Washington's Boom Was So Furious It Predicted a Million People by 1910
A 1903 state report counted 241,584 new residents in three years, put Everett's growth at 144 percent, and projected a population of 1,347,067 within seven years.
The forthcoming report of the bureau of statistics, agriculture and immigration is full of interesting matter concerning the agricultural, manufacturing and commercial resources and capabilities of the state. One of the first things that should be noticed is the showing made of the increase in population.
From 1860 to 1867, 12,361 people came to the state, or at the rate of 1,236 per year; from 1870 to 1880, the number was 51,161, or 5,116 per year; from 1880 to 1890, the number was 274,274, or 27,427 per year; from 1890 to 1900, the number was 165,713, or 16,871 per year; from 1900 to 1903, the number has been 241,584, or 80,528 per year. The yearly gain during the past three years has been three times as great as during the years 1880 to 1890 when the state enjoyed what was called the great boom, and five times as great as during the 1890 to 1900 period.
In 1900 the population of the state was 518,103; last July it was 759,687. The increase for three years has been 48 per cent, or 16 per cent per year. If the same rate of increase is maintained during the remaining seven years of the present federal census period, it will represent a gain of 160 per cent over the population of 1900. In that event we will have a population of 1,347,067 in 1910.
The present population of the six largest cities in the state is given as follows: Seattle, 121,813, an increase of 41,142; Tacoma, 52,799, an increase of 15,085; Spokane, 47,902, an increase of 11,054; Bellingham, 21,199, an increase of 10,141; Everett, 20,138, an increase of 11,300; Walla Walla, 12,709, an increase of 2,660.
The percentage of increase in these six cities for the past three years has been: Seattle, 51; Tacoma, 40; Spokane, 30; Bellingham, 91; Everett, 144; and Walla Walla, 26.
The increase in population over the census of 1900 in the several counties of the state was also tabulated. The largest percentage gains were in Franklin county, 643.8 per cent; Douglas, 116.8; Adams, 99.2; Yakima, 96.5; Chelan, 92.0; Snohomish, 85.3; and Whitman, 63.6. During the past three years 148,323 new people settled west of the mountains and 93,261 in the eastern part of the state. The percentage of increase west of the mountains was 39.2, while the eastern part of the state added 48.7 per cent to its population.
“The yearly gain during the past three years has been three times as great as during the years 1880 to 1890 when the state enjoyed what was called the great boom.”
The 1903 report treated population growth as unalloyed good news—the same instinct that still drives boosterism and anxiety over housing, schools, and water in Walla Walla and the rest of Washington. Its confident projection is a reminder that boom numbers are never neutral; they shape who gets invited, housed, and represented next.
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