Topic: Elementary Level
Chief Seattle's parents were from tribes on both sides of Elliott Bay and the Duwamish River. He lived during a time of change for his people and the Puget Sound region. He welcomed the Collins and De...
Between 1818 and 1910, there were four outposts named Fort Walla Walla. The first Fort Walla Walla was established as a fur-trading post by the North West Company. The next two were built to house U.S...
Hundreds of years ago, the Native Americans who lived in Washington's Columbia Plateau region had no means of traveling on land other than walking. That all changed when local Indian groups began to a...
Land formations in Washington and the Pacific Northwest were a result of millions of years of changes in weather conditions and the environment. Glaciers and other geological forces created islands, m...
The skull and bones of a man who lived more than 9,000 years ago were discovered in 1996 near Kennewick. Archaeologists realized that these remains were very rare. Some wanted to have the opportunity ...
For thousands of years, Native Americans preserved their history in a special way. They passed down their traditions and culture to the next generation by means of oral tradition -- or storytelling. A...
The culture and lifestyle of the Makah Indians is based on the sea. Their homeland is on the Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington, along the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the coastli...
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman were missionaries who came to the Walla Walla Valley from New York. They wanted to teach Indians about their religion. They also wanted the Indians to change the way they w...
The Marmes Rockshelter was a very important archaeological find in Washington. Tools, human bones, and a cremation hearth more than 8,000 years old were discovered there. But scientists had a big prob...
Mount St. Helens once was the fifth-highest mountain in Washington. Now, because of a huge eruption on May 18, 1980, it is only the 30th highest peak in the state. There were many signs that the mount...
By 1903, Seattle had five major public parks but city officials wanted more. They hired the Olmsted Brothers, a landscape architecture company from Massachusetts, to help create more parks. John C. Ol...
Over the past thousands of years, many varieties of mammals lived in what is now Washington. Several important fossils of prehistoric mammals have been discovered in different parts of the state. (Thi...
Kikisoblu, the daughter of Chief Seattle was a friend to early Seattle pioneers. One of the pioneer women, Catherine Maynard, thought Kikisoblu should have a name that would let everyone know that she...
Early buildings in what is now the state of Washington were mostly constructed of wood. There were no organized fire departments and not much water that could be used in the event of fire. Seattle's d...
For thousands of years, people who lived on Lake Washington have used its waters in their daily lives. In the last 150 years, the methods of crossing the lake to transport goods and people from one si...
Walter Alvadore Bull was one of the first settlers of the Kittitas Valley in Central Washington. In 1869, he arrived in the region and joined about a dozen other families and unmarried men who had alr...
Wine grapes were one of the first cultivated fruits grown in the Pacific Northwest. Now wines made from Washington-grown grapes are among the best in the world. There are more than 750 wineries in Was...
Archaeological finds in various locations across Washington have helped scientists learn about how the earliest residents of this state lived. (This essay was written for students in third and fourth ...