Washington State History Museum

The museum provides a selective overview of Washington State’s history. The information presented is accurate but overemphasizes discriminatory actions against racial minorities. Civic leaders from Washington, at both the state and national level, are completely ignored.

Exhibits highlight negative aspects of Washington’s and America’s history, such as violence toward Native Americans, discrimination against African Americans, expulsion of South Asians from Bellingham, and the internment of Japanese Americans in the Second World War. While accurate, such exhibits are overwhelming.

The fifth floor of the museum has numerous exhibits intended for children. A huge model train exhibit is a particularly interesting attraction. The train moves through a diorama that looks like different parts of the state. Two stuffed oxen that pulled a cart across the Oregon Trail are attached to a cart that children can climb into.

American sailors, traders, and explorers visited Washington State as early as the late 18th century, but settlers did not arrive until the 1830s. At the time, it was not self-evident that all of what we know as Washington State was going to be in America. The British thought the boundary between Canada and the United States should be the Columbia River—the current boundary between Oregon and Washington. Indeed, when American settlers arrived at Fort Vancouver (in current day Vancouver, Washington), it was a Hudson’s Bay Company outpost. The chief factor (the principal officer of the trading post) John McLaughlin would help American settlers and then send them south into Oregon. Americans, on the other hand, wanted the border to be above the 54th parallel line; “54° 40’ or fight!” was a popular slogan in the 1844 presidential election. That would have put the border well into what is today Canada.

The Oregon Treaty of 1846 established the current boundary between the United States and Canada; Washington became a territory in 1853; and the territory became the 42nd state in 1889. The state is named for President George Washington, whose image is on the state’s flag and seal. Washington State was influenced by Progressive Era reforms in the early 20th century. It gave women the right to vote in 1910, and it was among the first states to adopt the initiative and referendum processes. Important political leaders included Warren G. Magnuson, senator from 1944–1981; Henry “Scoop” Jackson, senator from 1953–1983; and Tom Foley, Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1989–1995 and the first Speaker to lose a re-election campaign since 1862. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, it was among the first states to legalize abortion, physician assisted suicide, same-sex marriage, and medicinal and recreational marijuana.

Washington has always been rich in natural resources, including timber, fishing, and agriculture. After World War II, it became an aerospace giant thanks to the presence of the Boeing Company. Hydroelectric dams such as the Grand Coulee Dam (completed in 1941, it remains the largest concrete structure in the United States) provide cheap electricity. The Hanford Works nuclear plant in eastern Washington, which opened in 1943, played a critical role in the construction of the nation’s atomic bombs. In the latter half of the 20th century and into the 21st, the emergence of companies such as Microsoft and Amazon has transformed the state into a hub of technological innovation.

Owned By: State of Washington

Operated By: Washington State Historical Society

Government Funded: Yes