Timeline of Washington history

The following is a timeline of the history of Washington state in the United States of America.

Pre-European

16th - 18th centuries

19th century

  • 1805-1806 - The Lewis and Clark Expedition explores present day Washington along the Snake and Columbia Rivers.
  • 1811 - David Thompson becomes the first European to navigate the entire length of the Columbia River.
  • 1813: Fort Astoria in present-day Astoria, Oregon becomes headquarters for the North West Company's Columbia District, the British authority in the region.
  • 1818: October 20 - The Treaty of 1818 is signed, allowing for joint occupation of Oregon Country (which included present day Washington) by the United Kingdom and United States.
  • 1819: February 22 - The Adams-Onis Treaty is signed between the United States and Spain, which includes Spain withdrawing its claim to the Pacific Northwest.
  • 1821: The North West Company merges with the Hudson's Bay Company with the latter becoming the British authority in what is now Washington.
  • 1824: Fort Vancouver in the present day Washington city of the same name becomes the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia District headquarters.
  • 1843
    • Champoeg, a settlement in the Willamette Valley becomes the American capital of Oregon Country, which Washington was a part of at the time.
    • Hudson's Bay Company moves their Columbia District headquarters to Fort Victoria in the present day British Columbia city of the same name.
    • Oregon City becomes the American capital of Oregon Country.
  • 1846 - June 15: The Oregon Treaty between the United Kingdom and United States is signed, setting the boundary between the two nations occupying Oregon Country at the 49th parallel and placing present day Washington in Oregon Territory.
  • 1847 - November 29: Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa Whitman are killed by members of the Cayuse tribe near present-day Walla Walla in what is known as the Whitman massacre and triggering the Cayuse War.
  • 1851
  • 1853 - March 2: Washington Territory splits from Oregon Territory, taking with it areas north of the Columbia River (west of Wallula Gap) and the 46th parallel. Olympia is established as the capital.
  • 1855: June 9: Treaties between the United States and several Eastern Washington Native American tribes are signed at the Walla Walla Council.
  • 1855-1856: The Puget Sound War is fought between the United States and several Native American tribes in the Puget Sound Region.
  • 1855-1858: The Yakima War is fought between the United States and several Native American tribes in Central Washington.
  • 1858: The Coeur d'Alene War is fought between the United States and several Native American tribes in Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle.
  • 1859
    • February 14: Oregon is granted statehood with its present boundaries. The remaining portion of the territory to the east of the present state is added to Washington Territory.
    • June 15: An American settler on San Juan Island kills a pig owned by a British colonist, initiating military occupation of the island by both nations while peaceful negotiations between both nations determine the formal international boundary.
The original Washington Territorial University building, c. 1870.
Mount Rainier from Reflection Lake.

20th century

1900s to 1940s

Several of the reactors on the Hanford Site.

1950s to 1990s

Mount St. Helens erupting

21st century

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-07-14 08:45 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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