0302, 2020

Medicine Creek: In Search of Treaty Tree

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In 1854, the Medicine Creek Treaty between regional Native American tribes and Washington’s territorial government kicked off a years-long conflict that forever changed the story of the Pacific Northwest. Sixty-eight years later, in 1922, the Sacajawea Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze plaque commemorating the momentous treaty, upon the single remaining Douglas Fir that remained at the place where the treaty was signed. It became

1508, 2019

Then and Now: Glover Field, Spokane

Thanks to a web service called Juxtapose that provides the ability to compare before-and-after images, I’m now able to take photos of different places across Washington and compare them with historic photos taken over a hundred years ago in the exact same place.

1704, 2019

The man with the golden gun

Washington Our Home
April 17, 2019
History, Legislature, Western Washington
0
1712

In 1989, one of the most brazen heists in Washington history occurred at the height of the state centennial celebration. Worse yet, it happened right under the nose of then-Secretary of State Ralph Munro. The thief – or thieves – simply walked into his office, and walked out with a first-issue, limited edition, gold-plated, commemorative .44 Magnum revolver made by Ruger especially for the centennial. And it wouldn’t be seen

2507, 2018

Washington’s “Cemetery Lady” dies at 84

Cemetery reading is not an easy task. Maggie Rail got her start in cemetery reading in her mid-sixties when she met Bud Engelhart who had completed a few cemeteries himself. At first, she exclaimed, “There is no way you will see me out in a cemetery doing that!” Then she would go on to do exactly that for about 20 years.

0602, 2017

In search of Medicine Creek Treaty Tree, Part 1

Washington Our Home
February 6, 2017
History, Puget Sound, Western Washington
8
5042

Back in June of 2016, a colleague of mine at the Washington State Archives – Benjamin Helle, Olympia branch archivist – published an article in that agency’s newsletter about a little-known and seldom-visited monument in the South Sound area dedicated to the Medicine Creek Treaty. What followed was an adventure in state history that nearly anyone can undertake.