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1. Walla Walla’s 1884 Sales Pitch: From a Tent Store to a ‘Metropolitan’ City

   A reprinted commercial sketch boasts of wheat, railroads, gasworks and thousands of souls — and lets slip the town’s whole origin story, from a tent on Mill Creek to the great fire of 1866.

   Jan 10, 1884Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyBoom & Bust

2. A $650,000 Mortgage Put Walla Walla’s Gas, Electric, and Water Future in Philadelphia Hands

   The Northwestern Gas and Electric Company mortgaged its Walla Walla County plants, franchises, and water rights to secure a major bond issue—and announced new power development on the Walla Walla River.

   Oct 9, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

3. The Ship That Smuggled Opium: How a Legal Loophole Freed a Vessel and $13,000 in Penalties

   Judge Hanford rules that the steamer *Walla Walla* is not liable for contraband found in its cargo because the master lacked knowledge of the smuggling, setting a precedent for common carriers.

   Jan 20, 1891The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

4. The Warden Fights Back: Prison Labor, Jute Sacks and a Seattle Newspaper Scandal

   Accused of selling prison-made sacks to middlemen and brutalizing convicts, Walla Walla’s warden answers his critics with a detailed defense—and a challenge to inspect the prison.

   Sep 14, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWashington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyWork & Pay · Scandal

5. The Iron Rail Pipe Dream of 1882

   A century and a half ago, the Post-Intelligencer pressed for a direct mountain rail line between Walla Walla and Puget Sound, promising prosperity—a debate over infrastructure and regional connectivity that still defines Washington politics.

   May 13, 1882Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyBoom & Bust

6. A Bank President’s Paranoia

   After surviving a shooting attempt in Walla Walla, a failed bank executive flees to Seattle in fear of a vengeful depositor.

   May 2, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust · True Crime

7. The Fight to Keep the Cavalry at Fort Walla Walla

   Local farmers and merchants brace for economic disaster as officials weigh the abandonment of the town's military post.

   Nov 6, 1903The Evening StatesmanFort Walla Walla, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyBoom & Bust

8. A Bridge, a Snub, and a Secession Threat on the Snake

   Franklin County offers $20,000 for a Snake River crossing at Burbank. Walla Walla County’s commissioners hesitate, and residents at the county’s western edge start talking about leaving.

   Nov 25, 1915The Kennewick Courier-ReporterBurbank, Walla Walla CountyBoom & Bust · City Hall

9. The Codlin Moth War: Hogs, Padded Poles, and a Walla Walla Grower's Doubts About Spraying

   W. S. Offner reported a quarter-million-dollar fruit trade from the Walla Walla valley—and explained why the standard spray calendar failed against the orchard pest.

   Dec 1, 1898Ranche and RangeWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyStrange But True

10. Sold at Fifteen, Then Shut Out: A Walla Walla Nurseryman's Daughter Ends Up in the County Poor Farm

    Sixty-five, penniless and 'bent and weary,' Alice Hess writes from the Spokane County poor farm asking whether the law can force her wealthy Whitney relatives — a nurseryman, a Big Bend doctor, a sitting legislator — to keep her alive.

    Nov 27, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyScandal

11. The Privatization of the Walla Walla River Basin

    Wealthy sportsmen have locked up local hunting grounds behind fences and permits, shutting out the public to ensure a private preserve for their weekend outings.

    Sep 15, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyFollow the Money

12. The Walla Walla County Debt Trap

    A railroad promoter’s aggressive scheme to offload personal financial liabilities onto the taxpayers of Walla Walla County.

    Jul 25, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyFollow the Money

13. The Man Who Built a Road on His Own dime

    While Seattle’s leaders debate and delay, a Walla Walla pioneer proves that private enterprise can conquer the wilderness where public funds fail.

    May 25, 1876Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

14. The Man Who Bought the Territory: Miles C. Moore’s Rise to Governor

    From a Walla Walla bookstore clerk to the head of Washington Territory, Miles C. Moore’s appointment signals a shift in power from Seattle’s elite to Eastern Washington’s business barons.

    Mar 22, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall

15. The Senatorial Bargain

    Walla Walla's political influence is being traded away to secure state-wide favor, at the cost of the local garrison.

    Aug 20, 1903The Evening StatesmanFort Walla Walla, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall

16. A Gas Boom in Benton County, Complete With a Camp Lit by Its Own Well

    Backers of the Benton County gas field planned a December 7 excursion to show off a well that powered engines, lit the driller’s houses, and they hoped would soon fuel a pipeline to Walla Walla.

    Nov 23, 1916The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

17. Highbrow Critics vs. The Walla Walla Audience

    A touring play panned in Seattle and Portland finds an enthusiastic audience in Walla Walla, sparking a debate about local cultural taste.

    Nov 3, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyNightlife

18. Lewiston Beats Walla Walla to a Carnegie Library—Will the City Council Act?

    As tiny Lewiston secures a $25,000 Carnegie library, The Statesman demands Walla Walla's council accept Andrew Carnegie's offer and secure the city's claim to a 'Greater Walla Walla.'

    Nov 28, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyBoom & Bust · City Hall

19. The Absinthe Defense: How a 'Swissess' and a Headache Saved a Murderer's Life

    In the high-profile Spencer trial in Spokane, witnesses testified that Edward Spencer drank absinthe to sober up before killing Ella Mundt. The court heard he was 'jolly' until the end.

    May 28, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyTrue Crime

20. A Guard Called It an Escape. A Witness Called It Murder.

    In a letter to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Thomas Hayden described the shooting of convict Thomas Dryden at Walla Walla and accused prison officials of covering it up.

    Mar 26, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWashington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall · True Crime

21. The Fight to Keep Fort Walla Walla Alive

    Military leaders move to shutter the historic post, leaving local officials scrambling to prove its worth to the federal government.

    Oct 19, 1903The Evening StatesmanFort Walla Walla, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall · Gone Forever

22. Walla Walla's Water War: Springs, a Bank, and a $250,000 Bond

    In December 1903, an editorial backed Councilman Glasford's plan to use Thomas Springs rather than buy bank-owned ranch land or bond for Mill Creek water.

    Dec 3, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

23. The Butcher Who Walked to Kill the President

    John Bushey, a displaced laborer from Pendleton, was arrested in Walla Walla after claiming he carried a rifle and cartridges for both Theodore Roosevelt and the German Emperor.

    May 26, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyTrue Crime

24. The Railway Heartbeat of Walla Walla

    When a railroad bypasses a growing town for a smaller rival, the economic stakes—and the town's survival—hang in the balance.

    May 3, 1882Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyBoom & Bust

25. The Steamer That Smuggled Opium in Sauerkraut Barrels

    A federal seizure of the Walla Walla reveals a shocking loophole: how Pacific Coast Steamship Company executives claim 'skid grease' shipments were actually opium, and why customs officials looked the other way.

    Mar 19, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · True Crime

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