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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1891 | 11 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
36 stories matching rapid
- The Argument for Washington Statehood in 1883
An editorial from the Pacific Chronicle argues that the territory’s rapid growth and wealth entitle it to immediate admission to the Union.
- Olympia's Streetcar Franchise Shell Game
A franchise extension granted on a promise of negotiations turns out to be empty—and the editor wants electric cars for the capital.
- The Boomtown Rhythms of Olympia
A report on the rapid industrial growth, real estate speculation, and social life transforming the capital city.
- Olympia’s ‘Miserable’ Street Railway Is Holding the City Back
An 1891 editorial demands that the city cancel the Olympia Street Railway’s charter and clear Main and Fourth streets for electric cars, arguing the two rickety horse cars are a disgrace and a drag on growth.
- Seattle Makes Its Case for Statehood
As the constitutional convention convenes in Olympia, Seattle’s delegates argue for the city’s readiness, its infrastructure, and its claim to statehood.
- Drawing the Lines for Statehood
As Washington approached statehood, the territory grappled with how to divide itself into twenty-five districts to select delegates for a constitutional convention.
- Washington’s Constitutional Convention Gridlock
Delegates in Olympia struggle to write the state's governing document while balancing partisan interests and local industrial needs.
- The Governor’s Vision for a Growing Territory
Governor William Pickering addresses the 1862 Legislature, detailing the critical needs of a frontier rapidly filling with settlers and miners.
- Washington Territory’s Wartime Blueprint
Governor William H. Wallace outlines a vision for the territory’s future while railing against 'peace men' and traitors amid the Civil War.
- The Senatorial Deadlock
A bitter, weeks-long political war at the state capital reaches a boiling point as George Turner accuses Governor McGraw of leaking a private negotiation.
- The Right to Vote in Washington Territory
Legislative debates heat up over the enfranchisement of Indigenous people in the mid-1850s.
- The Cascades of Disparity
Federal engineers reveal that Washington state's infrastructure projects receive only a fraction of the funding allocated to Oregon.
- Washington's Shifting Demographics
State health officials report a slow decline in birth rates, while noting divergent trends across different racial communities.
- An Editor's Dilemma in the Civil War
The Olympia Standard defends its editorial stance against critics who charge the paper with abandoning the cause of the Union by questioning the immediate abolition of slavery.
- 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.
- Olympia Cut Salaries and School Terms to Survive the Panic of 1893
Facing depression, Washington’s capital city slashed official pay, shortened the school year to six months, and bet on harbor work and a new capitol to pull itself out.
- The Fatal Climb for the Church Bells
A local carpenter attempted to scale a church steeple to settle a debate about height, meeting a tragic end in full view of the town.
- A Night of Ruin: Olympia’s Business District Ravaged by Fire
A catastrophic blaze tears through a full city block in Olympia, leaving shopkeepers and residents devastated in its wake.
- An Ill-Fated Fishing Excursion to Brown's Wharf
Local residents charter a boat named 'Union' for a fishing trip, only to end up mud-bound and fishless.
- Olympia’s Paper Cheers a Harsher Chinese Exclusion Act — and Calls for Expulsion
The Olympia Tribune backs a federal bill barring Chinese merchants and artisans, then goes further: deport every Chinese resident to “give work to better people.”
- The Keeley Cure Comes to Olympia
Olympia's Keeley Institute promises release from drink, and the Tribune opens a discreet charity fund for patients who cannot pay.
- Rapid Transit to Eternity: Olympia's Kerosene Trolley, Minus the Matches
George Marvin Savage's homemade coal-oil motor car is about to carry paying passengers down to the Fourth Street track — if it doesn't explode first. Riders get accident insurance, and their obituary verses have already been written.
- The Great Hotel Fight: Olympia’s Race for a First-Class Inn
As the state capital swells with new residents, locals realize private developers won't build what they need. So they take matters into their own hands, raising $10,000 in days to force the construction of a grand hotel before the constitutional convention arrives.
- The Fight for Clear Water Rights
A new commission report proposes sweeping changes to ensure farmers and businesses can finally secure legal titles to their water.
- Two Red Boxes on Wheels: Olympia's Sorry Excuse for a Streetcar Line
The street railway's president has told the council he can keep the city tied up in court for two years. The Tribune suggests the new council simply take his franchise away.