PNWPHS - Washington

PNWPHS

Washington

Washington Territory split from Oregon Territory on March 2, 1853 along the lower Columbia River, then eastward along the 46th parallel to the summit of the Rocky Mountains. Washington gained a dogleg when Oregon pared down its borders in preparation to become a State in 1859. In 1863, Idaho Territory was formed leaving Washington in the configuration it has today. When Washington Territory was formed there were eight counties. When it became the 42nd State on November 11, 1889, there were 34 counties. Today, there are 39. Though the postal history of Washington isn’t as early as Oregon, some of the earliest mail from the region came from the Hudson’s Bay outpost at Vancouver. These were privately carried within the Hudson’s Bay system and took months to deliver. After the border question was settled at the 49th parallel, the Hudson’s Bay Company began withdrawing and the US started its first postal routes in the region. The first post offices in the territory were established on January 8, 1850 at Nesqually [sic] and Vancouver.

Settlement in Washington began along waterways that border the state on two sides. This helped secure transportation for settlers and movement of goods to and from the settlements. Consequently, most of the early towns were on the Columbia River and around the Straits of Juan de Fuca. There were fourteen post offices established while Washington was still a part of Oregon Territory. They were all around the aforementioned waterways by which the mail was transported. There was an overland military route between Nesqually and Vancouver that was occasionally used in the early days, but it too included the use of waterways through parts of its passage. Through the years over 3,200 post offices have been established in Washington. Of those, 516 are open today.

Selected Washington Covers

Many people will recognize the name of the photographer on the return address of this Seattle ad cover. Edward Curtis was famous for his photos of the Indians around the US. Many of them are stunning. The cover is franked with a 1¢ Trans-Mississippi stamp and cancelled with a beautifully struck Seattle 1899 B14 flag. The postage was for fourth class mail and was sent as advertising for the artist sent locally within the city.

Courtesy of Tim Boardman.

This cover advertises the Seattle Elks Carnival that was a 13-day festival which started on August 18 and finished on August 30, 1902. There were three temporary arches constructed through Seattle’s streets for the festival. Each day saw parades that wove through various streets and the arches. Many maintain this carnival was a precursor to the Potlatch festival that began in 1913 and eventually evolved into Seafair that is still celebrated to this day.

Courtesy of Tim Boardman.

Stella lies on the north bank of the Columbia River in western Cowlitz County. The post office was established August 14, 1884. Disaster struck on July 27, 1907 when a large fire destroyed much of the Stella waterfront, including the store that housed the post office. This emergency manuscript cancel is applied in indelible pencil and dated July 30, just three days after the fire. It is the only known example of this postmark. Note the last sentence of the message stating the sender is at Oak Point (about three miles downriver from Stella). This may indicate the sender was displaced by the fire. The Stella post office was discontinued January 15, 1935.

Courtesy of Ted Gruber.

This registered cover from Harrah was mailed by G.M. Martin who was a philatelist and became the postmaster of Harrah. He used a variety of plate single stamps of varying denominations to colorfully pay the 17¢ rate (2¢ for first class mail plus 15¢ registry fee) on the front of the cover. He applied 5¢ additional postage on the reverse of the cover inexplicably overpaying the 3¢ return receipt fee by 2¢ to bring the total to 22¢ in postage. Harrah opened in 1915.

Courtesy of Tim Boardman.

Hammer was located in northeast Walla Walla County roughly six miles south of the Snake River. The post office operated from 1915 to 1931. An earlier post office Pleasantview was established in 1906, but the post office department rescinded the order of establishment in 1907. So, it is thought that it never actually operated. This cover was sent on the last day the Hammer post office operated using a type C/1 4-bar. But instead of using the bars of the 4-bar canceller, the postmaster applied what is known as a fancy cancel hammer killer over the stamp.

Courtesy of Tim Boardman.

Touchet is a small town in Walla Walla County whose post office opened in 1883 and is still operating. This cover celebrated National Air Mail Week which was held May 15-21, 1938. The 6¢ airmail stamp (C23) was issued for use on covers for the celebration. Several communities both large and small produced cacheted covers to use during that week. The designs of each town’s celebratory cover were dependent on the artistic ability of the designer.

Courtesy of Tim Boardman.