Introducing Mason County Sawamish County came into being just over one month after Skamania and Whatcom Counties. On April 15th, 1854, the territorial legislature created the new County from the northern portion of Thurston County. They gave it the name of a native tribe living in the southern Puget Sound area, the Sawamish. David Shelton,…
Introduction On March 9th, 1854, the one-year old Washington Territorial Legislature created two new counties. Skamania County was at the southern edge of the Territory. Whatcom County, Skamania’s twin, stretches along the northern border. For my look at Skamania County, go here. Created from Island County, Whatcom’s original borders include what is now San Juan…
Skamania County History In 1854, the new Washington Territory went a bit crazy. It created eight new counties between March 9th and April 26th. The two created on March 9th were Skamania County and Whatcom County. Taking alphabetical order into consideration, we will start with the large block on the southern edge of the state….
The link below will take you to the portfolio of photographs I took at the 2019 Local Yokels Car and Truck Show in Plains, Montana. To see the cars, trucks, and one motorcycle in the show on my RedBubble page, click here. Note that all images shown on RedBubble are available for purchase in a…
The Creation of Jefferson County, Washington Of the four counties the Oregon Territorial Legislature created on December 22nd, 1852, the westernmost was Jefferson. At the time of its creation, Jefferson County covered the northern end of the Olympic Peninsula. As we saw with King County, population played no role in county creation. Even by 1860,…
King County History and Namesake(s) The Creation of King County The Oregon Territorial Legislature created four counties around Puget Sound on December 22nd, 1852, paying little attention to population. Today, Seattle is the most populous city in the state and King County the most populous county. However, in 1852 few people resided in the new…
December 22nd, 1852 saw four new counties created in what was still Oregon Territory, all around Puget Sound. Because I have not been able to find out the order in which these four counties were signed into law, I will write them up geographically, from south to north, and the southernmost of the four is…
On January 12th, 1852, the Legislature created Thurston County with land taken mostly from Lewis County. As more settlers moved north of the Columbia, the Oregon Territorial Legislature felt the need to provide increased governmental services, especially around the Puget Sound area. By the end of that same year, Thurston County would lose most of…
In 1851, the Oregon Territorial Legislature created its first new county north of the Columbia River when it took the southwestern corner of Lewis County to form Pacific County, named, of course, for the Pacific Ocean that marks its western boundary. Over the next twenty-five years, the county grew and shrank, reaching its current lines…
