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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 102 |
| 1889 | 293 |
| 1891 | 178 |
| 1892 | 577 |
| 1893 | 733 |
| 1894 | 691 |
| 1895 | 748 |
3,322 stories matching state
- Washington Kept Dodging Its Own Congressional Map
After the 1890 census gave Washington a second representative, the state spent years avoiding the required division into two congressional districts.
- Judge Lewis Blasts Portland and Olympia Over Seattle's Canal
A Tacoma judge's letter urges Washington state to fund the Lake Washington canal, accusing Portland's Oregonian and a political 'combination at Olympia' of trying to strangle Seattle's growth.
- Constitutional Convention Debates Tide Land Ownership
Delegates in Olympia weigh public versus private rights to Washington's valuable shorelines as the state prepares for entry into the Union.
- Judge Hanford and the Legal Battle for Exclusion
A federal judge asserts authority over state court interference in the deportation of Chinese individuals arriving in Tacoma.
- The Governor’s Dilemma: The Hand-Me-Down Prison
When Washington became a state, the federal government tried to offload the McNeil Island Penitentiary and its prisoners to state control—but Governor Elisha Ferry wasn't having it.
- Hanford Opened the Boardroom to Outside Capital
A bill letting a majority of a Washington corporation's trustees reside out of state sailed through the House — the latest move in a state selling itself to Eastern money and industry.
- Judge Burke: Washington cannot borrow a dollar to build its capitol
Answering Populist weeklies that accused the capitol commission of planning to sink the state a million dollars into debt, commissioner Thomas Burke said the law allows exactly one funding source — 132,000 acres of granted land — and no taxes at all.
- Oregon Officers Cross the Columbia to Arrest Washington Fishermen
Seattle's paper accuses an Astoria judge of sending raiders into Washington waters to kidnap citizens for violating Oregon's salmon laws — an armed invasion of state sovereignty, it charges.
- Three Bickering Land Departments, Millions in Tide Lands, and a Demand for Answers
A state land commissioner admits the tide-land situation is 'chaotic in the extreme' and calls for a no-whitewash legislative probe — warning that divided authority is an open door to corruption.
- The Birth of Washington State: 1889 Constitution Draft
A rare look at the foundational text that set the rules for labor, public education, and state governance upon Washington’s entry into the Union.
- The Foundation of the State: A Warning Against Corporate Capture
In March 1889, just weeks before Washington’s statehood, the Post-Intelligencer warns voters that powerful corporations are maneuvering to control the new government’s constitution.
- The State's Tax Grab
A landmark Supreme Court ruling forces Washington cities to share their liquor license revenue with the state, hitting Seattle for thousands.
- The Supreme Court Defies Its Own Constitution
A legal dispute over Walla Walla land reveals how Washington State wrestled with the transition from federal territory to sovereign statehood.
- The People vs. The Senators: Washington’s Bold Demand for Direct Democracy
In a rare moment of unity, the state legislature sends a powerful message to Congress: stop letting politicians pick your senators. It’s time for the people to vote.
- A Legislative Cleanup for Washington's Tide Lands and School Lands
A joint committee found no corruption in the state land office but recommended abolishing costly local tide-land appraisers, trimming the land cruisers, and centralizing public-land oversight.
- The University’s Wish List: New Departments, New Money
In 1895, UW regents asked King County legislators for laboratories, professors and a geological survey—and argued that the whole state would benefit.
- Clergyman Detained for Extradition
A minister faces serious criminal charges in Washington state as authorities move to detain him in British Columbia.
- The Fight Over Washington’s Missing School Sections
A Port Townsend case over “lieu lands” reaches a federal courtroom—and the title to hundreds of thousands of acres of school land.
- The Pullman College Scandal
Regents of the State Agricultural College face serious accusations of misusing public funds, including charges of billing the state for personal hotel extras like overalls and Sunday travel.
- Corruption Allegations Shake State Road Commission
Citizens demand the governor remove the state road board amid claims of fiscal irresponsibility and mismanagement.
- The Struggle Over Seattle's Waterfront
A legal analysis from 1889 reasserts the state's sovereignty over Seattle's tide-lands, setting the stage for future city development.
- The Capitol Riots: How a Bribery Scandal Shook Washington’s First Legislature
In the halls of Olympia, Republican lawmakers turned on each other with fists and threats over a U.S. Senate seat, exposing a brazen attempt to buy votes that disgraced the young state.
- Debating the Tide Lands
A committee weighs how the state will hold, lease, and sell shore lands in the new constitutional framework.
- The State's Mounting Red Ink
State Auditor T.M. Reed delivers a scathing biennial report to the legislature, blaming erratic spending and poor revenue laws for a ballooning state debt.
- The Price of Early Statehood
Fresh from statehood, Washington’s auditor warns of a looming floating debt and a chaotic tax system that left farmers and county officials struggling.