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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1903 | 1 |
18 stories
- A Tramp's Alibi: Thirty Tumwater Witnesses and a Murder Conviction Undone
A poor itinerant tinker was jailed for a Tacoma murder until residents of a small Thurston County hotel town swore he was miles away. The state Supreme Court ordered a new trial.
- Gate City’s Bridge to Nowhere—and the Heavyweight Who Saw a Future
A missing approach leaves a new Black River bridge unusable, diverting trade to Centralia—but John L. Sullivan thinks the town could host his next fight.
- An Escape on Scott Mountain
A prospector narrowly survives a harrowing encounter with an armed man while traveling through the rugged wilderness near Tumwater.
- Ten Strangers at the Tunnel: Is the Union Pacific Coming Back to Olympia?
A corps of engineers has been quietly pacing the unfinished Tumwater tunnel, refusing to say who sent them or what they want — while heavy rain eats away at the abandoned work.
- The Ox-Yoke Judge Who Kept Olympia the Capital
O. C. Hewitt, Lincoln’s chief justice of Washington Territory and the father of Odd Fellowship in the state, died at 82 in East Tumwater after a frontier life that included burying massacre victims, winning a Supreme Court case, and saving Olympia’s capital status.
- The Forgotten Pioneer History of the Puget Sound
A remarkable 1888 address recalls the precarious early years of Washington Territory, from the first colonial settlements to the grit required to build a government in the wilderness.
- The Smoke of the Season
Forest fires burn through Tumwater timber, impeding travel and damaging infrastructure.
- Tumwater Secures Its Future With Railroad Deal
Local committee reaches agreement with railroad company for depot, water rights, and machine shops.
- The Sudden Marriage of a Tumwater Wealthy Resident
A 79-year-old man surprises the community by wedding a young female physician after a brief courtship by mail.
- A Territory Asks Congress for a Road, Rails, and Troops
Meeting at Col. M. T. Simmons's house, October 18, 1858, adopts resolutions for an overland route from St. Paul to Puget Sound, land grants for the Northern Pacific, and military posts to protect the gold rush—and to put down the territory's Indian war.
- Tumwater Gets Electric Lights but Still No Crossings—Two Ladies Stuck in the Mud
New lights on Reserve Street only made the missing crossings more obvious when two women tried to walk from the wagon bridge to the post office and sank to a standstill.
- A Four-Term Mayor Dies, and Tumwater Shuts Its Doors
Clark Biles — pioneer tanner, founder of a public life in Tumwater, and its mayor four years running — succumbs to typhoid at 43, and the town suspends all business for his funeral.
- The Road That Would Remake the Des Chutes Shore
Tumwater landowners and boosters want a new beach road to Olympia, promising easier travel, new homes, and higher property values.
- Tumwater's Mass Meeting Cast 65 Votes With Only 50 Voters in the Room
A local nominating meeting for council seats turned harmonious—and hilarious—when the ballots outnumbered the attendees.
- A Comrade's Funeral: The G.A.R. Buries a Destitute Veteran
Thomas Endicott of Tumwater died leaving a wife and daughter's family in poverty. The old soldiers of the local G.A.R. post, who had quietly helped the family for months, paid for the funeral and turned out in force at Bush Prairie.
- The Final Chapter of an Argonaut and Indian War Veteran
James Camby, a pioneer who arrived in Thurston County in 1853 after a failed stint in the California gold fields, has died at 87.
- The Day Seattle’s Water Pipe Factory Saved Itself
While the rest of the country sweats through a historic heatwave, Tumwater’s industrial engine roars night and day to keep the city supplied.
- The Woolen Mill That Never Was: Tumwater’s Lost Industrial Dream
Eastern capitalists promised a massive factory in Tumwater, but the deal collapsed before it broke ground—leaving the town with nothing but hope and a Supreme Court case.
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