Washington (state) Washington (state) Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Named for George Washington, the first president of the United States, the state was made out of the western part of the Washington Territory, which was ceded by Britain in 1846 in accordance with the Oregon Treaty in the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Olympia is the state capital; the state's largest city is Seattle. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, to distinguish it
Economy of Washington (state) top 20 Most Admired Companies in the US has four Washington-based companies in it, Starbucks, Microsoft, Costco and Nordstrom. Washington was one of eighteen states which had a government monopoly on sales of alcoholic beverages, although beer and wine with less than 20% alcohol by volume could be purchased in convenience stores and supermarkets. Liqueurs (even if under 20% alcohol by volume) and spirits could only be purchased in state-run or privately owned-state-contracted liquor stores. This however was overturned by 2011's Initiative 1183 which ceased state-run liquor stores as of June 1, 2012. Washington is a leading agricultural state. (The