The Washington state Senate on Thursday, Feb. 6, passed a bill 49-0 that, if signed into law, would officially deem Washington the “Evergreen State.”
This marks the third year in a row that the state Senate has passed such a resolution. It has yet to be passed into law.
Nineteenth Legislative District Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, said he hopes the House will follow suit this time.
While most people already consider Washington to be the “Evergreen State,” there remains no copy of the resolution. Newspaper reports from 1893 announced that the Senate had passed a resolution to officially adopt the nickname the “Evergreen state” but there is no evidence of any further action.
“After 132 years, we have an opportunity today to correct an oversight,” Wilson said.
While announcing Senate Bill 5000, which would officially adopt the state’s nickname, Wilson shared the name’s peculiar origin.
The “Evergreen State” was first popularized by a 27-year-old real estate promoter in Seattle named Charles Conover, who used the name in a local advertisement.
