Puget Sound region and settled the Puget Sound area. The first non-indigenous settlement was New Market (now known as Tumwater) in 1846. In 1853 Washington Territory was formed from part of Oregon Territory. In 1888 the Northern Pacific railroad line reached Puget Sound, linking the region to eastern states. For a long period Tacoma was noted for its large smelters where gold, silver, copper and lead ores were treated. Seattle was the primary port for trade with Alaska and the rest of the country and for a time possessed a large shipbuilding industry. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during
Puget Sound region as 1853. In the 1880s logging railroads cut their way into Puget Sound. 1886 the St. Helens fire burned . Mount Rainier National Park started in 1899. The 1902 Yacolt Burn burned . Olympic National Park was established in 1938. George Vancouver explored Puget sound in 1792. Vancouver claimed it for Great Britain on 4 June 1792, naming it for one of his officers, Lieutenant Peter Puget. It became part of the Oregon Country, and became U.S. territory when the 1846 Oregon Treaty was signed. After arriving along the Oregon Trail, many settlers wandered north to what is now Washington