Washington State Highway Board

 The Federal Highway numbering system began in 1925, the same year that the American Association of State Highway Officers (AASHO) came into being.

A timeline Washington State, with credit to History Link and the U.S. Dept of Transportation.

1853 - Washington State Legislature is formed, while still a territory. Franklin Pierce is the first territorial governor.

1889 - Washington becomes the 42nd state, on November 11th of that year.

1905 - WA State Highway board is formed. There are one thousand mile of roads and 600,000 residents in the state. Total cars: 100.

1911 - A road tax of 1-mill is established

1912 - The state begins experimenting with concrete

1917 - Locks on Seattle's ship canal are dedicated

1920 - The first airstrips go into service: one in Seattle at Sand Point, and one in Spokane.

1921 - The Columbia River Ferry goes into service. The state board becomes the highway committee, and consists of the governor, the state auditor, and the state treasurer.

1922 - Snow removal from roads in the cascades is started.

1930 - Keller Ferry opens

1935-1967 - Art Deco behemoth the Kalakala ferry in service.

Today there are six regional highway offices, each with a District Enginee.

The Yellowstone Trail

Have you heard of it? I learned about it this year (2025) when contemplating going to the Industrial Strength Bluegrass Festival in Xenia, Ohio. I was thinking about driving--well, I was planning on driving. I found out about the trail when I started to map my route. I bought the book, A Good Road from Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound written by Alice and John Ridge, from the Renville Historical Society and Museum in Minnesota, and was seriously over-stimmed when I got it. It's like a cross between the Farmer's Almanac and a history book. 

I planned to take the trail as much as I could on my way to Ohio, but once I actually did the math, I realized that I would need a month to take the trip at the pace I wanted to. I cut my ambition down to a more manageable size and will probably travel to eastern Montana, and maybe Wyoming. Reading the book as I plan gives me a picture of what it was like when the Yellowstone Trail Association was formed in 1912--bumpy, inhospitable, and lord how did they get gas? All the learning is leading to more questions and more research. For now, until I take the trip, I will keep my notes here on some of the history I want to keep for reference later.