100 years later, progress for ‘Evergreen State’ to become Washington’s official nickname

The Washington Senate voted unanimously Monday to legally make Washington’s nickname the Evergreen State, Senator Jeff Wilson said in a release.

The vote comes 100 years after everyone already assumed Washington had that nickname.

“We caught this nickname problem in the nick of time,” Wilson said. “Imagine what might have happened if anyone realized we hadn’t made it official and snuck a bill through the Legislature. We might be The Slush and Drizzle State today. If this bill passes, we won’t have to worry about that anymore.”

The nickname might not be official yet, but it dates back to early statehood. The earliest known usage was in an 1890 promotional booklet by Seattle real estate broker Charles Tallmadge Conover, titled “Washington the Evergreen State and Seattle its Metropolis,” according to the release.

“In 1893, Gov. John McGraw used the phrase in his inaugural address, and newspapers reported passage of a resolution in the state Senate declaring The Evergreen State the state’s official nickname,” the release said. “The term was promoted heavily later that year at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where Washington state hosted a pavilion.”

Sen. Christine Rolfes added that the newspapers in 1893 were probably correct when they reported the nickname passing, but no one in the Senate or the State Archives could find a record of it anywhere. It could have possibly been misfiled.

Rolfes also said that they first became aware of the issue a few years ago when constituent Tim Lonon from Bremerton brought it to them.

Wilson said that Sen. Jim Honeyford tried to correct the oversight with another bill in 2009, but it didn’t reach the Senate floor.

Today, the nickname has been used on license plates, the state quarter and to name Evergreen College.

On Monday the Senate voted 49-0 for Wilson’s bill, SB 5595, and it now moves to the House for further consideration.

“By declaring Washington to be The Evergreen State, we tell the world that our state remains green all year long,” Wilson said. “How do you do that? You add water and love.”

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