Washington Territory
A commemorative postage stamp on the Centenary of the Organization of Washington Territory :
Issued by United States of America
Issued on Mar 2, 1953
The Historic Stamp :
The 3¢ stamp marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Washington Territory. Under the bill signed by President Millard Fillmore, the new territory included all of present-day Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana.
The stamp design focuses on the settlement of the region. The central scene shows a pioneer family gazing in wonder and amazement at a great expanse of water, with towering mountains dominating the horizon. A second scene is enclosed in a circular frame on the left. It depicts the eastern part of the state, which many early settlers crossed in covered wagons.
The Washington Territory Stamp was printed in green by steel engraving. It was first placed on sale in Olympia, Washington’s capital since territorial days.
Type : Stamp, Postal Used
Denomination : 3 cents
Colour : Green
The Subject of the Stamp :
- An 1846 treaty with Great Britain established the north-west boundary between the United States and Canada. Two years later, Congress established the Oregon Territory. A vast, sparsely settled area, it was almost impossible to govern from the capital in the Willamette Valley.
- As the population grew around Washington’s Puget Sound, settlers lobbied to carve that area out of the Oregon Territory. Congress responded in 1853 by organizing the Washington Territory north of the Columbia River and extending it east to the crest of the Rockies. Isaac Ingalls Stevens became the first territorial governor, and the capital was established at Olympia.
- Washington’s population mushroomed after railroads and the telegraph came to the area in the 1870s and 1880s. In 1889, it joined the Union as the 42nd state.
