Washington (state)

HISTORY

The first European record of a landing on the Washington coast was by Spanish Captain Don Bruno de Heceta in 1775, on board the Santiago, part of a two-ship flotilla with the Sonora.

Punta de los Martires (or "Point of the Martyrs"), present day Point Grenville was named by Hezeta in response to an attack by the local Quinault Native Americans.

Fur trading at Fort Nez Percés in 1841

On July 9, 1811 British explorer posted a notice at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers (in modern Washington state) on July 9, 1811, claiming the area for Great Britain. The notice was a statement to the American fur traders of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company, who were also competing for control of the region. The North West Company, which Thompson worked for, had been exploring the Pacific Northwest for several years, and they were eager to claim the area for Great Britain.

The British flag continued to fly over North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company outposts in what is now Washington for many more years, but the claim that Thompson made for Great Britain on July 9, 1811, did not prevail. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 eventually divided the Oregon Country between the United States and Great Britain, with the Columbia River serving as the border.

The first settlement in Washington was New Market (now known as Tumwater) in 1846.

Washington was the 42nd state to join the United States, on November 11, 1889. It was made out of the western part of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by Britain in 1846 in accordance with the Oregon Treaty in the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute.

Before it became a state the territory was called "Columbia" after the Columbia River. However, some thought it may be confused with the nation's capital District of Columbia so Congress forced the name change to "Washington" in honor of George Washington. It is the only state to be named after a United States president.

Kitsap County, Washington, was originally called Slaughter County, and the first hotel there was called the Slaughter House.

The state flag of Washington consists of the state seal, displaying an image of state namesake George Washington, on a field of dark green,  which is intended to represent the state's forests.

The flag was officially adopted by the Washington State Legislature on March 5, 1923, after a competition was held to design a new state flag. The winning design, submitted by a woman named Pauline Bowen, was chosen from over 1,500 entries. The flag has remained in use with only minor modifications ever since. 

Japan planned to order the United States to give them Washington state as part of a list of official victory demands upon winning World War II, which many at the time considered highly likely.

FUN WASHINGTON FACTS

Washington is the 13th most U.S. populous state, with more than 7.4 million people. Approximately 60 percent of Washington's residents live in the western part in the Seattle metropolitan area, the center of transportation, business, and industry along Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean.

About a quarter of the people live in the east part of Washington, where it gets less rain, and some parts have a desert climate.

Washington population density map. By JimIrwin,

The largest city on the east part of Washington is Spokane. It is also the second biggest city in the state after Washington.

Olympia is the capital of Washington despite only being the 24th largest city in the state.

The Northwestern most point in the contiguous U.S. is Cape Flattery on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.

The Cascade Mountains go down the middle of the state and break it into two sides.

The highest point in Washington is Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, which at almost 14,411 feet (4,392 meters), is the second topographically prominent mountain in the continental United States, the first being Denali in Alaska. It was named after Peter Rainier, a British soldier who fought against the Americans in the Revolutionary War.

In 1980, the northeast face of Mount St. Helens, a volcano located in Skamania County exploded outward. It was the deadliest and most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history.

Washington state has more glaciers than the other 47 contiguous states combined.

The highest snowfall recorded in a one-year period was 1,224.5 inches (102 feet) between February 19, 1971, and February 18, 1972 at Paradise (5,400 feet) on Mount Rainier.

Washington's nickname is the "Evergreen State" because it has a lot of pine trees.

Because of the favorable climate of dry, warm summers and cold winters of central Washington, the state produced more apples than any other state in the union since the 1920s.

Kurt Cobain formed the group Nirvana with Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1985 and established it as part of the Seattle rock music scene. When he died Aberdeen, placed a sign that read "Welcome to Aberdeen: Come As You Are" as a tribute.

William Edward Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporated Pacific Aero Products in Seattle, Washington in 1916. It later became the Boeing Aircraft company. The Boeing Everett Factory, in Everett, Washington, is an airplane assembly building owned by Boeing. It is the largest building in the world by volume at 13,385,378 m3 (472,370,319 cu ft) and covers 399,480 m2 (98.7 acres; 39.948 hectares; 0.399 square kilometres).

The Boeing Everett Factory in March 2008. By Maurice King

The very first Starbucks café, the biggest coffee chain in the world, opened at 2000 Western Avenue Seattle in 1971.

Microsoft’s corporate headquarters is located at One Microsoft Way in Redmond, Washington.

The square dance is the official dance of the state of Washington.

In Washington State, you can be fined $1025 for throwing a lit cigarette from your vehicle.

Source 50states