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Washington Territory (green) with Oregon Territory (blue) in 1853
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Washington Territory (green) and State of Oregon 1859
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The was a historic
Organized Territory of the
United States that was formed in
February 8 ,
1853 from the portion of the
Oregon Territory north of the lower
Columbia River and north of the 46th parallel east of the Columbia. A first draft of the bill named the area "Columbia Territory," but the name honoring
George Washington was proposed by Congressman
Richard H. Stanton of
Kentucky .
The territorial capital was
Olympia , and the territory's first governor was
Isaac Stevens .
The original boundaries of the territory included all of the present day
State Of Washington , as well as northern
Idaho and
Montana west of the
Continental Divide . Upon the admission of the
State Of Oregon to the union in
1859 , the eastern portions of the Oregon Territory, including southern Idaho and portions of
Wyoming west of the
Continental Divide were annexed to the Washington Territory.
In
1863 , the area of Washington Territory east of the
Snake River and the 117th meridian was reorganized as part of the newly created
Idaho Territory , leaving the territory within the current boundaries of the State of Washington, which was admitted to the Union on
November 11 ,
1889 as the 42nd
U.S. State .
