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 |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 24 |
| 1892 | 30 |
54 stories matching construct
- The Crumbling Courthouse Scandal
County officials halt construction on the new courthouse after discovering contractors used substandard materials and ignored building specifications.
- The White-and-Gold Trolleys That Would Link Olympia and Tumwater
In February 1892, Olympia Light & Power awarded a $70,000 contract for a four-mile electric street railway from Ayer's Hill to Tumwater—built with local labor and Pullman-style cars.
- Olympia's Electric Road Begins With a Land Drive
The Olympia Electric Light Power Company wants land donations for a streetcar line, while engineers prepare to grade Main Street from 26th to 29th.
- Olympia's Fresh-Water Harbor Dream, Before Seattle's Ship Canal
In 1892, as Northern Pacific lobbyists pushed a Lake Washington ship canal for Seattle, Olympia argued it already had a cheaper place for a sheltered fresh-water basin—between Third Street and Tumwater.
- The Courthouse Feud: Superintendent Resigns and Foremen Are Ordered Off the Job
Thurston County commissioners accept W. A. Rogers’s resignation as courthouse superintendent, citing “strained relations” among contractors, architect and foremen, then appoint R. O. Owen to finish the job.
- Olympia’s Main Street to be Ripped Up for Electric Rails
A long-standing conflict between local transit companies is resolved, clearing the way for new track construction and pole installation.
- A Street Fight Over Page Street’s Gulch
Contractor I. Liberman prepared to bill Olympia about $100 a day after the city suspended work on an Eastside street improvement.
- The Road That Would Remake the Des Chutes Shore
Tumwater landowners and boosters want a new beach road to Olympia, promising easier travel, new homes, and higher property values.
- A Constitutional Oversight Stalls the Penitentiary’s Jute Plant
Lawmakers intended to renew an old appropriation for prison-made jute, but a procedural misstep holds up $10,000 and suspends work until the attorney general rules.
- Forty Thousand Bricks Rejected at the New Courthouse
Superintendent Rogers refused to let nearly 40,000 soft bricks from a Westside yard go into Olympia's new courthouse, warning contractors that the specifications would be enforced.
- A Tenant's Barn, a Landlord's Lot, and a Judge's Line
Judge Robinson ruled that a contractor's lien for an unpaid Olympia livery stable could reach the building and leasehold—but not the owner's land.
- A Three-Mile Log Jam Opens the Upper Skokomish
After fifty years, a timber company clears a river-blocking mass of logs and puts out a call for loggers.
- The School Bond Fight Turns on Who Gets the Work
As Olympia weighs a new high school, school board members promise home labor and local material—if the bonds pass. A workingmen's meeting wants that promise made binding.
- The Brick Blocks That Told Olympia It Had Arrived
In 1891, three pressed-brick buildings rose along Olympia’s business streets—and boosters read them as proof the wooden capital was becoming a real city.
- Thurston County Farmers Petition for a Chehalis River Bridge
Residents south of the Chehalis ask county commissioners for a crossing near Rochester and Gate City, saying they are cut off from Olympia markets for half the year.
- Andrew Carnegie’s Advice to Washington
The steel magnate urges the state to showcase its vast iron ore deposits at the upcoming World’s Fair.
- Streetcar Standoff in Olympia
A power struggle between the local light company and the street railway threatens to stall transit expansion.
- Olympia Selects Design for New High School
The school board settles on a design by architect B.F.M. Weeks, sparking a debate over whether to build in brick or Tenino stone.
- Jim Hill Finally Names Everett as the Sound Terminus
A contract to build the Great Northern from Everett to Stevens Pass promises 3,000 jobs and a transcontinental line — if the tunnel and the promises hold.
- The Late-Night Fight That Killed Washington's First University Building
A governor's-office showdown between the state auditor and the university building commission halted construction, left laborers unpaid, and pushed Olympia toward a special legislative session.
- The County Courthouse Construction Scandal
A superintendent is forced out after refusing to accept substandard materials for the new county building.
- The Big Ditch That Would Make Seattle a Seaport
In 1892 Senator Squire tried to slip $500,000 for a Lake Washington ship canal into the federal river-and-harbor bill, while Senator Dolph worried about Columbia River money.
- The Handmade Naphtha Car That Was Going to Revolutionize Olympia
At a stable on Puget and Third, George Marvin Savage's crew is building a one-off motor car—part streetcar, part joke—for Main Street.
- Women, Workers, and a $40,000 School Bond
Olympia prepared to vote on a new high school, with women at the polls and labor demanding that local hands build it.
- 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.