View source for Washington Territory

{{Short description|Organized incorporated territory of the United States from 1853 to 1889}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
|conventional_long_name = Territory of Washington
|common_name       = Washington Territory
|nation            = [[United States|the United States]]
|subdivision       = [[Organized incorporated territories of the United States|Organized incorporated territory]]
|year_start        = 1853
|event_pre         = 
|date_pre          = 
|year_pre          = 
|event_start       = Split from [[Oregon Territory]]
|date_start        = March 2,<ref>{{USStat|10|172}}</ref>
|event1            = [[Idaho Territory]] split off
|date_event1       = March 4, 1863
|event_end         = [[Washington (state)|Statehood]]
|date_end          = November 11,
|year_end          = 1889
|p1                = Oregon Territory
|flag_p1           = U.S. flag, 31 stars.svg
|s1                = Nebraska Territory
|flag_s1           = US flag 34 stars.svg
|s2                = Idaho Territory
|flag_s2           = US flag 34 stars.svg
|s3                = Washington (state)
|flag_s3           = Flag of the United States (1891–1896).svg
|image_flag        = 
|image_coat        = Seal of the Washington Territory.png
|symbol_type       = [[Seal of Washington|Seal]]
|image_map         = 
|image_map_caption =
|capital         = [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]]
|government_type = Organized incorporated territory
|title_leader    = Governor
|leader1         = ''[[List of Governors of Washington#Governors of the Territory of Washington|List]]''
|legislature     = 
}}

The '''Washington Territory''' was an [[organized incorporated territory of the United States]] that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the [[United States|Union]] as the [[Washington (state)|State of Washington]]. It was created from the portion of the [[Oregon Territory]] north of the lower [[Columbia River]] and north of the [[46th parallel north|46th parallel]] east of the Columbia. At its largest extent, it also included the entirety of modern [[Idaho]] and parts of [[Montana]] and [[Wyoming]], before attaining its final boundaries in 1863.

==History==
{{See also|History of Washington (state)}}
{{Historical populations
|type= USA
|1860|11594
|1870|23955
|1880|75116
|footnote=Source: 1860–1880;<ref>{{cite report|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|title=Population of the States and Counties of the United States: 1790–1990|page=3|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/PopulationofStatesandCountiesoftheUnitedStates1790-1990.pdf|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref>
}}

Agitation in favor of self-government developed in the regions of the [[Oregon Territory]] north of the [[Columbia River]] in 1851–1852.<ref name="Weber 2003">{{cite journal |last=Weber |first=Dennis P. |title=The Creation of Washington: Securing Democracy North of the Columbia |journal=Columbia Magazine |date=Fall 2003 |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=23–34 |url=http://columbia.washingtonhistory.org/magazine/articles/2003/0303/0303-a4.aspx |access-date=February 11, 2012 |archive-date=July 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725172932/http://columbia.washingtonhistory.org/magazine/articles/2003/0303/0303-a4.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> A group of prominent settlers from the [[Cowlitz County, Washington|Cowlitz]] and [[Puget Sound]] regions met on November 25, 1852, at the "[[Monticello Convention]]" in present-day [[Longview, Washington|Longview]], 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.<ref name = "Cowlitz Convention 1852">{{Cite web | title = Settlers met at Monticello to sign a petition asking Congress to create a separate territory north of the Columbia River | work = Washington History | publisher = Washington Secretary of State | url = http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/Timeline/detail.aspx?id=214 | access-date =July 19, 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Map_of_a_part_of_the_Territory_of_Washington_to_accompany_report_of_surveyor_general_-_NARA_-_139309200.jpg|thumb|Map of Washington Territory, 1858 (NAID 139309200)]]
The bill to establish the territory, H.R. 348, was reported in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] by Representative [[Charles E. Stuart]] on January 25, 1853.<ref>''[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwhj.html Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States]'', Volume 48, p. 185, January 25., 1853</ref> Representative [[Richard H. Stanton]] argued that the proposed name—the '''Territory of Columbia'''—might be confused for the country's capital's Territory of Columbia (now [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]]), and suggested a name honoring [[George Washington]] instead.<ref>{{cite journal |last=McClelland |first=John M. Jr. |title=Almost Columbia, Triumphantly Washington |journal=Columbia Magazine |date=Summer 1988 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=3–11 |url=http://columbia.washingtonhistory.org/magazine/articles/1988/0288/0288-a1.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426055846/http://columbia.washingtonhistory.org/magazine/articles/1988/0288/0288-a1.aspx |archive-date=April 26, 2012 |access-date=December 17, 2011}}</ref> The bill was thus amended with the name ''Washington'', though not without some debate,<ref>''The Congressional Globe'', 32nd Congress, 2nd Session, p. 555. Rep. [[Alexander Evans (American politician)|Alexander Evans]] argued that the name "Washington" was as confusing as "Columbia". In a later [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llhb&fileName=032/llhb032.db&recNum=1332 amendment to H.R. 348], a senator offered the name "Washingtonia".</ref> and passed in the House on February 10, passed in the [[United States Senate|Senate]] on March 2, and signed by President [[Millard Fillmore]] on the same day.<ref>''Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States'', Volume 48, p. 397, March 3, 1853.</ref> The argument against naming the territory Washington came from Representative [[Alexander Evans (American politician)|Alexander Evans]] of Maryland, who countered that there were no states named Washington, but multiple counties, cities, and towns were named such and so could be the source of confusion itself. Evans felt that the proposed new territory's name should reflect local native terminology. He stated it would be more appropriate to give the territory "some beautiful Indian name."<ref>Brier J, Warren. "How the Washington Territory Got Its Name." The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 51(1960): 13-15. {{JSTOR|40487423}}</ref> The decision was contrary to the wishes of residents, and local papers reported mixed feeling from citizens,<ref>McClellan, John. "Almost Columbia, Triumphantly Washington". Columbia The Magazine of Northwest History 2(1988).</ref> though the general reception of the renaming was positive.

