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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1914 | 5 |
| 1915 | 6 |
| 1916 | 7 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1923 | 1 |
25 stories
- Rattlesnake Hills Oil Race Draws New Leases
Speculators and geologists are betting big on the oil and gas potential of the Rattlesnake Hills, hoping to spark an industrial boom in the desert.
- Fire Consumes Kiona's Commercial Heart
A blaze in Kiona leaves the town's primary store, hotel, and post office in ashes, with guests narrowly escaping the inferno.
- Benton City Merchant Loses Everything in Fire
A local family returns from an evening out to find their home and business leveled by flames.
- The Ghost Railroad That Never Reached Benton City
A failed land investment lawsuit reveals how the death of a railroad titan doomed a town's hopes for becoming a major terminal.
- The Governor’s Nightmare Road
An editorial critique of the state's failure to maintain a fifteen-mile stretch of road between Richland and Benton City.
- Farmers Revolt Against County Extension Office
Agricultural groups in Benton County push to purge the county agent's office and force the retirement of state college leadership over cooperative marketing disputes.
- The Bee-Sting Justice of Kiona
A group of young vandals terrorizing the countryside found themselves outgunned and forced to pay a heavy price after targeting a local man's beehives.
- The Dawn of Cooperative Banking in Benton County
Local farmers organize the first federal loan association to secure $29,000 for regional development.
- Tragic Discovery Near Benton City
A teenage boy who went missing just before Christmas is found dead near a cliffside after a hunting accident.
- Prosser Businessman Frank Hedger Drowns in Yakima River
A prominent Prosser businessman drowns while duck hunting near the mouth of the Yakima River.
- The Classroom in the Fields
Rural Washington voters approve a bold, experimental agricultural campus on the bluffs overlooking the Yakima River.
- Kennewick Men Venture to the Rattlesnake Hills Gas Well
Local business leaders tour a mysterious, productive natural gas well, fueling regional excitement for industrial development.
- Oil Fever Strikes Kennewick as Claims Blanket Rattlesnake Hills
Kennewick residents are swarming the Rattlesnake Hills, staking hundreds of placer claims in hopes of striking it rich as oil fever takes hold of the county.
- The Struggle for Paved Progress
Local road advocates meet in Benton City to revive the Good Roads Association and hold the county accountable for infrastructure spending.
- The Mystery of the Unknown Man in the Yakima
A body pulled from the river bears no identification, leaving behind only two dimes and a pair of kid gloves.
- The Midnight Ambush at Benton City
Two alert clerks scare off burglars at a local store, but their midnight pursuit ends in a stumble and a flurry of gunfire.
- A Gas Well Roars to Life in the Sagebrush — and Yakima Comes to Watch
Sixty North Yakima men drove out to a wildcat well 14 miles north of Benton City, where escaping gas hissed like a locomotive, then lit into a 20-foot tower of flame — and raised fresh hopes of oil under the desert. Spoiler: the gas wasn't there in commercial quantities yet.
- Benton City Marks Irrigation Milestone
Thousands gather to dedicate the Benton extension of the Sunnyside Canal, signaling a doubling of local irrigated acreage.
- Benton City Prepares to Welcome the Canal
A day of speeches, picnics, and festivities marks the expansion of irrigation to the thirsty fields of Benton County.
- Small Town Minstrel Show Raises Funds for Christmas
Community members in Benton City put on a talent show, featuring local musicians and a 'Japanese chorus,' to fund a holiday celebration for local children.
- Black Diamond Miners Invest in Benton Hops
A group of investors from the coal mining town of Black Diamond have purchased 67 acres of land near Benton to establish a massive hop yard, signaling a shift toward diversified agriculture in the valley.
- The vanishing ferry of Kiona
A high-water accident at the Kiona ferry leaves the community wondering if their only link across the river has been swept to the sea.
- The Last Stand of a Benton City Patriarch
Prominent rancher J.B. Palmer dies in Walla Walla after a rushed surgery for appendicitis, leaving behind five children and a community that mourns the loss of a pioneer dairyman.
- Drilling in the Rattlesnakes
Speculators on the Knudson ranch pause drilling as they hunt for a gas strike deep beneath the Benton County soil.
- A Massive Poultry Demonstration
An experimental shipment of 2,600 chicks from California arrives in Benton City to prove large-scale commercial viability.
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