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…
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…
Established by the Oregon Provisional Government on December 19th, 1845, Lewis County originally covered all the territory north of the Cowlitz River and west of a north-south straight line drawn roughly through the Cascade Mountains. In other words, it took in the Olympic Peninsula, the Puget Sound area, and Vancouver Island, at least until the…
Depending on how you define “county creation,” Clark County, Washington’s first, was created on June 27th, 1844, or perhaps August 20th, 1845, or even September 3rd, 1849. In 1844, the Provisional Government of Oregon decreed that henceforth, all land north of the Columbia River would be called the District of Vancouver. At that time, Oregon…
The southeastern-most county in Washington State, Asotin County came into being in 1883 when the eastern portion of Garfield County was partitioned. With an area of 636 square miles, the County is one of the smaller of Washington’s thirty-nine counties, but its 2010 population of 21,623 puts it closer to mid-range in the state. …
Introduction to Ferry County, Washington In 1872, the U.S. Government set aside western Stevens County as the Colville Indian Reservation. The discovery of gold in British Columbia led to an influx of miners seeking to make their fortunes. In response, the Government reduced the size of the reservation and opened the northern half to non-native…
Located on the eastern edge of the state, Spokane County covers 1,764 square miles and is bordered by the State of Idaho on the East, Pend Oreille and Stevens Counties on the north, Whitman County on the South, and Lincoln County on the West. The 2010 U.S. Census counted 471,221 residents, making it the…
Located in the northeastern corner of the state, Pend Oreille County is Washington’s most recently created county, having come into being on March 1st, 1911, when it was split off from Stevens County which borders it on the west. At the south sits Spokane County; the state of Idaho is to the east; and the…
