Washington State Symbols

by Gwen Perkins

HERE AT THE HISTORY MUSEUM, we get many questions but the one we get most is, "What are the symbols of Washington state?" Following is the list of Washington state symbols - one of which was the topic of a heated debate. Can you guess which one?

Washington's State Symbols

State Tree: Western Hemlock

State Bird: Willow Goldfinch

State Song: "Washington, My Home"

State Fish: Steelhead Trout

State Gem: Petrified Wood

State Dance: Square Dance

State Fruit: Apple

State Insect: Green Darner Dragonfly

State Fossil: Columbian Mammoth

State Marine Mammal: Orca (killer whale)

State Flower: Rhododendron

 

The Great "War of the Flowers"

IF YOU COULD pick a state flower, what would it be? Rhododendron, clover, iris, wild rose, daisy? Which one would get your vote? In 1893, selecting-and voting for-the state flower became a hot debate. Washington had been invited to send an exhibit to the Chicago World's Fair. The exhibit was to include the state flower. But there was a problem. Washington didn't have one. A handful of women soon decided to remedy that.

       Alsora Hayner Fry got the flower buzz going. She wrote a letter to a Seattle newspaper saying that she thought people needed to care about the state flower. She suggested the rhododendron for its "great beauty and its evergreen leaf, which goes with the Evergreen State." But Ella Higginson, a Bellingham poet, had already nominated the clover.

       Battles began over these two flowers. Ella wrote a poem about clover to try and win the fight. Those who agreed with her said that it grew throughout Washington and bloomed for a long time. Clover fans said that rhododendrons weren't even from the state but came from California. Plus, the word "rhododendron" was too hard to spell. The rhododendron hadn't come from California, said Alsora; it had been brought there, from Washington. And whoever heard of sending anyone a bouquet of clover? According to Alsora, rhododendrons could be used to decorate concert halls and be sent as gifts. Clover was only good for feeding cows.

       Voting booths were put up in drugstores and post offices throughout the state. Women were the only people allowed to vote in the flower election. Even so, the voting wasn't entirely fair. The clover supporters were accused of giving away free soft drinks to anyone who voted for clover. Voting places in Whatcom closed early, trying to keep "rhodie" lovers from voting. In contrast, Alsora put up large displays to win her votes - one had three live rabbits surrounded by clover and rhododendrons. To no one's surprise, the rabbits ate the clover and left the large red, rhododendron blooms.

       In the end, the rhododendron won by 2,000 votes, and the flower decorated the halls of the Washington exhibit at the World's Fair. Voting for the state flower wasn't the last vote that women in Washington would cast by a long shot. This election had shown that women knew how to campaign for issues just as well as men did. Many of the women who cast a vote for state flower later fought for their right to vote in all elections. This right would be granted in Washington State in 1910, ten years before women won the right to vote on a national level.

 

Find Out More

Washington State Legislature

State Symbols USA

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Gwen Perkins is the School Programs Specialist at the Washington State History Museum. She gets LOTS of questions about Washington state and the Pacific Northwest. Her answers to the most commonly asked questions are posted here in Homework Helper.

State Flower: The Rhodedendron

State Marine Mammal: Orca

State Fossil: Columbian Mammoth

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