Published by the Office of the Secretary of State's Legacy Washington program, New Land: Southeast Asian Refugees Finding Home in Washington chronicles the profound humanitarian effort and individual resilience surrounding the resettlement of Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian refugees in the Pacific Northwest following the 1975 fall of Saigon. Drawing on extensive oral histories and archival research, authors John C. Hughes and Edward Echtle trace how thousands of displaced families rebuilt their lives from the ground up, establishing enduring cultural, economic, and civic roots across the state. A keen insight drawn from the book is how Washington's successful integration of these communities—spearheaded by pioneering political leadership under figures like Governor Dan Evans—fundamentally transformed the state's cultural landscape. By shifting the historical perspective away from distant geopolitical conflict to focus on grassroots local welcome, the book highlights how regional humanitarian action successfully countered national xenophobia and redefined the Pacific Northwest as a vibrant, multicultural diaspora.

327 pages, 14 unnumbered pages : illustrations, portraits ; 26 cm.

"Enchanted by their beauty, complexity, and historical significance, Tom and Helen Bartuska spent decades researching, visiting, and photographing twenty-one Washington round barns over fifty years old, at least two stories, and over fifty feet in diameter. They share what they learned-who built each structure and when, original and current uses, individual characteristics, construction details, and more. They also discuss the fascinating history, re-use, and creative preservation of round barns and other rural buildings and communities across the United States"-- Provided by publisher

pages cm

"While working for Washington State Magazine, eleven journalists traveled throughout the region to interview farmers, chefs, wine tasters, mountain climbers, scientists, and more. The resulting stories highlight the Evergreen State's captivating people, industries, and history, describing influential programs, cities from Aberdeen to Zillah, as well as a wide variety of trends, research, and innovative solutions"--

xiii, 273 pages : color illustrations ; 23 cm

Maritime Names of Washington is a wonderful companion if you are a boating enthusiast or simply curious about Washington’s maritime history. This book is a scholarly study on the origins of place names for our coastal and inland waters. It covers every name that appears on current nautical charts, from the Pacific Coast to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the San Juans, and Puget Sound from Port Townsend to Olympia. It includes every named island, bay, point, inlet, pass, harbor, rock, channel, strait, canal, peninsula, sound, and shoal. The book also features many local and historical names that are not shown on the charts. The manuscript generally identifies the individual who named the place, when, why, and for whom. It also identifies the chart where the name first appeared and the early settlement history of many places. The manuscript is richly annotated and uses many quotes from the observations of our earliest explorers to give readers a glimpse of what Puget Sound country looked like 200+ years ago. Each of our early explorations is discussed in detail as they relate to individual place names. The book contains 170 pictures and 44 historical nautical charts from 1790 to 1900 that show many of the names

ix, 501 pages : illustrations, maps, charts ; 26 cm

"Filled with personal anecdotes as well as expert observation, investigation, and analysis, longtime agricultural economist Desmond O'Rourke recounts fifty years of Washington State's dynamic, internationally competitive tree fruit industry. He discusses major changes, players, and organizations, as well as significant challenges and emerging threats"--Provided by publisher

xiii, 277 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

"Breaking glass ceilings, organizing clubs and making history as the first in their fields, these trailblazing Black women paved the way for new generations. From Nettie Craig Asberry, founder of the Tacoma NAACP, to Dr. Dolores Silas, now honored by a school bearing her name, these women forged a path amid adversity. Black women were crucial to the war effort, working as Rosies at Boeing during World War II, and in the postwar years, Seattle musicians like Edyth Turnham and Her Knights of Syncopation were in high demand. These teachers, scientists and politicians served on boards, led protests and fought for civil rights across the state. Join author and historian Marilyn Morgan as she chronicles the incredible lives and contributions of Washington's Black women." -- Back cover

159 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

"From Orcas Island to Tacoma, and west to the Kitsap and Olympic Peninsulas, the American section of the Salish Sea serves as an abundant setting for a wild ride through Washington's history of crime and punishment. These stories came primarily from the pages of old newspapers--the earliest occurred in 1856, the latest in 1938. They are the tales of crimes and criminals, of the lawmen who hunted them down, and the lawyers and judges who threw them into our system of justice. They are also the stories of lost lives and shattered families. Most of these tales from Washington State's boisterous history generated enormous headlines at the time, and local newspapers sometimes played an outsize role in the unfolding drama. Other stories simply offer an irresistible cast of characters or a stunning twist in our justice system. Although the language and manners might seem quaint and occasionally absurd, and the iniquities and prejudices of the day were blatant, the details often show that, after all, not much has changed."--Amazon.com

160 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), color map ; 24 cm.

