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The Fourth of July

This week as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of Independence Day, we note some of the significant events that have occurred on July 4 in Washington history, beginning with Puget Sound's first 4th of July celebration, held by the Wilkes Expedition in 1841. On July 4, 1853, the first U.S. flag made in Washington Territory was flown. On July 4, 1889, Joseph Pearsall staked the first mining claim in Monte Cristo, which set off a brief boom for the mountain community. On July 4, 1915, Bill Boeing reportedly took his first airplane ride. That same day, Samuel Hill dedicated the Pacific Highway at Blaine. Exactly three years later, Hill was on hand to help dedicate the Stonehenge replica at Maryhill in Klickitat County.

Seattle alone has its share of noteworthy Independence Day events. It was on that day in 1854 that Lake Union and Lake Washington were given their adopted names. On July 4, 1914, the Smith Tower (shown above) was dedicated, and July 4, 1917, saw the grand opening of the Lake Washington Ship Canal. On July 4, 1965, Ivar Hagland held his first Fourth of July fireworks show.

Fifty years ago, a huge nationwide celebration was held for the nation's bicentennial, which included a Bicentennial Wagon Train that departed from the Peace Arch on a 13-month, 3,000-mile journey to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Former Washington State Representative Marjorie Lynch was the Deputy Administrator of the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, but the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) charged that it was unpatriotic for the position to be filled by a London-born naturalized U.S. citizen. Nevertheless, support for Lynch was widespread. Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia stated that he deplored the idea that there were two classes of citizen, foreign-born and native-born.

Lastly and sadly, we note that the July 4th holiday also has more than its fair share of grim anniversaries. On July 4, 1889, a massive fire swept through Ellensburg, destroying 200 homes and 10 business blocks. On July 4, 1900, a streetcar full of passengers traveling to the Independence Day Parade in downtown Tacoma jumped the tracks and plunged 100 feet into a ravine, killing 43 people and injuring 65. On July 4, 1915, a German saboteur being sought for his role in a recent barge explosion in Elliott Day killed himself in a Seattle hotel room. On July 4, 1972, a fireworks mishap injured 18 people at the Seattle Center when an errant skyrocket landed in the crowd and exploded. And on July 4, 1985, a fireworks malfunction set part of Jetty Island ablaze in Everett Harbor, but fortunately no one was injured.

A Grand Old Flag

In celebration of the Fourth of July, HistoryLink hoists the stars and stripes with a salute to some of the more extravagant American flags ever flown in the state. We begin in 1885, when Dirty Dan Harris – founder of Fairhaven – and a bunch of his pals raised a giant flag measuring 18 feet wide by 50 feet long. It took the bannermen – who were fueled by more than a few glasses of liquor – most of a day to erect the 110-foot high pole and raise the 50-pound flag.

In 1909, at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, fairgoers celebrated Flag Day by sailing the "Largest Flag in the World." Measuring 110 feet long by 39 feet wide, this Old Glory was sewn by Pullman resident Pauline Mitchell. The 186-foot flagpole was so large that it required five railroad flatcars to carry it to the exposition grounds. Also at the AYP, Wenatchee boosters displayed a flag made out of apples, which had to be replaced with newly-picked delights every day for the duration of the fair.

In 1918, Camp Lewis looked at raising its own record-setting flag atop a 314-foot-tall Douglas fir pole, billed as the world's tallest. The flag measured 60 by 90 feet and weighed in at a hefty 257 pounds – one of the largest banners of its time. Unfortunately, it was too large and it shattered the pole the moment it unfurled. After another failed attempt in which the pole held but the flag shredded, a smaller flag was raised in its place. In 2015, the base for the fractured flagpole was discovered and unearthed and is now on display at Joint Base Lewis–McChord.