Washington State Historical Facts and Symbols
| State Seal: |  |
Capital: Governor: |
Olympia Christine Gregoire |
| Timeline: | 1579 | Sir Francis Drake sailed up the Pacific Northwest Coast and named the entire region New Albion. | |||
| 1775 | Spain laid claim to the area. | ||||
| 1792 | Many of our state landmarks named by Captain George Vancouver. Captain Robert Gray explored the lower reaches of the Columbia River. | ||||
| 1805-06 | Lewis and Clark expedition explored the Northwest and reached the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River. | ||||
| 1818 | Fort Walla Walla built by the North West Company. This enabled the United States to claim joint occupance of the Oregon Territory with England. | ||||
| 1819 | Spain gave the United States any and all rights claimed by Spain to the Oregon country. | ||||
| 1846 | Oregon Territory became a part of the United States when the United States and Great Britain agreed to the 49th parallel as the northern U.S. boundary. | ||||
| 1848 | Oregon Territory was established with Washington as the northern part of the territory. | ||||
| 1853 | Washington Territory, separate from Oregon, was created. Isaac Stevens was the first territorial governor. | ||||
| 1863 | Idaho Territory was created from part of the Washington Territory. | ||||
| 1889 | Washington admitted to the United States on November 11 as the forty-second state. Elisha Ferry was the first elected governor of Washington State. | ||||
| 1941 | Grand Coulee Dam completed. | ||||
| 1980 | Mount St. Helens erupted in May. | ||||
| 1989 | Washington celebrated 100 years of statehood on November 11. | ||||
State Symbols
| Arboretum: | Washington Park Arboretum |
| Bird: | Willow Goldfinch |
| Colors: | Green and Gold |
| Dance: | Square Dance |
| Endemic Mammal: | Olympic Marmot |
| Fish: | Steelhead Trout |
| Flower: | Coast Rhododendron |
| Folk Song: | "Roll On Columbia, Roll On" by Woodie Guthrie |
| Fossil: | Columbian Mammoth of North America |
| Fruit: | Apple |
| Gem: | Petrified Wood |
| Grass: | Bluebunch Wheatgrass |
| Insect: | Common Green Darner Dragonfly |
| Marine Mammal: | Orca |
| Motto: | Alki, meaning "bye and bye" |
| Nickname: | The Evergreen State |
| Ship: | "President Washington" |
| Song: | "Washington, My Home" by Helen Davis |
| Tartan: | Background: green (rich forests); perpendicular bands: blue (lakes, rivers, and ocean), white (snow-capped mountains), red (apple and cherry crops), yellow (wheat and grain crops), black (eruption of Mt. St. Helens). |
| Tree: | Western Hemlock |
Last modified: January 15, 2010
E-mail: OFM.Forecasting@ofm.wa.gov
