The Great Pyramid of Washington Coal
An 1885 call-to-arms for Seattle citizens to display their bounties—from record-breaking wheat to massive chunks of coal—to prove to the world that 'Oregon is King' might actually be challenged by Washington.
E. Meeker, Commissioner for Washington Territory, has issued a call to the citizens of the territory to aid in the preparation of an exhibit for the New Orleans Exposition. Meeker writes: 'I want each of you to do all such as may be useful to illustrate our boundless resources. Our minerals, our produce, our manufactured goods—in a word, to transfer a miniature Washington Territory—the beautiful, the useful and the valuable—to the ample space accorded the territory in the exposition buildings. Owners of coal mines and coal lands are requested to furnish not less than one hundred pounds of coal from each vein. I even wish to construct a pyramid that shall show to the world what boundless stores of coal we have. In a word, friends, send samples of every kind, and in good quantities, of that which you have, and I promise you that Washington Territory shall be heard from at the coming exhibition.'
“I even wish to construct a pyramid that shall show to the world what boundless stores of coal we have.”
Ezra Meeker’s aggressive promotional push for Washington Territory in 1885 echoes the ongoing civic branding and economic development efforts that continue to define Seattle today. While Meeker sought to prove our regional dominance through coal and wheat, modern civic leaders perform similar theater of influence via tech and global trade summits.
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