In 1997, Crowley discussed preparing a Seattle-King County historical encyclopedia for the 2001 sesquicentennial of the Denny Party.
[5] They and Paul Dorpat incorporated History Ink on November 10, 1997, with seed money from Priscilla "Patsy" Collins, by birth a member of Seattle's wealthy and prominent Bullitt family.
[2][7] The website was noted for its coverage of the 1999 WTO protests in Downtown Seattle, maintaining a live webcam feed pointed at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Pike Street that refreshed every 30 seconds.
[2] In 2003, HistoryLink expanded its content to cover Washington state history, including new essays and features.
[9] A 2008 grant from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation funded several freelance writers to expand coverage of Snohomish County.