The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History (original) (raw)

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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.

Tribal Woe

After the federal government denied a Duwamish request for a reservation on the Duwamish River, some members of that tribe moved to the Muckleshoot Reservation, which was created on January 20, 1857. For more than a century, the Duwamish Tribe sought federal recognition and finally triumphed on January 19, 2001 -- only to see victory snatched away two days later.

Down Below

On January 22, 1906, the SS Valencia – lost in the rain and fog enroute to Victoria, British Columbia – missed the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and smashed into the coast of Vancouver Island. In the ensuing mayhem to abandon ship, 136 passengers and crew either drowned or were dashed against the rocks. As the ship foundered, women on board the craft were heard singing "Nearer My God to Thee," a song later associated with the sinking of the Titanic.

Statue Dedication

On January 19, 1905, a granite statue of Governor John Rankin Rogers was dedicated in Olympia, directly across from the state capitol building. Rogers, who served as Washington's third governor from 1897 until 1901, was the state's only Populist chief executive.

Final Destination

On January 16, 1941, a U.S. Army Air Corps Douglas B-18A Bolo with seven airmen aboard disappeared after takeoff from McChord Field. Its wreckage was found on Deschutes Peak 17 days later, with no survivors. Exactly ten years later, a Northwest Airlines passenger plane crashed in Lincoln County, killing 10 people. And on January 19, 1967, a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crashed in Mount Spokane State Park, killing nine airmen.

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

--Martin Luther King

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