For over a century, water has connected the communities on Puget Sound, starting with days of the iron-hulled steamers of the Black Ball Line and continuing to the vessels of Washington State Ferries. Puget Sound continues to be a vital link between cities, well into the era of smart phones and self-driving cars. From the recycled ferries of San Francisco Bay to the elegant pocket liners of the Canadian Pacific Railway, transporting people from one isolated community to another has grown to carrying 25 million commuters and tourists every year. Modern ferry travel on Puget Sound begins with the converted passenger steamers at the early part of the twentieth century. Built in the days before cars became the main mode of travel, these small steamers morphed into the blueprint of today's largest double-ended ferries in the United States. Ferry travel today is as scenic as in the days of Model Ts and steamships. Puget Sound remains a nautical highway as much now as it was in the era of high button shoes and derby hats.

143 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), facsimiles ; 24 cm

Field Guide to the Grasses of Oregon and Washington is an illustrated guide to all 365 species, subspecies, and varieties of grasses--both native and introduced--that grow wild in Oregon and Washington. It also has broad applicability in neighboring states and provinces. Grasses are important functional components in a variety of ecosystems and are highly valued for habitat restoration in ecosystems ranging from wetlands to deserts, and from sea level to alpine. They are important weeds and are also cultivated as ornamental plants. --Publisher

ix, 460 pages : color illustrations, color maps ; 23 cm

"In 1893 Washington, a new state with new people, plunged into the last depression of the 19th century. Banks failed. Railroad building stopped. Money became so scarce that Port Angeles and Bellingham made their own. Jobless men sawed wood, picked blackberries, and dug clams. In Spokane, the town's richest man was wiped out, and from Tacoma and Seattle protesters set off for Washington, D.C., on foot and by stealing rides on trains. In The Panic of 1893, former Seattle newspaper columnist Bruce A. Ramsey tells the story of how people survived and how their resilience defined their new state."-- Back cover

324 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Territorial Hues: The Color Print and Washington State, 1920-1960' will consist of prints that display the cultural and stylistic influences used by Washington State artists to produce highly exceptional works that reflect the color, light, and atmosphere that is unique to this region. The book focuses on several mediums including color woodcut, intaglio, serigraphy, and lithography. The influences of Japanese prints and regional appropriations of international movements will be examined as well as the local production of white-line prints. Exhibition: Cascadia Art Museum, Edmonds, USA (05.10.2017-07.01.2018)

160 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), portraits ; 29 cm

Published in 2013 by Art Chin and Doug Chin, The Chinese in Washington State chronicles over a century of Chinese American history, detailing the trials, contributions, and enduring resilience of pioneers who helped shape the Pacific Northwest. Drawing on rich archival photographs and community narratives, the book documents early immigration waves, the harsh realities of labor discrimination and anti-Chinese expulsion movements, and the eventual establishment of vibrant cultural enclaves like Seattle's Chinatown-International District. A keen insight drawn from the text is how it deliberately shifts the historical lens away from passive victimhood, emphasizing instead how early Chinese communities actively built robust mutual-aid networks, economic institutions, and political coalitions that transformed them into foundational architects of modern Washington society.

144 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

For centuries, borders have been central to salmon management customs on the Salish Sea, but how those borders were drawn has had very different effects on the Northwest salmon fishery. Native peoples who fished the Salish Sea--which includes Puget Sound in Washington State, the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca--drew social and cultural borders around salmon fishing locations and found ways to administer the resource in a sustainable way. Nineteenth-century Euro-Americans, who drew the Anglo-American border along the forty-ninth parallel, took a very different approach and ignored the salmon's patterns and life cycle. As the canned salmon industry grew and more people moved into the region, class and ethnic relations changed. Soon illegal fishing, broken contracts, and fish piracy were endemic--conditions that contributed to rampant overfishing, social tensions, and international mistrust. The Nature of Borders is about the ecological effects of imposing cultural and political borders on this critical West Coast salmon fishery. This transnational history provides an understanding of the modern Pacific salmon crisis and is particularly instructive as salmon conservation practices increasingly approximate those of the pre-contact Native past. The Nature of Borders reorients borderlands studies toward the Canada-U.S. border and also provides a new view of how borders influenced fishing practices and related management efforts over time.

xi, 271 pages, 27 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm.

