Washington Standard (Olympia, Wash. Territory)
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
3,199 issues from 1860 to 1921, published in Olympia, Washington, digitised for Chronicling America.
The Washington Standard was first published in the city of Olympia, Washington, in November 1860, just seven years after the official incorporation of Washington Territory. As the first newspaper in the region, and because of its location as the territorial and state capitol, the Standard has a significant place in the history of westward expansion. The Washington Standard was founded by John Miller Murphy; the quintessential American pioneer, born on November 3, 1839, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Orphaned at just seven years old, Murphy moved to Cincinnati to live with an older sister, but within a few years, the family decided to travel west on the Oregon Trail. By the fall of 1850, they made it to Portland and remained there through the winter. During this time, Murphy attended grade school in Portland, one of the first grammar schools in the Pacific Northwest.
Like many other pioneers who traveled the Oregon Trail, Murphy and his family had moved north by the spring of 1851. They settled in the city of Olympia, which at the time was considered a part of the northern section of Oregon Territory. This changed in 1853 when Washington Territory was incorporated, its southern boundary determined largely by the Columbia River. As a young man, Murphy returned to Portland in 1856 to work for the Oregon Weekly Times, beginning his lifelong career in newspaper publishing. By 1858, Murphy was promoted to foreman of the Democratic Standard, a post he held until the publication ceased…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Olympia, Washington, United States
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Chronicling America
- Licence or status
- None stated by the archive
- Rights
- The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety.
- Credit
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities
- Who can read it
- Teens profiles and older (placed by Invisible Network from what the archive says; archives give no ratings)
- Archive
- Library of Congress