Before Statehood: Washington Territory’s Largest Towns

Think back to your high school history class: Washington didn’t officially become a state until 1889. Before that, this area was part of the Oregon Territory. Everything changed on March 2, 1853, when President Millard Fillmore signed the Organic Act and created Washington Territory north of the Columbia River.

In 1876, during the nation’s centennial, Washington Territory was still a rough and growing place. The cities we know today were just starting out, and if you visited back then, the most important towns would look very different from what we see now.

Here are the main towns that stood out in Washington Territory in 1876:

Bird’s Eye View of Walla Walla, Washington Territory, 1876 (Public Domain)

1. Walla Walla. Thanks to the Idaho gold rush in the 1860s and strong farming, Walla Walla was the top economic center. It was the largest and richest town in the territory, with a population of 3,588 by the 1880 census. Walla Walla stayed on top until the major railroads passed it by.

Regraded 1st Avenue, originally called Front Street, Seattle, 1878. Courtesy MOHAI (1983.10.6138)

2. Seattle. It’s surprising now, but in the mid-1870s, Seattle was just a small, muddy town. The timber industry was its main business, and only an estimated 1,500 people lived there in 1876. Still, early real estate growth was already preparing Seattle for a big population boom in the next decade.

3. Vancouver, centered around the historic Hudson’s Bay Company trading post and a major U.S. military garrison, had a population of just under 1,500. It was one of the oldest and most populous continuous settlements in the territory.

4. Olympia, as the capital, was the center of government and shipping in the region. It had about 1,200 people in the 1870 census. Even as other coastal towns started to grow, Olympia stayed a steady and important part of early civic life.

5. Port Townsend was originally thought of as the potential Manhattan of the West Coast. Positioned strategically at the entrance to Puget Sound, Port Townsend was a major customs house and maritime shipping port. When the rails didn’t connect this early hub of commerce, its significance faded

Major economic and rail developments in the late 1880s and 1890s ultimately transformed Seattle and, later, Spokane into the state’s dominant metropolises as we know them today.

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