Washington Territory

Territory of Washington Organized incorporated territory of the United States ← 1853–1889 →   →   → Capital Olympia Government Organized incorporated territory History  - Split from Oregon Territory March 2 1853  - Idaho Territory split off March 4 1863  - Statehood November 11 1889

The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. The Washington Territory was created from the portion of the Oregon Territory north of the lower Columbia River and north of the 46th parallel east of the Columbia.

History

Agitation in favor of self-governance developed in the regions of the Oregon Territory north of the Columbia River in 1851–1852. A group of prominent settlers from the Cowlitz and Puget Sound regions met on November 25, 1852, the "Monticello Convention", to draft a petition to the United States Congress calling for a separate territory north of the Columbia River. After gaining approval from the Oregon territorial government, the proposal was sent to the federal government.

The bill to establish this territory, H.R. 348, was reported in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Charles E. Stuart on January 25, 1853. Representative Richard H. Stanton argued that the proposed name—the "Territory of Columbia"—might be confused for the District of Columbia, and suggested a name honoring George Washington instead. The bill was thus amended with the name "Washington", though not without some debate, and passed in the House on February 10, passed in the Senate on March 2, and signed by President Millard Fillmore on the same day.

The territorial capital was Olympia, near Fort Nisqually and the territory's first governor was Isaac Stevens.

The original boundaries of the territory included all of the present day State of Washington, as well as northern Idaho and Montana west of the continental divide. Upon the admission of the State of Oregon to the union in 1859, the eastern portions of the Oregon Territory, including southern Idaho, portions of Wyoming west of the continental divide (then Nebraska Territory), and a small portion of present-day Ravalli County, Montana were annexed to the Washington Territory.

In 1863, the area of Washington Territory east of the Snake River and the 117th meridian was reorganized as part of the newly created Idaho Territory, leaving the territory within the current boundaries of the State of Washington, which was admitted to the Union on November 11, 1889 as the 42nd U.S. state.

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  Washington Territory (green) and Oregon Territory (blue) in 1853.

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  Washington Territory (green) and State of Oregon in 1859.

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  Portions ceded to the Nebraska and Idaho Territories in 1863.

See also

• Governors of the Territory of Washington
• Historic regions of the United States
• History of Washington
• Oregon Treaty, 1846
• Territorial evolution of the United States
  • International territory that would later become part of the Territory of Washington:
    • Oregon Country, 1818–1846
  • U.S. territory that would later become part of the Territory of Washington:
    • Provisional Government of Oregon, 1843–1849 (extralegal)
    • Territory of Oregon, 1848–1859
    • State of Deseret, 1849–1850 (extralegal)
  • U.S. territories that encompassed land that was previously part of the Territory of Washington:
    • Territory of Jefferson, 1859–1861 (extralegal)
    • Territory of Nebraska, 1854–1867
    • Territory of Dakota, 1861–1889
    • Territory of Idaho, 1863–1890
    • Territory of Montana, 1864–1889
    • Territory of Wyoming, 1868–1890
  • U.S. states that encompass land that was once part of the Territory of Washington:
    • State of Montana, 1889
    • State of Washington, 1889
    • State of Idaho, 1890
    • State of Wyoming, 1890

External links

• WSU Timeline of events leading to formation of State of Washington
• More than 600 maps of early Washington, hosted by the University of Washington
• COLUMBIA: Fall 1988; Vol. 2, No. 3, The Long Wait for Statehood, Why it took Washington 36 years and Idaho 26 years to achieve their goals.
• Map Of Oregon, Washington, And Part Of British Columbia, 1860. David Rumsey Collection Oregon, Washington Territory, western Nebraska Territory, southern British Columbia, in 1860. Showing political divisions, counties and Emigrant Trail.
• General Map of the North Pacific States and Territories Belonging to the United States and of British Columbia, Extending from Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean, 1865. David Rumsey Collection