On May 3, 1891, Seattle more than doubles in size when a large area north of downtown is annexed. The communities annexed are Magnolia, Wallingford, Green Lake, Brooklyn (later renamed University Dist...
On May 6, 1891, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) visits Tacoma. Virtually the entire population of 36,006 turns out in the morning rain to greet him. President Harrison is the is the 23rd ...
On about May 17, 1891, African Americans arrive at Franklin, Washington, to start working in the Oregon Improvement Company coal mines. The Oregon Improvement Company has recruited them from Missouri,...
On May 19, 1891, Anacortes, located on the northern end of Fidalgo Island in Skagit County, incorporates. The new town occupies a deep draft harbor adjacent to extensive forest lands. Growing from a ...
On May 25, 1891, the Woodland Park racetrack in Woodland (soon to be renamed Lacey), four miles east of Olympia, holds its first horse races. The track, sometimes referred to as a driving park, is the...
On June 10, 1891, the Washington State Reform School opens in Chehalis. The school for youth ages 8 to 18 who commit crimes or are orphaned has more than 60 boys and girls in residence. The state legi...
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. The Covington Post Office opens on June 18, 1891. Hubert R. Calkins is postmaster. Covington is located 21 miles s...
On June 18, 1891, Sumas incorporates as a fourth-class town. Sumas -- pronounced Soo-mass -- is located in northwestern Whatcom County on the Canadian border, and a border crossing has just been estab...
On June 22, 1891, American and Canadian dignitaries and thousands of onlookers gather in New Whatcom (later Bellingham) to celebrate the arrival of the first regularly-scheduled Canadian Pacific train...
On June 24, 1891, the Cornerstone Grand Lodge of the York Masons, an African American fraternal organization, forms in Seattle.
On June 27, 1891, Snohomish County School Superintendent B. H. Dixon approves the formation of School District No. 51, created out of two existing districts. The first school session is held in a loca...
On July 1, 1891, the first Latona Bridge, which spans Seattle's Lake Union, is dedicated. The fixed-span bridge crosses Lake Union from the Eastlake neighborhood to the University District, and suppla...
On July 26, 1891, King County Sheriff's Deputy George W. Poor is mistakenly killed by U.S. Customs Inspector James C. Baird north of Woolley in Skagit County. The deputy had been assisting another Cus...
On July 31, 1891, the founders of the Woman's Century Club hold their first meeting. The club is founded by suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) and several other prominent women for the cultura...
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. On August 12, 1891, the Black River Post Office opens. Henry A. MacMillan is the postmaster. Black River was loc...
On August 15, 1891, under Ordinance 1797, the City of Seattle acquires a pump station site on Queen Anne Hill. This is the first city-owned water pumping facility.
On August 17, 1891, members of the Sisters of Charity of Providence, a Catholic teaching and nursing order, open St. Elizabeth Hospital, the first hospital facility in the Yakima area.
On September 3, 1891, Pasco incorporates as a city with a vote of 35 to 20. Voters had turned down two prior measures for incorporation, but in this third election, the measure passes. Ransom Olney is...
On September 6, 1891, the Washington State Normal School opens in Ellensburg, located in Kittitas County near the center of Washington. The school specializes in the education of elementary and junior...
On September 24, 1891, French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923), along with her company, arrives in Seattle on a special train to perform in the four-act play Fedora by Sardou. That evening, more th...
On October 12, 1891, the international railroad connection between Seattle and New Westminster, British Columbia, is made when the two lines meet just south of Stanwood, about two miles north of the S...
On October 14, 1891, the schooner Lizzie Colby lands the first load of Bering Sea cod at the Anacortes wharf of J. W. Matheson's newly constructed cod fish curing plant. This ushers in a new industry ...
On October 26, 1891, Seattle's first publicly funded night school opens in a room on the corner of 7th Avenue and Cherry Street with 30 students.
On November 17, 1891, in Seattle, Chevra Bikur Cholim (Hebrew: Society for Visiting the Sick) incorporates with the purpose of caring for the sick and providing proper burial. This is the origin of th...