-hot municipal contest by claiming public tide lands for his own, setting the stage for a bitter election fight.
- The Olympia Legislative Power Struggle
A dramatic standoff at the Olympia Hotel as Republican factions scramble to secure the House speakership and organize the new government.
- Democratic Party Caucus Descends into Backroom Chaos
While Washington legislators bicker behind locked doors in Olympia, party infighting stalls the state’s business.
- Railroad Lobbyists Left Grumbling in Olympia
A legislative meeting with railroad attorneys devolved into a farce when key senators failed to show, leaving the powerful corporation representatives dazed and empty-handed.
- The Governor’s Pen and the Missing Partner
Governor McGraw prepares to slash the state budget while a political souvenir publisher flees Olympia with his partner's cash.
- Harnessing the Falls for a Harbor
An ambitious plan to use Tumwater Falls to power harbor dredging and tide land reclamation in Olympia.
- State Land Board Begins Overhaul of Public Records
A newly formed commission finds local records missing and incomplete, setting the stage for a Supreme Court battle over tide land rights.
- The State’s Missing Death Records
A scathing report reveals that county officials across Washington are failing to report thousands of deaths, leaving the state’s vital records in a state of 'gross negligence.'
- The Capital Cut Off
For twenty-four hours, the state capital of Olympia was completely erased from the Northern Pacific maps, leaving residents to wonder if their train line had simply ceased to exist.
- The Olympia Senate Fight: Ankeny vs. Wilson, with a Seattle Lawyer as Spoiler
A last-minute candidacy by Allen threatens to split the Ankeny vote and hand the U.S. Senate seat to Wilson, in a behind-the-scenes battle that has Olympia buzzing.
- Mount Rainier Was Smoking, and Olympia Noticed
In January 1895, a correspondent watching through a glass saw great volumes rising from the summit — and wondered whether the mountain had awakened.
- The Midnight Saloon Bill Fails in Olympia
Washington state legislators reject a proposal to force saloons to close at midnight, with some arguing that patrons should be allowed to stay warm by the fire.
- The Capitol Job: Seattle’s Union Trades Beat a $3 Wage
A bricklayers’ letter recounts how union men, backed by stonecutters, forced contractors at the Washington State Capitol to hire union labor at $4 for an eight-hour day.
- The High Cost of the Seventh Street Tunnel
A jury awards $1,000 to a property owner for damages caused by a railroad tunnel project in Olympia.
- The 1895 Plan to Photograph Suspected Voters at the Polls
A Washington legislator proposed stationing photographers at polling places to snap 'doubtful voters' and preserve evidence against repeaters.
- The 1895 Bill That Would Have Made Firing a Union Man a Crime
A King County representative proposes jailing employers who sack workers for joining a union — or who demand a no-union pledge as the price of a job.