On August 21, 1886, Civil War hero William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) arrives in Seattle for a five-day visit. He will take a steamer tour of both Lake Washington and Lake Union, speak at a "camp fi...
In November 1886, the Seattle Young Men's Christian Association moves into new rental quarters at Spring and Front streets (now 1st Avenue). The basement of the building includes the city's first gymn...
On November 2, 1886, Douglas County voters agree to move their county seat from the waterless town of Okanogan to the growing small community of Waterville. Within two years Okanogan ceases to exist.
On November 9, 1886, the Franklin Post Office opens. Joseph Stevens is the first postmaster. The post office serves the employees of the recently opened coal mine. The post office closed on January 31...
On December 26, 1886, Tacoma Light and Water Co. illuminates Tacoma streets for the first time. Power comes from a hydroelectric plant connected to the drinking-water supply from Galliher Creek. The c...
In 1887, Henry Pinchwell plants what is probably the first commercial orchard in the Yakima Valley. The orchard, planted on property belonging to J. F. McCurdy, consists of five acres of prune and pea...
On January 20, 1887, Sunnydale Post Office opens. Michael Kelly is appointed postmaster. Sunnydale was located immediately south of Burien, 10 miles south of Seattle. It is now part of Burien. The p...
On February 3, 1887, the Washington territorial supreme court declares the suffrage act of 1883 unconstitutional in a case brought by a swindler convicted by a Grand Jury that included women. His appe...
On February 8, 1887, the Dawes Severalty Act, also called the Indian Allotment Act, divides Indian reservations among individual tribal members in an effort to assimilate Native Americans into the U.S...
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. Stuck Post Office is established on March 10, 1887. Mrs. Sarah J. Inman is appointed postmaster. Stuck is located...
On March 18, 1887, the Spokane Tribe cedes 3.14 million acres of land to the United States for about 32 cents per acre. This ends attempts by members of the tribe to live among whites in the Spokane a...
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. Christopher Post Office is established on March 22, 1887. Thomas Christopher is appointed postmaster. Christopher...
On April 15, 1887, seven Seattle cigar makers form Local 188 of the Cigar Makers International Union of America.
On May 11, 1887, 10 convicts arrive at Walla Walla to become the first prisoners at the new penitentiary. Members of Company A, Washington National Guard, transport them from the prison at Seatco in T...
In June 1887, the Puget Sound Co-operative Colony, incorporated in Seattle the previous month, moves its headquarters to the small settlement of Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula, where its founde...
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. On June 21, 1887, the Pialschie Post Office opens. John M. Thomas is appointed postmaster. Pialschie is located 20 ...
On July 11, 1887, voters elect doctor and civic leader Thomas T. Minor (1844-1889) mayor of the City of Seattle. Minor is one of the founders of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad. Formerl...
On July 27, 1887, Jeremiah Borst (1830-1890) and his wife Kate (1855-1938) file the first plat for Fall City, located along the Snoqualmie River, a mile downstream from Snoqualmie Falls.
On September 17, 1887, Gonzaga College, later to become Gonzaga University, opens on a muddy campus just east of downtown Spokane after seven years of planning, fundraising, and construction. On that ...
In September 1887, Seattle's Jewish residents hold the first documented High Holiday services (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) at the Knights of Pythias Hall in the Opera House Building at the northeast...
On September 22, 1887, the Vancouver Register reports that a group of Vancouver, Washington, businessmen led by L. M. Hidden has incorporated the Vancouver, Yakima & Klickitat Railroad. It is envision...
On September 28, 1887, the Lake Washington Cable Railway inaugurates cable-car service between Pioneer Square and Leschi Park. The cars travel east on Yesler Way and return west on Jackson Street. The...
On December 3, 1887, the Northern Pacific Railroad opens a temporary bridge across the Columbia River from Pasco in Franklin County to Kennewick in what is now Benton County. For the first time, trans...
In 1888, Seattle women organize the Ladies Library Association and revive the Seattle Public Library, which had apparently fallen inactive. The Association is organized at the home of Babette (Schwaba...