The front page of Dec. 24, 1920, edition of the Washington Standard. (Images courtesy Washington State Library)

Ever wonder what was newsworthy in Olympia way back in Washington’s territorial days? Now you can find out thanks to the Washington State Library’s latest addition to the popular Chronicling America program.

The State Library has finished digitizing more than 60 years’ worth of one of Washington’s earliest territorial newspapers, the Olympia-based Washington Standard. The collection ranges from 1860 (the year before the Civil War started) to 1921, the year after Prohibition began in the U.S.

You can find the state’s historic newspapers collection here.

Shawn Schollmeyer, the State Library’s Washington Digital Newspapers coordinator, provides insight on the Washington Standard’s growth during the late 19th century, as well as its publisher, John Miller Murphy who served as territorial auditor three separate times:

“John Miller Murphy knew there was tough competition to be the home of the new state Capitol with increased growth in Vancouver, Tacoma and Seattle in 1889, even though Olympia was already the seat of the Washington territorial government. To strengthen the paper’s influence, he changed the publication from a weekly to a daily, which proved effective when Olympia won the referendum decision to remain the location of the Capitol in 1891. Murphy continued to be active in the community, serving occasionally in the territorial Legislature, as superintendent of schools and as a founder of the Olympia Theatre in 1890. Throughout these activities he maintained his role as publisher for over five decades.”

The masthead of the Washington Standard in 1860.

The State Library has completed digitizing historic newspapers for the National Digital Newspaper Program, adding over 300,000 pages for the third and final grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Library of Congress.  More than 30 states and territories are participating in the project, contributing over 8 million pages of newspaper content since 2005. Historic state newspapers can be searched by keyword, date and title via the Chronicling America website.

These newspapers, all in the public domain (pre-1923), are free for public use. Educators, historians, genealogists, students and other members of the public are welcome to use these pages for their primary research, history presentations, and educational projects.

To learn more about Chronicling America and NDNP, start with a look here and click on “NDNP Extras.”  Here you’ll find a list of popular research topics, valuable teaching resources, and rich primary materials for students to meet the new Common Core Standards.  Search tip for Washington titles:  Select “State: Washington” option under the “All Digitized Newspapers 1836-1922” tab at the top of the page and click “Go.”

Schollmeyer said historic issues from the Oroville Gazette, Mason County Journal (Shelton) and Northwest Enterprise (Anacortes) are coming soon to the newspaper collection.