Washington Territory. Governor (1884-1887 : Squire)

Watson C. Squire was born in Cape Vincent, N.Y., in 1838. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1859 and from the Cleveland Law School in 1862. He was principal of the Moravia Institute in New York when he volunteered for service with the Union Army. By the end of the Civil War he had risen to the rank of colonel. After the war he became manager of the Remington Arms Company and traveled widely, promoting their products. In 1876 he invested in Seattle property and made his home there for some years before his appointment as governor. Squire was appointed governor of Washington Territory in 1884 by Pres. Chester A. Arthur. It is a tribute to his ability that he survived the change of administration and was not replaced by the Democrats until two years later, the last of the Republican territorial governors to be replaced.

Squire was governor at a time when the territory and the whole Pacific coast was torn with agitation against the Chinese. The Chinese had been welcomed during the railroad building era, but when the railroads were completed the white settlers felt that their jobs and their standard of living were threatened by cheap Chinese labor. In Washington the agitation reached its climax in the winter of 1885-1886 when all the Chinese were driven out of Tacoma, several were killed in an assault in the Issaquah Valley, and a serious riot took place in Seattle. Governor Squire maintained order by proclaiming martial law and calling out the Territorial Militia. Soon after, President Cleveland sustained his acts by ordering federal troops to patrol Seattle. One of the duties of a territorial governor was to submit detailed reports to the U.S. Department of the Interior regarding the state of affairs in his territory. This was partly to show how the territory was progressing towards consideration for statehood, so Squire was particularly careful to point out the advantages and desirability of making Washington a state. In urging Congress to act, he wrote: "This is the only political division of the continuous seaboard of the United States which remains in a territorial condition. Its present and prospective maritime relations with the world entitle it to political importance and consideration."

The report was widely circulated and was helpful in promoting immigration. After Washington became a state, Squire was twice chosen to serve in the U.S. Senate representing Washington. After he retired from political life he practiced law in Seattle. He died in 1926.

From the description of Territorial Governor Watson C. Squire papers, 1884-1887. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70976887