Agitation in favor of self-government had developed…
March 1853 CE
A group of prominent settlers from the Cowlitz and Puget Sound regions met on November 25, 1852, at the "Monticello Convention" in present-day Longview, to draft a petition to the United States Congress calling for a separate territory north of the Columbia River.
After gaining approval from the Oregon territorial government, the proposal was sent to the federal government.
The bill to establish the territory, H.R. 348, is reported in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representative Charles E. Stuart on January 25, 1853.
Representative Richard H. Stanton argued that the proposed name—the "Territory of Columbia"—might be confused for the District of Columbia, and suggested a name honoring George Washington instead.
The bill was thus amended with the name "Washington", though not without some debate, and passed in the House on February 10, passed in the Senate on March 2, and signed by President Millard Fillmore on the same day.
The argument against naming the territory Washington came from senator Alexander Evans of Maryland; he countered that while there were no states named Washington, multiple counties, cities, and towns were named such and could be the source of confusion itself.
Evans felt that the proposed new territory's name should reflect local native terminology.
He stated it would be more appropriate to give the territory "some beautiful Indian name".
The decision was contrary to the wishes of residents, and local papers reported mixed feeling from citizens, though the general reception of the renaming was positive.
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