The free online encyclopedia of Washington state history

8145 HistoryLink.org articles now available.

Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.

Episode 3 Is Coming Soon!

HistoryLink has created a podcast – Square One, a companion piece to the self-guided walking tour of Pioneer Square's historic LGBTQ+ community on HistoryLink.Tours. New episodes drop on Fridays.

Join host Rosette Royale as he explores the LGBTQ+ history of Pioneer Square, and hear from people who lived this history firsthand and those who want to preserve it.

Find the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast serviceA video version is available on HistoryLink's Vimeo channel.

Our thanks to Historic South Downtown for their generous support of the tour and podcast.

This Week Then

11/23/2022

News Then, History Now

Four in a Row

This week in 1883, the territorial legislature was very busy. On November 24 it established Kittitas County, and after a weekend break Douglas County, Adams County, and Skagit County were all created on the same day -- November 28.

Travelers' Woe

On November 26, 1945, 15 children and the driver lost their lives when their school bus slid off the road and sank in the icy waters of Lake Chelan. And on November 27, 1998, a Metro bus plunged off of the Aurora Bridge after the driver was shot by a crazed passenger.

Where Did They Go?

On November 24, 1969, the first Sasquatch tracks were sighted in Stevens County. Exactly two years later, "Dan Cooper" (better known as D. B.) hijacked a 727 jetliner and parachuted into the unknown.

Making Reparations

On November 25, 1978, the first Day of Remembrance was held at the Puyallup Fairgrounds in commemoration of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II. And on November 30, 1993, the Tacoma City Council approved the Chinese Reconciliation Resolution to make amends for the 1885 expulsion of the entire Chinese community in Tacoma by the mayor and other leading citizens.

End of Operations

Logging and mining were important industries in Washington's early days, but times do change. On November 30, 1995, the Port Gamble sawmill closed, marking the end of the oldest continuously operating sawmill in the country. And on November 27, 2006, the last coal mine in Washington shut down near Centralia.

Downtown Demonstrations

Twenty-three years ago this week, Seattle came under siege during the 1999 WTO Conference. Things proceeded peacefully enough on November 28, with a scattering of demonstrations. More people gathered downtown on November 29 in mostly non-confrontational protests. But on November 30, all hell broke loose. Despite a "no protest zone," protests continued until the conference ended in failure on December 3. HistoryLink also played an unexpected role in the "Battle of Seattle," which you can learn about here.

Today in
Washington History

Image of the Week

On November 24, 1950, officials at Seattle’s newly built Northgate Center lit the world's tallest Christmas tree.

Quote of the Week

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.”

--A. A. Milne

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