Territory of Washington
Organized incorporated territory ofthe United States
1853–1889
Seal
Washington Territory (green) in 1863
Capital	Olympia
• Type	Organized incorporated territory
History
• Split fromOregon Territory	March 2,[1] 1853
• Idaho Territory split off	March 4, 1863
• Statehood	11 November 1889
Preceded by Succeeded by Oregon Territory Nebraska Territory Idaho Territory Washington (state)

TheWashington Territory was anorganized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to theUnion as theState of Washington. It was created from the portion of theOregon Territory north of the lowerColumbia River and north of the46th parallel east of the Columbia. At its largest extent, it also included the entirety of modernIdaho and parts ofMontana andWyoming, before attaining its final boundaries in 1863.

Agitation in favor of self-government developed in the regions of theOregon Territory north of theColumbia River in 1851–1852.^[3] A group of prominent settlers from theCowlitz andPuget Sound regions met on November 25, 1852, at the "Monticello Convention" in present-dayLongview, to draft a petition to theUnited 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.^[4]

The bill to establish the territory, H.R. 348, was reported in theU.S. House of Representatives by RepresentativeCharles E. Stuart on January 25, 1853.^[5] RepresentativeRichard H. Stanton argued that the proposed name—theTerritory of Columbia—might be confused for the country's capital's Territory of Columbia (nowDistrict of Columbia), and suggested a name honoringGeorge Washington instead.^[6] The bill was thus amended with the nameWashington, though not without some debate,^[7] and passed in the House on February 10, passed in theSenate on March 2, and signed by PresidentMillard Fillmore on the same day.^[8] The argument against naming the territory Washington came from RepresentativeAlexander 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."^[9] The decision was contrary to the wishes of residents, and local papers reported mixed feeling from citizens,^[10] though the general reception of the renaming was positive.

Isaac Stevens, who was appointed the territory's first governor, declaredOlympia to be the territorial capital. Stevens was also integral in the drafting and negotiation of treaties, such as theTreaty of Medicine Creek, with native bands in the Washington Territory.^[11] A territorial legislature was elected and first met in February 1854,^[12] and the territorialsupreme court issued its first decision later in the year.^[13]Columbia Lancaster was elected as the firstdelegate to U.S. Congress.

The original boundaries of the territory included all of the present dayState of Washington, as well as northernIdaho andMontana west of thecontinental divide. On the admission of theState of Oregon to the union in 1859, the eastern portions of the Oregon Territory, including southern Idaho, portions ofWyoming west of the continental divide, and a small portion of present-dayRavalli County, Montana were annexed to the Washington Territory.^[14] The southeastern tip of the territory (in present-day Wyoming) was sent toNebraska Territory on March 2, 1861.^[15][16]

In 1863, the area of Washington Territory east of theSnake River and the117th meridian was reorganized as part of the newly createdIdaho 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, wereSteilacoom,Vancouver,Port Townsend, andEllensburg, 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.^[17]

• 
  The Washington Territory (green) and the Oregon Territory (blue) in 1853
• 
  The Washington Territory (green) and the State of Oregon in 1859
• 
  Portions ceded to theNebraska andIdaho Territories in 1861 and 1863

• Washington Territory's at-large congressional district
• United States Attorney for the District of Washington
• Historical regions of the United States
• History of Washington
• Oregon Treaty, 1846
• Territorial evolution of the United States
• Oregon Country, 1818–1846

Wikisource has the text of anEncyclopædia Britannica (9th ed.) article aboutWashington Territory.

• Historical Timeline of Events Leading to the formation of Washington StateArchived February 7, 2012, at theWayback Machine, from Washington State University
• Early Washington Maps, more than 925 maps hosted by WSU
• "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
• 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.
• 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
• Hawes, J. W. (1879)."Washington, a territory of the United States" .The American Cyclopædia.

• States and territories established in 1853
• States and territories disestablished in 1889
• Washington Territory
• History of Washington (state)
• History of the American West
• Pre-statehood history of Washington (state)
• 1853 establishments in Washington Territory
• 1889 disestablishments in the United States

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