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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 9 |
| 1889 | 24 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 49 |
| 1893 | 27 |
| 1894 | 58 |
| 1895 | 54 |
228 stories matching civil
- Civil War Veterans Reunited at the Rainier Hotel
Two former officers meet at the Rainier Hotel to recount the battles of the Civil War after decades of separation.
- The Postmaster’s Patronage Problem: Civil Service Warns Port Townsend
Postmaster McNamara threatened to replace Port Townsend’s post office staff with loyal Democrats. The Civil Service Commission warned that patronage could cost him personally—and cited a Pennsylvania postmaster who paid $600 out of pocket.
- The Patronage Game at Port Townsend: How Customs Officials Fought Civil Service
A plan to reduce the customs force in Puget Sound sparks a behind-the-scenes battle over patronage, as local officials try to add jobs to avoid civil service exams.
- The Federal Jobs That Came With Life Tenure
A new civil-service order gives Puget Sound customs officers—from deputies to private secretaries—protection that even a change of administration may not break.
- The Indian Agent Who Let Settlers Stay: A Lake Chelan Land Fight
A federal Indian agent delayed an order to restore land near Lake Chelan to Indigenous owners, then waded into the estate of 'Okanogan' Smith, prompting charges of military overreach into civil affairs.
- Civil War Veterans Clash with Custom House Over Flag Display
Grand Army of the Republic members in Olympia vow to hold federal officials accountable after an alleged failure to fly the American flag on Memorial Day.
- The Tycoon Saloon Heist: A Laborer's Fight for His Wages
After being swindled out of his savings by a rigged card game, a Skagit County laborer takes on the city's saloons in a rare civil suit for restitution.
- Judicial Gridlock in King County
The Supreme Court intervenes when two Seattle judges refuse to finalize a case, each insisting the other should sign off.
- A Senate Report Exposes the National Guard's 'Go-As-You-Please' Spending
A military deficiency report finds the Washington National Guard has escaped civil control and wasted money, including $1,000 for each election of Adjutant General O'Brien.
- The Operator Was Sleeping: A Seattle Telephone Scandal
In 1885, Seattle residents were so fed up with poor service and sleeping operators at the local telephone exchange that the newspaper demanded a total administrative overhaul.
- The Proposal to Reshape Seattle's Waterways
A civil engineer proposes cutting a new channel between Lake Washington and Lake Union to prevent devastating floods in the Duwamish and White River valleys.
- The City Settles with Embezzler's Bondsmen
A complex financial deal ends the civil litigation over Adolph Krug’s flight from the City Treasurer’s office.
- Port Townsend Union Veterans Condemn Morning Leader Editorials
Farragut Post No. 14 of the Grand Army of the Republic condemned the Port Townsend Morning Leader for belittling pensioners and demeaning the Civil War, calling on citizens to boycott the newspaper.
- The Brutal Doctrine of 'Root Hog or Die'
A Seattle newspaper editorial argues for the forced assimilation and dispossession of Indigenous people, mirroring the era's harshest colonial policies.
- Old Soldiers Take the Floor: Seattle’s Post-Civil War Fraternal Life
In January 1891, the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic and their families gathered in the Hinckley Block to install new officers, a ritual of civic pride and remembrance in a rapidly growing Seattle.
- The Mystery of the Missing Railroad Track
A civil engineer's discovery threatens to derail the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad's land claim in downtown Seattle.
- Scarlet Fever, Schools, and a Turf War Between Two Boards
Seattle's health and school boards take their quarrel over scarlet fever quarantine and school closures to the civil courts, while five new cases are reported.
- The Aristocracy of Skin
An editorial reflection on the prevalence of racial prejudice in the North and the exclusion of Black students and congregants from 'civilized' institutions.
- Arthur Denny Recalls the 1865 Election
Thirty years after his election to Congress, the Seattle pioneer reflects on a campaign defined by the Civil War and the assassination of Lincoln.
- 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 Mob Rule at Our Doorstep
When an organized society in Walla Walla issued threats against anyone hiring Chinese labor, the press decried the move as a return to the lawless spirit of the frontier.
- The Political Honeymoon of 1889
Four months into the Harrison administration, a Seattle editor reflects on the stability of a presidency that weathered a major international crisis in Samoa.
- The Bachelor Plague: A Warning to Women Considering Washington Territory
A satirical column in the Waterville Empire warns Eastern women that the territory is overrun with 'horrid bachelors,' urging them to come anyway for the climate and soil.
- Washington’s Citizen Soldiers Prepare for Duty
While the upcoming National Guard encampment at Chambers Prairie promises camaraderie, it serves a serious, dual purpose: law enforcement and the maintenance of civil stability.
- Washington Writes Equal Access to Inns, Barbershops and Streetcars Into Law
In March 1895 the state legislature amended its civil-rights code so that every person in Washington — 'of whatever race, color or nationality' — could claim the full enjoyment of public accommodations, with fines and jail for those who refused.