In 1890, the Lowell School opens on Seattle's future Capitol Hill (Mercer Street and Federal Avenue) with the name Pontius School. By 1892 the name has changed to Columbia School and the school employ...
On September 15, 1890, Sidney becomes the first city in Kitsap County to incorporate. It is classified as a town of the fourth class. Immediately following the incorporation, the new Sidney mayor and ...
On September 20, 1890 at about 9:30 a.m., a cougar wanders into downtown Seattle on Pine Street between 4th and 5th avenues and "for a few minutes owned the street."
On September 22, 1890, members of the Olympic Exploring Expedition, led by Lieutenant Joseph P. O'Neil (1862-1938), scale one of the peaks of Mount Olympus. Mount Olympus, located in Jefferson County,...
On September 27, 1890, South Bend, future county seat of Pacific County, incorporates. Settled in the 1860s, the town has grown to include sawmills, stores, churches, and social organizations. The Nor...
On October 13, 1890, the State Normal School at Cheney opens its doors to its first pupils. Sixteen students are enrolled, all of whom meet the following requirements for admission: The student must b...
On October 14, 1890, the Seattle City Council approves a "provisional" franchise for a new streetcar line between downtown and south Lake Union. Eight alternative routes are authorized with the final ...
On November 3, 1890, the first wheat to leave Seattle by ship is loaded aboard the British bark Mary L. Burrill, bound for Cork, Ireland. The wheat had been stored in a new grain terminal in West Seat...
On November 4, 1890, Ellensburg loses its bid to become the capital of the newly admitted state of Washington. Despite intense boosterism early in the race and a substantial land boom, Ellensburg's ch...
On November 6, 1890, Fr. Leopold Van Gorp, SJ, purchases nine lots at the corner of Broadway and Madison Street, on the eastern slope of First Hill, for development of a Jesuit school. The Rocky Mount...
On November 7, 1890, Seattle musicians form a union called Musicians Mutual Protective Association.
On November 10, 1890, a posse of Port Angeles residents moves the Clallam County seat to their home town from New Dungeness, where it has been located since the county was created in 1854. The move co...
On December 2, 1890, citizens of the Pacific County settlement known as Ilwaco vote to incorporate according to the laws of the state of Washington as the Town of Ilwaco. Of the 75 total votes cast, ...
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. On December 20, 1890, the Latona Post Office opens. John M. Dewey is the first postmaster. Latona is located four m...
In 1891, Conrad Rideout, an African American lawyer and politician, arrives in Seattle. He will organize African American Democratic Clubs in Seattle, Spokane, and Roslyn.
In 1891, Brittain Oxendine begins publishing the first African American newspaper in the area, the Seattle Standard.
On the night of January 4, 1891, an armed mob hangs a 15-year-old Indian youth, Stephen, near Conconully. Stephen was being held in the Okanogan County jail as a material witness to the murder of frei...
During February 1891, St. Francis Hall, the first Catholic school in King County, opens in downtown Seattle in a new building located at 6th Avenue and Spring Street. Sixty students attend the first c...
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. On February 27, 1891, Boulevard Post Office opens. Thomas Ferguson is the first postmaster. Boulevard is located fi...
On March 3, 1891, Congress establishes the first forest reserves, which will become a system of National Forests. The law preserves water resources until forested lands can be opened for settlement an...
On March 9, 1891, the Washington State Legislature approves the Puyallup Agriculture Experiment Station. It will be part of the new State College of Washington in Pullman. It becomes a reality in 1894...
On March 16, 1891, Lynden incorporates as a town of the fourth class. Located in northwestern Whatcom County, Lynden, only five miles south of the Canadian border, will grow into a pleasant, conservat...
On March 20, 1891, Marysville, located north of Everett in Snohomish County, incorporates when Washington Secretary of State Allen Weir (1854-1916) files the order to form it as a fourth-class town. C...
On April 8, 1891, the Seattle Library Commission opens a public reading room on the fifth floor of the Occidental Building at 1st Avenue between James Street and Yesler Way. The reading room features ...