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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 3 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1860 | 3 |
| 1861 | 5 |
| 1862 | 15 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1864 | 2 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 17 |
| 1877 | 15 |
| 1878 | 10 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 5 |
| 1883 | 25 |
| 1884 | 13 |
| 1885 | 18 |
| 1886 | 8 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 10 |
| 1889 | 28 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 29 |
| 1892 | 42 |
| 1893 | 47 |
| 1894 | 37 |
| 1895 | 97 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 15 |
| 1903 | 17 |
| 1904 | 25 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1908 | 5 |
| 1909 | 38 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 4 |
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| 1915 | 5 |
| 1916 | 5 |
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| 1918 | 1 |
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| 1928 | 1 |
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583 stories matching introduc
- The Divorce Dozen: Olympia’s Council Clears a Path for Broken Marriages
In December 1860, the Washington Territory Council processed a flurry of divorce petitions, including one from prominent local figure Carson D. Boren, revealing the fragile nature of domestic life in the frontier.
- Federal Crackdown on Liquor Trade with Tribes
The Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Washington Territory warns traders that liquor trafficking on reservations is a serious federal offense.
- Olympia Officials Enforce 1862 Ban on Selling Liquor to Tribes
Superintendent Calvin H. Hale warns that selling alcohol to Native people is a 'grave offence' punishable by law and military enforcement.
- Legislators Duck 'Wife Beater' Bill
Public ridicule stops lawmakers from sponsoring a measure to punish domestic abusers.
- The School Land That Was Salted With Gold
Washington's attorney general told the Interior Department that a claimant had planted jeweler's gold in gravel from a Pierce County school section to turn public land into a mine.
- The Day the Legislature Tried to Unmake a Marriage
In December 1860, Washington Territorial lawmakers debated a private bill to dissolve the bonds of matrimony between Onon Connolly and Sarah Connolly, restoring her maiden name.
- The Map That Wasn’t Evidence May Reopen a State Boundary Fight
Washington’s special attorney says the Supreme Court relied on a colored map never introduced in the Oregon-Washington boundary case.
- 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 Unraveling of the Fisher Breach-of-Promise Suit
A sensational trial in Judge Osborn’s court exposes the complicated past of a woman suing for breach of promise, as both parties air their grievances publicly.
- The Battle Over Seattle’s Waterfront
Delegates at the constitutional convention debate the legality of old railroad land grants that once promised to privatize Elliott Bay.
- The Temperance Fight Hits Local Garrisons
Legislators move to ban saloons near military homes, targeting Orting and Puget Sound shipyards in a sweeping dry campaign.
- Puyallup's Bid to Steal the State Capitol From Olympia
A Pierce County representative introduced a bill to repeal the $500,000 capitol-building appropriation and cancel the Olympia basement contract—reportedly to keep Puyallup's own hopes alive.
- The Prohibition of Alcohol Trade with Tribal Nations
Federal agents issue a stern warning against the trade and distribution of liquor on Indian reservations.
- The Eight-Hour Day Battle in 1887
Washington territorial legislators spar over radical new labor laws, including mandates for an eight-hour workday and the end of company-scrip payment systems.
- The Bid to Bottle Up Tacoma
A proposed electrical franchise sparked a bitter fight between City Hall and a powerful private utility corporation over the future of the city's power grid.
- The Divorce Factory of 1861
Tired of a legislative session flooded with endless divorce petitions, the Washington Territorial Council finally moves to curb the practice.
- The Price of a Life: Labor Fights Back Against Dangerous Legislation
Organized labor in Everett rallies against a proposed senate bill that would cap death and injury payouts for workers at $5,000.
- The Legislative Prank That Backfired
A Washington Territory legislator’s attempt to play a humorous political trick on a colleague turns into a serious row over parliamentary decorum.
- Divorce by Legislation
In the 1861 territorial session, the Washington Legislature became a de facto divorce court, forcing members to adjudicate the intimate failures of local couples.
- The Path to Statehood: Washington's Bid for the Union
Senator Dolph introduces a sweeping bill to carve a new state from the Territory, setting boundaries from the Pacific to the Bitterroot Range.
- An Angler's Surprise in Lake Union
A six-pound blue catfish is landed, sparking debates about the ecological impact of non-native species introduced by state commissioners.
- The Principal's Secret Bride: A School Closing Reveal in Franklin
Charles Wetherbee introduced his assistant as 'Miss Lathrum'—then told the astonished room she had been Mrs. Wetherbee since Easter.
- The Death of the Egg Law
A peculiar piece of legislation from 1875 mandating the sale of eggs by weight is finally repealed after years of being a 'dead letter'.
- Tacoma’s Epworth League Wants the Bible in Public Schools—and the Saloons Gone
A thousand church reformers gathered in Tacoma planned a moral crusade against liquor and for Bible reading in the public schools.
- Federal Notice Warns Traders Against Liquor Sales to Indigenous Tribes
The Superintendent of Indian Affairs warns traders that supplying alcohol to Indigenous people in the Territory is a serious federal crime.