OLYMPIA – To mark the start of the 2026 Legislative session, the Washington State Archives, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, will temporarily display the original 1889 Constitution of the State of Washington in the Governor’s office.
Members of the public are invited to view the document between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 12.
The Washington State Patrol will escort the state constitution to and from the Capitol building. The constitution will be displayed in a glass case and a trooper will remain with the document at all times.
Experts from the State Archives will be on hand to answer questions about the state constitution from legislators and members of the public.
“The constitution shows Washington residents how our state’s government got its start more than 135 years ago,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said. “It is the basis for every aspect of how our state is run today.”
The state constitution was written during the Constitutional Convention of 1889. Seventy-five elected delegates worked through the summer to compose the document. That November, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison approved the state constitution, and Washington became the 42nd state to be admitted into the union.
Learn more about the 1889 Washington Constitution and download your own copy from the Washington State Digital Archives.
| Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees areas within state government including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office operates the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, and administers the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees and the Productivity Board state employee suggestion program. The Secretary of State oversees the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime and the Civic Engagement Program to increase governmental trust and participation for all Washingtonians. |
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