by Kris Kennedy

Created on: August 17, 2008   Last Updated: November 22, 2011

Washington State becomes a State

Water played a major role in Washington becoming a State and its bottom border reflects the role with additional overland pioneer helped expand the territory to create the 42nd state on November 11, 1889.

Water
The Spaniards explored the shoreline of that later was named North America. They found the Puget Sound area but did not venture beyond the Straits of Juan d Fuca. In 1790, Spain gave up any claim to the area and others began exploration.

Captain Gray found the Columbia River and even named the river Columbia after his ship. Lewis and Clark also ended their expedition on the Columbia River. To this day, the Columbia River marks the borderline line between Oregon and Washington.

Water placed an important part in the building of the state. The Hudson Bay Company set up a settlement at Fort Nisqually, which provided for the four families that would build the community called New Market now named Tumwater Washington. At this time, visitors can explore this history with picnics in Tumwater Historical Park, which overlooks the first brewery, built by Peter G Schmidt and recently restored. In addition, the city of Tumwater placed a museum in the home Peter G. Schmidt built as a copy of the family home of his German beermeister's wife. The Schmidt family home is open for tours along with the home built by Bing Crosby's grandfather who was a ship captain. The pioneers of Washington maintained this home for many years and in the 1980 placed the houses care to the City of Tumwater and the Community Foundation.

Water helped select the capital. Olympia was easy for legislators to travel by water to complete business. Today the capital campus sits overlooking Capital Lake, which in actuality is the end of the Puget Sound at Bud Inlet. With the use of a small dam, water from Bud Inlet prevents water from the sound causing mud flats.

Land
As in many Western States, Washington, has a county named Benton for Senator Benton who authorized the surveys of his son in law to map the way west so families could travel safer to the West? Prior to this time families had to use the expedition maps of Lewis and Clark

The first white women to cross the Rocky Mountains were Narcissa Whitman and Mary Spaulding. Narcissa Whitman was the wife of the missionary and doctor Marcus who built the Whitman Mission near Fort Walla Walla. They assisted families to settle in the Oregon territory until the Indians feared a measles outbreak and murdered most of the settlers at the mission including Narcissa and Marcus Whitman.

Explorers and pioneers formatted the state, which became the 42nd State.

Source
Wikipedia

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