Introduction to History of Washington
Archeological evidence indicates that prehistoric Indians inhabited what is now Washington some 12,000 years ago. Over the centuries, two distinct cultures developed, that of the coastal Indians, who lived in settlements and engaged in fishing, food gathering, and, eventually, agriculture; and that of the Indians of the eastern plateau, who were primarily nomadic hunters. When European explorers arrived in the 18th century, the major tribes in the area were the Cayuse, Chinook, Kutenai, and Yakima.
Important dates in Washington1775 Bruno Heceta and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra of Spain became the first Europeans to land on Washington soil.1792 Robert Gray sailed into Grays Harbor and the Columbia River. George Vancouver surveyed the coast of Washington and Puget Sound.1805 Lewis and Clark reached Washington and the Pacific Ocean.1810 A British-Canadian fur-trading post was established near present-day Spokane.1818 Britain and the United States agreed to a joint occupation of the Oregon region, which included Washington.1846 A treaty between the United States and Britain established Washington's boundary at the 49th parallel.1853 Congress created the Washington Territory.1855-1858 Indian wars raged in the Washington Territory.1883 The Northern Pacific Railroad linked Washington and the East.1889 Washington became the 42nd state on November 11.1909 The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition was held in Seattle.1942 Grand Coulee Dam was completed.1962 Century 21, a world's fair, was held in Seattle.1964 The Columbia River Treaty of 1961 and related agreements received final approval from the U.S. and Canadian governments.1974 Expo '74, a world's fair, was held in Spokane.1980 Mount St. Helens volcano erupted causing 57 deaths and enormous damage in the southwestern part of Washington.1996 Gary Locke of Washington became the first person of Chinese ancestry to be elected governor of a U.S. state.European Exploration and Settlement
The Spanish were the first known explorers to sight and land in what is now Washington. In 1774 Juan Perez explored the coast. The following year, Bruno Heceta and Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra landed near the mouth of the Quinault River and claimed the region for Spain. Traders came by ship from a number of countries, including Britain, Russia, and the United States, seeking furs. On May 11, 1792, Captain Robert Gray, of the American ship Columbia , discovered the mouth of a great river, which he named for his ship. In the same year, Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer, began mapping the Puget Sound coastline.
The United States and Great Britain—as well as Spain and Russia—claimed the Oregon country, which included present-day Washington, as a result of the early voyages. The United States strengthened its claim in 1805 when the Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. In 1810 a Canadian explorer, David Thompson, built a trading post on the site of what is now Spokane. David Stuart established the first American settlement at Okanogan for the Pacific Fur Company in 1811. In 1818 the United States and Great Britain agreed to hold the region jointly. Spain gave up its claim in 1819, Russia in 1824.
During 1824–25, the Hudson's Bay Company, a British trading company, established Fort Vancouver on the site of present-day Vancouver, Washington. The factor (agent) of the company became the real ruler of the Oregon country for the next two decades. Both Protestant and Catholic missionaries began coming to the area in an attempt to Christianize the Indians. After 1840 many settlers from the United States entered the region by way of the Oregon Trail, but most settled south of the Columbia River in what is now Oregon. In 1846 the United States and Great Britain ended their joint-territorial arrangement by agreeing to the 49th parallel as the international boundary.
In 1847 Cayuse Indians massacred settlers at the mission of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, near present-day Walla Walla. This led to the Cayuse War and calls for federal military protection. Partly as a result, on August 14, 1848, Congress created the Territory of Oregon, which included Washington. Settlers north of the Columbia, however, sought separate territorial status, and on March 2, 1853, Washington Territory was established. At the time, it had a white population of less than 4,000.
Statehood and Development
The discovery of gold in eastern Washington in the 1850's brought in many settlers. This influx caused renewed Indian warfare, the so-called Yakima War (1855–58).
For the next quarter of a century, population grew slowly. In 1863 Idaho Territory was created from eastern Washington Territory. Development became rapid after the first railroad, the Northern Pacific, entered the region in 1883, giving Washington a direct rail link to the eastern states. Lumbering, fishing, and farming were the chief occupations in the territory. On November 11, 1889, Washington became the 42nd state; Olympia was its capital. A constitution was adopted the same year.
After the Klondike gold rush of 1897, Seattle, Tacoma, and other cities in Washington became important supply bases for Alaska, with Seattle experiencing tremendous growth. During the next three decades, Washington's population nearly tripled. Universities, national parks, and army posts were established in the state.
Rapid growth also brought problems. There was conflict between the old settlers and the large numbers of new non-English immigrants, and there was also corruption in public and private business dealings. This led to the rise of the progressive movement in the state and to various reform measures in the early 20th century, including direct primary elections; the initiative, the referendum, and the recall; and woman suffrage. Labor unrest followed attempts by the Industrial Workers of the World to unionize the lumbering industry.
World War I brought prosperity, particularly to agriculture and to the shipbuilding and lumbering industries. The 1920's, however, were a period of little growth, followed by the Great Depression of the 1930's. During the 1930's, the federal government began to develop the Columbia River. Bonneville Dam was completed in 1937, Grand Coulee was finished in 1942, and other dams were built later. During World War II, war production again stimulated the economy, and heavy industries developed. After the war, tourism became important. The Seattle World's Fair of 1962 and Expo '74, a world's fair in Spokane, were popular attractions.
In 1980 Mount St. Helens, a long-dormant volcano, erupted, causing loss of life and millions of dollars in damage. In 1982, Mount St. Helens became the first National Volcanic Monument in the country.
The economy suffered during the recessions of the early 1970's and early 1980's, with declines in the aerospace and forest-products industries. In 1985 the government launched a campaign to promote economic expansion. In a 1990 referendum, voters rejected a measure to protect the environment by regulating economic growth.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Washington unsuccessfully tried to increase its electric power supply under the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS). The plan called for the construction of five nuclear power plants, but was proved much too expensive. By 1983, WPPSS defaulted on $2.25 billion in municipal bonds and stopped construction, having completed only two plants; WPPSS was the most expensive civil works project in history, and had the largest default. Although the 1990 referendum showed that voters favored economic growth to protecting the environment, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers devoted several studies in the 1990s to finding a solution to the high rate of young salmon deaths in the electric turbines of dams while journeying downstream after spawning. The dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers had already provided fish ladders from the Pacific Ocean to allow the salmon to go upriver to reproduce, but no safe way to return; in 2002, a plan was presented to redirect some river water around the dams. Also in the late 1990s, it was discovered that nuclear waste was leaking into the Columbia River; a cleanup plan by state and federal officials continued from 1989 into the early 21st century. In 1996, Gary Locke became the first person of Chinese descent to be elected a U.S. governor. In the November 2004 election, in which Locke did not run for reelection, the race was very close. At first, Republican Dino Rossi had a lead over Democrat Christine Gregoire. But after several recounts and a court case, Gregoire eventually assumed the post.