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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1861 | 8 |
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| 1879 | 2 |
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120 stories matching thurston
- A Fortune in Strawberries: The Grower Who Says Thurston County Is Sleeping on Its Own Soil
Olympia closed the fruit season with its biggest shipments yet, but veteran orchardman George B. Hartman says the county's trees are thriving on forty years of neglect — and that proper cultivation could out-earn Oregon and California combined.
- Olympia's Republican Bargain: Bring the State Convention Home—and Send a Delegate to Minneapolis
A local editorial pushes Thurston County Republicans to raise $1,500, host the state convention in the capital, and still claim a seat at the national convention—instead of trading one prize for the other.
- Her Wages Bought the House at Fourth and Plum. The Sheriff’s Deed Was Canceled.
Elizabeth Burkett turned a $700 gift into a hotel and a home. When a Pierce County judgment against her husband threatened it, a Thurston County judge traced the property back to her own labor.
- Thurston County Farmers Petition for a Chehalis River Bridge
Residents south of the Chehalis ask county commissioners for a crossing near Rochester and Gate City, saying they are cut off from Olympia markets for half the year.
- The Courthouse Math Behind a Judge-Shrinking Plan
Tacoma officials weigh merging the Pierce and Thurston judicial districts to save $10,000 a year, even as prosecutors ask for more help.
- The Judge Who Refused to Step Aside
In Thurston County court, Judge Robinson denies a change of venue in the Minkler case, rejecting claims that county prejudice or a newspaper feud had compromised him.
- The Paper War That Split Thurston County
A rival weekly, a political machine, and a defiant editor: Olympia’s Tribune accuses the Owings-Murphy ring of spending thousands to “down” it.
- Orchardists Want Thurston County to Stop Betting on Town Lots
A new horticultural society forms in Olympia, promising experiments in fruit, flowers and prunes—and a future beyond real-estate speculation.
- A Divorce, a Vanished Lawyer, and a Plot to Hide the Property
Ella J. Nance says her husband and his brother conspired to put their community property beyond her reach—and her attorney has disappeared with her fee.
- The Tax Collector’s Quiet Heist in Thurston County
Assessments against “unknown owners,” doubled fees and $9,000 in illegal exactions left property titles tangled and taxpayers furious.
- A Medical Board Member’s $100 Ghost Bill
Dr. Minkler told Thurston County he had paid two Centralia doctors for help. They said they never got the money — and a legal technicality kept the case alive only as a threat of removal.
- The Political Erasure of Lewis County
Citizens in rural Washington cry foul as the 1889 constitutional convention districting map threatens to strip their county of political representation.
- The Price of Justice in Olympia
A legal fight over venue costs in 1892 sparks anxiety among Thurston County taxpayers, revealing the administrative strain of high-profile litigation.
- Potato Showdown: Son Outperforms Father in Thurston County
A local potato competition turns into a generational victory for Roy Taylor, who outclassed his father in four out of six categories.
- The Judge Nobody Saw Coming
Governor McGraw stuns Olympia's legal establishment by appointing T. M. Reed Jr. to the Thurston County bench—just before a bar committee can protest.
- Bucoda’s Coal Company Runs to the Courthouse
A Thurston County coal company secures a receiver in Olympia while creditors race to court, including a claim on a note originally given to pay workers’ wages.
- The Political Price of a Road
Seattle citizens threaten to trade the state capital to Walla Walla to secure a vital road link, as regional rivalries threaten to derail the city's future.
- The Silver Fight Waiting Inside Spokane’s Republican Convention
Nine Supreme Court hopefuls, three congressional candidates, and a free-silver bloc turn Washington’s 1894 state convention into a backroom brawl before it even opens.
- Washington's Fourth Legislature Adjourns After a Marathon Final Day
Lawmakers pass 53 bills, defeat a school-book trust, kill a Seattle-Tacoma bridewell, and bury woman suffrage for at least two years.
- The Scandalous Dismissal of the State Bribery Case
After three years of legal maneuvers, a landmark bribery case involving state officials and textbook contracts was unceremoniously dropped, sparking local outrage.
- The Jailbreak at the Thurston County Courthouse
A prisoner awaiting trial for larceny makes a daring escape from the county jail, leaving authorities scrambling.
- The Shortage Scandal: County Officials Missing Funds
A wave of missing funds across Washington Territory has exposed several deputies and treasurers as they slip away, leaving empty accounts in their wake.
- The Temperance Hall With a Deed That Wouldn't Let Go
A judge voids a ruling on the Good Templars' Columbia Street property, reopening a fight over a free library, a moral clause, and which court had the power to decide.
- The Railroad That Tried to Take Its Tracks Off the Tax Rolls
Northern Pacific receivers tell Thurston County that its right-of-way and stations are federal property—and therefore exempt from local taxes.
- Olympia’s Booster Year: Brick, Bridges and a 50,000-Person Promise
As 1891 closed, the capital city counted $3 million in new buildings, a record bridge, electric lights and new rail lines — and predicted 50,000 residents within a decade.
Also about this, in other words
- Thurston County Rallies for the Union
As the Civil War ignites, Republicans in Olympia gather to declare their loyalty to the Union and choose their delegates for the coming struggle.
- The Last Prisoner of the Thurston County Jail
While the territory debates the future of its legal system, one man finds a solitary rhythm in his cell.
- The Union Ticket: Thurston County's 1862 Political Campaign
As the Civil War rages, local political factions organize mass meetings to nominate candidates and define their loyalties in Olympia.
- Thurston County’s $3,985 Court House Contract Went to a New York Firm
Commissioners signed off on metal vault furniture for the new county courthouse, trimming the order from $5,000 and choosing a Rochester manufacturer after inspecting competing bids in Seattle and Tacoma.
- The Apostles of South Union
Thirty people in a rural Thurston County settlement prepare for the Rapture, waiting for the bodily ascension of the faithful.
- The Venison Peddler of South Tacoma
A Thurston County man finds the local market for illicit game isn't as lucrative as he hoped after a run-in with a game warden.
- The Doomsday Cult of South Union
While the rest of the country debated silver and trade, a group of Thurston County farmers were preparing for the final apocalypse.
- Two Convicts Escape Thurston County Jail
A pair of prisoners utilized a stolen bolt to force their cell door open and escape custody Saturday night.