When Washington Voters First Weighed Statehood
In 1878, Governor Elisha P. Ferry issued a formal proclamation calling for a territory-wide vote on the proposed state constitution and the future of regional representation.
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.
BY THE GOVERNOR: I, Elisha P. Ferry, Governor of the Territory of Washington, do hereby declare that a general election will be held in said Territory on Tuesday, the fifth day of November, A.D. One Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy-eight. At this election, the following named officers will be chosen: a Delegate to represent said Territory in the Forty-sixth Congress of the United States; an Adjutant General; a Brigadier General; a Commissioner General; a Quartermaster General; a Prosecuting Attorney for each of the three Judicial Districts; and members of both branches of the Legislative Assembly, along with all county and precinct officers provided for by the laws of said Territory. The electors will also vote 'For' or 'Against' the Constitution of the State of Washington, as well as 'For' or 'Against' three separate articles of said Constitution. Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the Territory at Olympia, this twenty-fourth day of August, A.D. One Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy-eight.
“The electors will also at said election vote 'For' or 'Against' the Constitution of the State of Washington.”
This 1878 proclamation marks the foundational moment when Washington settlers grappled with the complexities of statehood and self-governance. The document serves as a reminder that the rights and administrative structures we take for granted today were once speculative, contentious, and subject to intense regional debate.
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