9 Washington Events That Changed The Course Of Our History Forever
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Jessica Wick
Author
The great state of Washington has made history many times throughout… well, history. And some of our past events and happenings have made permanent changes to the present. Our state would look and feel very different had these 9 thing in particular never happened.
Obviously, Lewis and Clark's trek across the country changed our national history. But when they explored Washington, they stimulated a lot of interest in the area. 5 years after the expedition, John Jacob Astor established a fur-trading post near the mouth of the Columbia River. The Lewis and Clark Expedition definitely paved the way for more settlement.
In 1836, missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman founded the Whitman Mission near what is now Walla Walla. They were hoping to bring Christianity to the Cayuse Indians, but brought an outbreak of measles instead. The measles killed a lot of Cayuse children, and the tribe sought revenge, slaughtering the Whitmans and 12 other settlers. This started a war that lasted until 1855.
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This is Seattle in 1887. In 1889, an 18 hour fire torched the city and cost millions of dollars in damages. Although the city recovered, it never looked the same.
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We've had our share of wildfires in Washington, but this is the largest one our state has on record. From September 11 to 13, 1902, 238,920 acres were destroyed and dozens of people died. Immediate calls for legislation were put into action in Oregon and Washington in order to prevent fires of this scale from breaking out again.
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The dam was completed in 1941, and it was a real game-changer for the area.
During World War II, the state became a focus for war industries. Boeing produced many of the state's heavy bombers, and Seattle was the point of departure for many soldiers in the Pacific.
Seattle was the host of the World's Fair in 1962, and the Space Needle was built in preparation for the event. This unique structure changed the Seattle skyline forever, and in fact, it's a common symbol associated with the entire state of Washington.
If you were alive (and not a toddler) in 1980, you remember where you were when this massive mountain erupted. If you weren't, you learned about it at a very young age. This is a physical reminder of how quickly things can change.
Washington has a lot of rich history, but compared to most other countries, our state is fairly new. Here are a few things you probably didn’t know about the Evergreen State.
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