List of U.S. State Partition Proposals - Washington

Washington

• Present-day Washington is divided into Eastern and Western regions by the Cascade Mountains. The original request for the territory omitted much of the east. From as early as 1861, some eastern residents have proposed forming a new state, sometimes in combination with the Idaho Panhandle or other nearby states. Suggested names for such a state include East Washington, Lincoln, and Cascadia.
  • When Washington Territory was established, the populated Puget Sound region in the west dominated public affairs. The discovery of gold in present-day northern Idaho enticed settlers eastward. This shift in fortunes was followed by a proposed "Territory of Walla Walla", which was defeated in the territorial legislature in 1861. The gold discovery however did contribute to the 1863 creation of Idaho Territory, establishing Washington's current eastern border.
  • By 1864 some residents of northern Idaho called for a new "Territory of Columbia" including parts of Washington east of the Cascades or east of the Columbia River. (The name Columbia was originally proposed for Washington.)
  • As recently as 2005, a split has been officially proposed in the state legislature, amid the fallout of the 2004 governor's election. The east is largely conservative and rural while the west is largely urban and liberal.

• Since 2006, there has been an active movement calling for the state of Washington to break away from the United States and join Oregon and British Columbia as an independent nation which would be named Cascadia.