Washington History timeline

Washington Timeline History

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Washington Timeline History

1543: Spain claimed Pacific Northwest

1592: Juan de Fuca discovered Strait of Juan de Fuca

1543: Spain claimed Pacific Northwest

1579: Sir Francis Drake claimed Washington coast for England

1774: Juan Perez led first Spanish expedition to Northwest Coast, discovered Olympic Mountains

1775: Bruno de Hezeta landed on Washington coast, claimed area for Spain

1778: James Cook explored and charted the Northwest Coast

1792: George Vancouver explored and named Puget Sound; Spain established first non-Indian settlement in Washington at Neah Bay

1805-1806: Lewis and Clark reached Washington

1811: John Jacob Astor built Fort Astoria, part of Pacific Fur Company at Columbia River mouth

1825: Forts Vancouver and Colvile established on Columbia River by Hudson Bay Company

1841: Charles Wilkes led United States naval expedition to explore Washington

1842: John C. Fremont witnessed eruption of Mount St. Helens

1847: Cayuse Indians attacked Whitman Mission in Walla Walla

1851: First settlers arrived at Seattle site

1853: Washington Territory created.

1855-58: Yakima Indian Wars occurred

1858: Cascade Railroad Company began operating in Columbia River Gorge; Indian wars ended

1860: Gold and silver discovered in Okanogan

1886 Coal mining town of Roslyn founded

1889 Washington became 42nd state

1897-99: Klondike Gold Rush brought thousands to Seattle

1899: Mount Rainier National Park established

1909: Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition held in Seattle

1910: Women won right to vote in Washington

1933: Grand Coulee Dam construction began

1937: Bonneville Dam on Columbia River completed

1941: Grand Coulee Dam completed

1962: World Fair held in Seattle

1974: Expo '74 World's Fair held in Spokane

1975: Microsoft founded

1976: First woman governor, Dixy Lee Ray, elected

1980: Mount St. Helens erupted

2001: Communist Party office closed in Seattle