The Office of the Secretary of State and the Washington State Archives will display the 1889 Constitution of the State of Washington at the Spokane Public Library, Monday, September 15, 2025.
The constitution will be displayed from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. on the third floor of the Central Library and will be accompanied by the Washington State Patrol. Archives staff will be available to answer questions about the document.
“It is our duty and obligation to the people of Washington to preserve and make accessible significant documents that helped shape our state and how we live our lives,” said Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. “Washingtonians will have the opportunity to connect with a formative piece of their history that they otherwise may not have had. We want to bring their history to them.”
This is the first time the Washington State Constitution has been taken to Eastern Washington.
The document was created in 1889 by 75 delegates who worked to draft a constitution that would allow Washington statehood into the United States. On November 11, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison approved the state constitution, and Washington became the 42nd state to be admitted into the U.S.
The state constitution, when not on display for special occasions, is stored and protected in a climate-controlled vault in the Washington State Archives on the capitol campus in Olympia. It is not normally available for public viewing.
For more information about the Washington State Constitution, visit the Washington State Archives web page.