[[Isaac Stevens]], who was appointed the territory's first governor, declared [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]] to be the territorial capital. Stevens was also integral in the drafting and negotiation of treaties with native bands in the Washington Territory.<ref>Kluger, Richard. The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek. New York: Random House Inc, 2011</ref> A territorial legislature was elected and first met in February 1854,<ref name="capital">{{cite web |last=Oldham |first=Kit |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5054 |title=Governor Isaac Stevens selects Olympia as capital of Washington Territory on November 28, 1853 |publisher=HistoryLink |date=January 15, 2003}}</ref> and the territorial [[supreme court]] issued its first decision later in the year.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fuller |first=Tim |title="The Most Accurate and Useful Law Books Possible": Milestones of Official Case Reporting in Washington |url=http://www.courts.wa.gov/appellate_trial_courts/supreme/?fa=atc_supreme.milestones |publisher=Washington State Courts}}</ref> [[Columbia Lancaster]] was elected as the first [[delegate (United States Congress)|delegate]] to U.S. Congress.

The original boundaries of the territory included all of the present day [[Washington (state)|State of Washington]], as well as northern [[Idaho]] and [[Montana]] west of the [[Continental Divide of the Americas|continental divide]]. On the admission of the [[Oregon|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, and a small portion of present-day [[Ravalli County, Montana]] were annexed to the Washington Territory.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/facts/history/congress-act.aspx |title=Act of Congress Admitting Oregon to the Union |date=February 14, 1859 |publisher=Oregon Blue Book}}</ref> The southeastern tip of the territory (in present-day Wyoming) was sent to [[Nebraska Territory]] on March 2, 1861.<ref>{{cite journal|year=1897–1898|title=The Statistician and Economist|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1rFXAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA59|journal=The Statistician and Economist|location=San Francisco|publisher=L.P. McCarty|volume=19|page=59}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Harrison |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vPl5AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA41 |title=Johnson's History of Nebraska |page=41 |location=Omaha |publisher=Henry Gibson |year=1880 |chapter=Chapter I: Historical}}</ref>

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

Prior to statehood, multiple settlements in the territory were contending for the title of capital. Among the top contenders for the title, besides Olympia, were [[Steilacoom, Washington|Steilacoom]], [[Vancouver, Washington|Vancouver]], [[Port Townsend, Washington|Port Townsend]], and [[Ellensburg, Washington|Ellensburg]], which was devastated in a major fire shortly before statehood. Even after Olympia had been chosen as the capital, contention truly ended only after the completion of the capitol.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Beardsley, Arthur S. |title=Later Attempts to Relocate the Capital of Washington. |journal=The Pacific Northwest Quarterly |volume=32 |issue= 4 |year=1941 |pages=401–407 |jstor=40486492.}}</ref>

<gallery>
Image:Wpdms oregon washington territories 1853.png|The Washington Territory (green) and the Oregon Territory (blue) in 1853
Image:Wpdms oregon washington territory 1859.png|The Washington Territory (green) and the State of Oregon in 1859
Image:Wpdms washington territory 1863 legend 3.png|Portions ceded to the [[Nebraska Territory|Nebraska]] and [[Idaho Territory|Idaho]] Territories in 1861 and 1863
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|History}}
*[[Washington Territory's at-large congressional district]]
*[[United States Attorney for the District of Washington]]
*[[Historical regions of the United States]]
*[[History of Washington (state)|History of Washington]]
*[[Oregon Treaty]], 1846
*[[Territorial evolution of the United States]]
*[[Oregon Country]], 1818–1846

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{EB9 Poster|Washington (territory)|Washington Territory}}
* [http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/PNWTimeline.htm Historical Timeline of Events Leading to the formation of Washington State] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207162128/http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/PNWTimeline.htm |date=February 7, 2012 }}, from Washington State University
* [http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu/masc/masctour/heritageandhistory/earlymaps.html Early Washington Maps], more than 925 maps hosted by WSU
* "[http://columbia.washingtonhistory.org/magazine/articles/1988/0388/0388-a1.aspx The Long Wait for Statehood, Why it took Washington 36 years and Idaho 26 years to achieve their goals]", ''Columbia'': Fall 1988; Vol. 2, No. 3
* [http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~2065~120063:Map-Of-Oregon,-Washington,-And-Part?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_Date&qvq=w4s:/when/1860/;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort,Pub_List_No_InitialSort,Pub_Date,Pub_Date;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=30&trs=294 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.
* [http://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~2124~200001:General-Map-of-the-North-Pacific-St?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_Date&qvq=q:Nevada+;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort,Pub_List_No_InitialSort,Pub_Date,Pub_Date;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=89&trs=266  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
* {{Cite AmCyc |last=Hawes |first=J. W. |wstitle=Washington (territory)|display=Washington, a territory of the United States|short=x}}

{{Territories of the United States}}
{{Washington}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Washington Territory| ]]
[[Category:History of Washington (state)]]
[[Category:History of the American West]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Washington (state)|*]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1853]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1889]]
[[Category:1853 establishments in Washington Territory]]
[[Category:1889 disestablishments in the United States]]