The Call for a State Constitutional Convention
In 1878, Governor Elisha P. Ferry issued an official proclamation calling for a special election to select delegates for a convention to draft a state constitution for Washington.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Whereas, the Legislative Assembly of the Territory, by the act approved the 14th day of November, A.D. 1877, provided that a special convention should be held in said territory on the 11th day of June, A.D. 1878, to form a state constitution; and, whereas it is provided in said act that the delegates to said convention shall be elected in the territory at large and in districts as follows: [List of delegates by judicial district and county groupings follows].
Now, Therefore, I, Elisha P. Ferry, Governor of the Territory of Washington, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested by said act, do hereby call a special election to be held in the several counties in this Territory on the 9th day of April, A.D. 1878, for the purpose of electing the delegates hereinbefore mentioned. The said election to be conducted and returns thereof made and transmitted as is now provided by law in case of general elections. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the Territory to be affixed at Olympia, this 24th day of January, A.D. 1878.
“I do hereby call a special election... for the purpose of electing the delegates hereinbefore mentioned.”
This proclamation marks the foundational moment when Washington Territory began organizing itself to transition from a federal territory into a sovereign state. Today’s debates over regional representation and local control continue to echo the specific district-based delegate allocation seen in this 1878 election call.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.