History of Washington

Washington became the 42nd state in 1889. In the 1850s, the state named two of its counties and, partly to get attention, and possible early statehood, from  and his Vice President,. Since then, King County has officially been renamed for

Pre-history
Prior to the arrival of explorers from, this region of the Pacific Coast had many established tribes of , each with its own unique culture. Today, they are most notable for their s and their ornately carved canoes and masks. Prominent among their industries were fishing and. In the east, nomadic tribes travelled the land and missionaries such as the settled there. The earliest known human habitation of Washington took place at approximately 10,000 BCE, 5,000 to 3,000 years after massive floods in the Columbia River carved the Columbia Gorge. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Pacific Northwest was one of the first populated areas in North America, with animal and human bones 13,000 years old being found across the state.

It is estimated that before the arrival of Euro-Americans in this region, there were 125 distinct Northwest tribes speaking 50 languages. Throughout the Puget Sound region, there were numerous small tribes that subsisted primarily on salmon, halibut, shellfish, and whale. While seafood was a mainstay of the native diet, cedar trees were the most important building material. Cedar was used by these tribes to build both longhouses and large canoes. Even clothing was made from the bark of cedar trees. The natural abundance of the region allowed many tribes to develop complex cultures.

It was the Columbia River tribes, however, that became the richest of the Washington tribes through their control of Washington Falls, which was historically the richest salmon fishing location in the Northwest. These falls on the Columbia River east of present-day were part of the path millions of salmon took to spawn, and there Native Americans would spear and deep-net the fish to preserve them for the winter. Some Native Americans still fish for Columbia River salmon as they once did, perched on wooden platforms and using dip nets.

At, in the northwest corner of the state, an ancient village was covered by a mudflow, perhaps triggered by an earthquake about 500 years ago. More than 50,000 well-preserved artifacts have been found and cataloged, many of which are now on display at the Cultural and Research Center in. Other sites have also revealed how long people have been there. Thumbnail-sized quartz knife blades found at the Hoko River site near Clallam Bay are believed to be 2,500 years old.

Colonization
The first an record of a landing on the Washington coast was by Captain  in 1775 on board the Santiago, part of a two-ship  with the Sonora. They claimed all the coastal lands up to the n possessions in the north for.

In 1778, explorer Captain  sighted, at the entrance to the , but the straits would not be explored until 1789 by Captain. Further explorations of the straits were performed by Spanish explorers in 1790 and  in 1791, then by British Captain  in 1792.

The Spanish, of 1790, opened the northwest territory to explorers and trappers from other nations, most notably Britain and then the United States. Captain (for whom  is named) then discovered the mouth of the  and, beginning in 1792, he established trade in  pelts. In 1805, the expedition entered the state on.

American-British Washington
In the 1819, Spain ceded their original claims to this territory to the United States. This began a period of by Britain and the U.S. that lasted until,  when Britain ceded their claims to this land with the.

Washington Colony
Due to the migration along the, many settlers wandered north to what is now Washington State and settled the area. The first settlement was New Market (now known as ) in 1846. In 1853, was formed from part of.

Statehood
Washington became the state in the United States on,.

Early prominent industries in the state included agriculture and lumber. In eastern Washington, the became known for its  orchards while the growth of wheat using dry-farming techniques became particularly productive. The heavy rainfall to the west of the produced dense forests and the ports along Puget Sound prospered from the manufacturing and shipping of lumber products, particularly the. Other industries that developed in the state include fishing, salmon canning and mining.

By the turn of the 20th century, the state of Washington was one of dangerous repute in the minds of many Americans. Indisputably as "wild" as the rest of the, the public image of Washington merely replaced cowboys with lumberjacks, and desert with forestland. Sentiments of were so strong that  postmaster general  quipped in 1936, "There are forty-seven states in the Union, and the  of Washington."

For a long period was noted for its large smelters where gold, silver, copper and lead ores were treated. was the primary port for trade with and the rest of the country and for a time possessed a large shipbuilding industry. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during the period including and  and the  company became an established icon in the area.

During the depression era, a series of s were constructed along the Columbia river as part of a project to increase the production of. This culminated in 1941 with the completion of the, the largest in the United States.

World War II
During World War II, the Puget Sound area became a focus for war industries with the Boeing Company producing many of the nation's s and ports in, , , and available for the manufacturing of ships for the war effort. In eastern Washington, the  plant was opened in 1943 and played a major role in the construction of the nation's s.

Contemporary Washington
On May 18, 1980, following a period of heavy tremors and eruptions, the northeast face of exploded outward, destroying a large part of the top of the volcano. This eruption flattened the forests for many kilometers, killed 57 people, flooded the Columbia River and its tributaries with ash and mud and blanketed large parts of Washington in ash, making day look like night.

On January 30, 2006, Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law legislation making Washington the 17th state in the nation to protect gay and lesbian people from discrimination in housing, lending, and employment, and the 7th state in the nation to offer these protections to transgendered people. Initiative activist Tim Eyman filed a referendum that same day, seeking to put the issue before the state's voters. In order to qualify for the November election the measure required a minimum of 112,440 voter signatures by 5:00 p.m. June 6, 2006. Despite a push from conservative churches across the state to gather signatures on what were dubbed "Referendum Sundays," Eyman was only able to gather 105,103 signatures, more than 7,000 signatures short of the minimum. As a result, the law went into effect on June 7, 2006.