Washington State

In November 1889, Washington—70,000 square miles brimming with timber, salmon, and rich farmland,—became the nation’s 42nd state. In a sequel to "Washington Territory," (WSU Press, 2002), author Robert E. Ficken relates how the turbulent inaugural decade laid foundations for the state’s infrastructure and a new century’s commercial and social development. The early years saw a spectacular influx of people arriving by railroad, solidifying major urban patterns yet straining all levels of government funding. The young state’s initial prosperity ended abruptly with the Panic of 1893, followed by…