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What is now Washington has long been the home of numerous Native American nations. The Nooksak, Chinook, Nisqually, Clallam, Makah, Quinault, and Puyallup peoples lived near the Pacific coast, while the Nez Perce, Spokan, Yakama, Cayuse, Okanogan, Walla Walla, and Colville tribes settled inland.

Washington's wealth in furs drew European attention starting in the late 18th century. Spanish explorer Bruno Heceta claimed the coast for his nation in 1775, but by 1790 Spain had signed a treaty with Britain giving both nations rights to trade and settlement. George Vancouver, a British naval officer, and Robert Gray -- an American -- explored the Puget Sound and Columbia River regions, respectively, in 1792.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition heightened interest in the Northwest, and by 1811, John Jacob Astor had established a fur-trading post on the Oregon side of the Columbia and a fort at the mouth of the Okanogan River. Although Britain and the United States shared "joint custody" of the region for much of the early 19th century, the Oregon Trail ultimately strengthened the US's sole claim to Washington, which was made part of the newly created Oregon Territory in 1848.

Washington became its own territory in 1853, and although it included what later became Idaho, the region still had scarcely 4,000 white residents. It wasn't until the late 1800s and the coming of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways that Washington started to grow and prosper.