New Land North of the Columbia features an 1860 letter protesting the escape of an Olympia slave to Victoria on the Puget Sound Underground Railroad. There's also territorial Governor Pickering's telegram to Abraham Lincoln sent on the brand-new telegraph--and Lincoln's hand-signed response. Other ephemera include posters and letters that support and condemn women's right to vote, prohibition of the sale of alcohol, and aid to the unemployed during the Great Depression. Here are documents about the massive, secret Hanford Engineering Works that was Washington's Manhattan Project. The book includes an ad for the first Lame Fest concert featuring Mudhoney and Nirvana, the original box that contained Windows 95, and a poster calling all protesters to the 1999 WTO conference. Historian Lorraine McConaghy has traversed the state and sifted through the files of three dozen archives to cull the 400 fascinating documents that bring to life Washington's last 150 years.

vi, 153 pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 25 x 29 cm

"This book retraces how the leaders and employees of the Washington State Department of Transportation and their predecessors helped to shape Washington's transportation system during a century of technological revolution and dramatic transformation of its communities and landscapes." "Moving Washington Timeline was prepared for the Washington State Department of Transportation with the support of private donors and a Federal Highway Administration grant to commemorate the creation of the

127, [1] pages : illustrations (some color), maps (some color), portraits (some color) ; 22 cm

Exploring Washington’s Past tells the state’s story in terms of where to go and what to see. With words, photographs, and maps, the authors evoke the cultural landscape and portray Washington’s people and events from the days of the fur trade and pioneer settlement to the recent past. Capsule descriptions of small communities -- from Altoona to Zillah -- are interwoven with those of better known cities, and eastern and western Washington receive equal attention. More than two hundred photographs portray our historical landscape through images of today intermixed with a sampling of the past. This book will be an indispensable guide for residents, tourists, and armchair travelers.

xiii, 543 pages : illustrations, maps (some color) ; 26 cm

Published by the Washington State University Agricultural Experiment Station and authored by plant pathologist Charles J. Gould, History of the Flower Bulb Industry in Washington State details the remarkable mid-20th-century rise of commercial bulb production in the Pacific Northwest. The text chronicles how immigrant growers and agricultural innovators capitalized on the region's mild, maritime-influenced climate—particularly in the Puget Sound and Skagit valleys—to successfully rival traditional European floral markets. Through detailed historical accounts and horticultural data, the book documents the labor-intensive cultivation of daffodils, tulips, and iris that transformed local farmland into vibrant floral landscapes. A keen insight drawn from the work is how regional agricultural booms often rely on imported microclimates; by identifying that Western Washington's cool, damp springs closely mirrored the prized growing conditions of the Netherlands, the industry proved that niche economic success can be engineered by aligning local ecological quirks with international market demands.

ix, 309 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

This 1997 edition of Sine Die is a completely new book. Since the first edition of Sine Die was published in 1987, there have been dramatic changes in the Washington State Legislature and in state politics. Limits have been placed on campaign contributions and reporting requirements are expanded; ethics laws were passed following revelations of improper use of caucus staff; Initiative 601 was passed by the voters imposing limitations on state taxing and spending powers; the legislative process has been computerized and information is now easily and quickly accessible electronically to all; and term limits, passed in 1992, start taking their toll on state legislators in 1998. Even more significant, there has been a gender revolution in the legislature. Women are on the verge of having an equal place in numbers and power and are having a dramatic effect on the legislative climate and on state policy. Sine Die is a clear and up-to-date description of how the Washington State Legislature works. Presenting substantially more information on women in the legislature, the role of the governor, and the various origins of legislation, the 1997 edition explains the process by which thousands of proposed laws are introduced each year and are culled down to the approximately twenty percent that are eventually enacted.

xiii, 203 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Author is an alumnus of Evanston Township High School, class of 1932

ix, 182 pages : illustrations, map ; 27 cm

Published in 1923 by the University of Washington Press, Origin of Washington Geographic Names is a comprehensive reference work compiled by noted regional historian and professor Edmond S. Meany. The book catalogs the etymology and historical background of place names across Washington State, serving as a foundational text for Pacific Northwest history. Originally serialized as a collection of articles in the Washington Historical Quarterly, the 357-page volume documents how various towns, waterways, and landforms received their designations. Today, it remains a valuable resource for understanding the geographic, indigenous, and pioneer heritage of the region

ix, 357 pages ; 21 cm