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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1889 | 10 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1909 | 3 |
33 stories matching draft
- The Unsinkable 'Old Settler' of the Olympia Tide-Flats
An enterprising Olympia pioneer launches a custom-built, shallow-draft vessel to dominate the local oyster trade.
- Washington Territory’s Constitutional Era Ends
After forty-two days of deliberation in Olympia, the convention to establish a state constitution has adjourned, paving the way for statehood.
- Preparing for the Territorial Vote
Governor Elisha P. Ferry issues a formal proclamation for the November 1876 general election, including a critical vote on whether to draft a new State Constitution.
- The Historic 1889 Fight for Woman Suffrage
When Washington Territory delegates gathered to draft the state constitution, they included a separate ballot measure to secure voting rights for women.
- The First Legislative Assembly of Washington Territory Adjourns
After intense deliberation and the drafting of a new legal code, Washington’s first territorial lawmakers closed their session in Olympia.
- The Great Legislative Mess of 1877
A scathing editorial reveals how Washington Territory lawmakers spent their time sight-seeing instead of legislating, resulting in a chaotic pile of 'undigested' laws.
- The Struggle to Draft Washington’s Constitution
Delegates at the 1889 convention in Olympia face intense debate over corporate regulation and public warehouse oversight.
- Drafting the Constitution
As the constitutional convention meets in Olympia, delegates navigate high-stakes debates over statehood, judicial reform, and the volatile question of woman suffrage.
- Legislators Debate Defenses for a Vulnerable Coast
Concerned that the Puget Sound region was 'utterly defenceless,' the state legislature drafted a formal memorial to Congress demanding coastal protection.
- The San Juan Island Forgery: A Soldier’s Scam and a Territorial Cover-Up
In the tense weeks of the Pig War standoff, a U.S. Army sergeant allegedly forged paymaster certificates to steal $1,604 from a local man in Olympia, sparking a legal battle that exposed corruption within the military ranks.
- The Trolley That Had to Buy a Gulch
A streetcar line blocked by a ravine gets its way to Harrison Avenue — for the price of a $1,630 strip of C. M. Moore's block 48.
- Drafting Washington's Founding Charter
Delegates at the constitutional convention debate the future of the state, including voting rights, tide lands, and the location of the capital.
- Drafting Washington's Future
As the 1889 Constitutional Convention drags on, legislators, lobbyists, and educators collide over taxes, schools, and the path to statehood.
- The Scandal of Surveyor General Henry
Dr. Anson G. Henry fights back against accusations of swindling the government and bribery in a blistering public defense.
- Olympia’s Streetcar Franchise Fight Heads for the Courthouse
A requested extension for the Westside railway sparks a council move to forfeit the Savage Main Street franchise, with a two-year court threat hanging over the city.
- Drafting Washington’s State Constitution
As the Constitutional Convention approaches its one-month mark, delegates race to finalize the blueprint for the future state, balancing high-minded debate with emotional politicking.
- 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 Fight for Seattle’s Infrastructure Debt Limit
A delegation from Seattle appeared before the Washington constitutional convention to lobby for the city's power to borrow money to pay for critical infrastructure, including public water and street improvements.
- The Fight Over Corporate Power
A proposed constitutional provision regarding stockholder liability triggers alarm among Seattle businessmen.
- The Call for a State Constitutional Convention
In 1878, Governor Elisha P. Ferry issued an official proclamation calling for a special election to select delegates for a convention to draft a state constitution for Washington.
- Olympia Residents Organize Volunteer Force Amid Bellingham Bay Fears
Following reports of violence between Indigenous tribes and settlers at Bellingham Bay, local citizens gather at the Olympia courthouse to form a militia and demand government action.
- The First Gold-Cure Club in Washington
At Olympia's Keeley Institute, former patients formed the state's first Bi-chloride of Gold Club—part mutual-aid society, part fundraising engine for poor alcoholics who could not afford the cure.
- A Territory Mourns: Olympia Buries Charles H. Mason
When Washington Territory's secretary and frequent acting governor died in 1859, Chief Justice McFadden and Olympia's leading men gathered at the capitol to call him a public servant 'of both soul and nerve.'
- The last of Lincoln's men in Olympia dies at eighty
Judge John G. Sparks — territorial auditor, justice of the peace, temperance worker and twenty-two-year Methodist — is carried to his grave by the bar and the Masons.
- A Missing Word Nearly Derailed Bellingham's First City Election
Washington's Supreme Court ruled that Whatcom and Fairhaven could hold a combined city election in December 1903, reading past a clerk's drafting error to honor the legislature's intent.