Introducing a few lesser-known, yet no less fascinating, figures from Washington’s storied past.

By Benita R. Horn, AWC DEIB Consultant

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”

Like many, through my public-school education, I encountered history curricula that were selective rather than inclusive. Notable history in the state I call home—history reflective of people who are of non-European descent, was sadly missing. As we look back and celebrate 90 years of AWC, my hope is to share with you some little-known and fascinating history in our state to enrich our understanding of the fabric from which we are made.

Hispanic persons have been instrumental to the development of Washington state. In 1774, Spanish and Mexican explorers were the first non-Indigenous people to arrive here. They claimed and mapped this territory and traded with the Native people. In Washington, the familiar names of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the San Juan Islands, and Rosario Strait are a legacy of Spanish influence. Until 1819 these lands belonged to Spain and Mexico. They left a legacy of culture, history, language, traditions, and food. Examples of foods they introduced to our state include pears, onions, potatoes, peas, and beans, along with the first wheat, wine, livestock, and iron tools.

The Spanish established the first non-Native settlement in the state at Neah Bay. Today that site is memorialized by Fort Núñez Gaona – Diah Veterans Park, created in partnership with the Makah people.

World War II and the internment of Japanese Americans created a shortage of agricultural workers, which led to a labor crisis in agricultural regions of the state. The Utah-Idaho Sugar Company recruited a number of Chicano migrants to the state. Many of them settled in the Wapato-Harrah area of Yakima County, establishing one of the oldest Latino settlements in the Pacific Northwest.

And, of course, we must acknowledge that the state was founded on land belonging to the many indigenous peoples of this area.

Beyond the contributions of diverse groups are the remarkable accomplishments of individuals. As Kit Oldham recounts in an essay about the founding of Centralia archived at HistoryLink.org, on January 8, 1875, George Washington, a free Black person and descendant of slaves, filed the plat for the town of Centerville—which would become modern-day Centralia—and “for the next 30 years, he is a leading citizen, promoter, and benefactor of the town he founds.”

Centralia isn’t the only city in the state with a Black American origin story. A free man, another George—George Bush—is considered the founding father of Tumwater. Bush had been a successful rancher in Missouri—a slave state. In 1844, with the allure of free land in Oregon, he and his wife headed west along the Oregon Trail. The Oregon Territory had recently abolished slavery, but its provisional legislature had at the same time passed a series of laws meant to keep Black people from settling there. One of those laws (the “lash law”) mandated that Black people would be publicly whipped—39 lashes every six months until they left the Oregon Territory. So, the Bush family headed north.

In 1850, Congress passed a law giving land in the Washington and Oregon territories to any white settlers who claimed it. Bush was excluded due to his race, but he was so widely respected that Washington’s Territorial Legislature lobbied Congress to carve out an exception for him. Congress complied, granting Bush the same 640 acres that white settlers received.

Although Bush was allowed to own land by virtue of the special exemption he was granted, he was never allowed to vote. Twenty-six years after George Bush’s death, his eldest son, William Owen Bush, would become the first Black person to serve in the Washington State Legislature—in its inaugural year. He introduced the legislation that established Washington State University.

In Washington, the familiar names of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the San Juan Islands, and Rosario Strait are a legacy of Spanish influence.

In 2021, a monument honoring George Bush was unveiled at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia, the first monument on the Capitol Campus dedicated specifically to a Black person.

The Black community has a significant founding presence in Spokane, too. Black settlers first came to the timber and mining town then known as Spokane Falls in the late 19th century. Important sites include the Calvary Baptist Church and Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (both founded circa 1890).

Black voices continue to make history in our cities. Of recent note is the Carl Maxey Center in Spokane’s East Central neighborhood (see “Common Ground,” p. 23). The center was founded in 2018 as a cultural hub and gathering place by community leaders, including late activist Sandra Williams, who was also editor and publisher of The Black Lens, the only African American–focused newspaper in eastern Washington.

Benita Horn's background includes more than two decades of experience on race, social justice, and equity, supporting clients primarily in the government and nonprofit sectors.

For more information: historylink.org