Quillehuyte County was a

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

from January 29, 1868, to 1869. It and Ferguson County are the only two counties of the territory (now the

State of Washington Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

) that dissolved, although the

Washington Territorial Legislature The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the State of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, wit ...

attempted to dissolve

Skamania County Skamania County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,036. The county seat and largest incorporated city is Stevenson, although the Carson River Valley CDP is more populous. Ska ...

in January 1865, but was overruled by the United States Congress. Additionally, some Washington counties have been renamed since their formation; Sawamish County (from a Salish people's name) was renamed to Mason in 1864 for example. The county was probably named for the

Quileute The Quileute () are a Native American people in western Washington state in the United States, with 808 enrolled citizens in 2018. They are a federally recognized tribe: the ''Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation''. The Quileute people ...

people, also taken for the

Quillayute River The Quillayute River (also spelled Quileute River) is a river situated on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. It empties to the Pacific Ocean at La Push, Washington. The Quillayute River is formed by the confluence of the Bogachiel River, Cala ...

, airport, etc. with varying spellings due to transliteration of their name from the Chimakuan language. Creation of the county from the western half of Jefferson and a portion of Clallam county (also formed from Jefferson County in 1854) may have been intended to strengthen American land claims and to encourage the Quileute people to vacate to newly established (1855) Quinault reservation. Because it was never organized, it is impossible to say what the county seat was intended to be. The largest populated place in the former county is

Forks In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from 'pitchfork') is a Eating utensil, utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with whic ...

, population 3,532 in 2010.

Boundaries

Boundaries were set forth by the Territorial Legislature as follows: from the mouth of Wyatch River (now spelled "Waatch") on

Makah Bay Makah Bay is a bay in Clallam County, Washington, United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. stat ...

(), southeast through Olympic Mountains "along the summit" to , south to Chehalis County boundary (now Grays Harbor County) (), west along Chehalis County boundary to Pacific coast at

Queets Queets is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Grays Harbor and Jefferson counties, Washington, United States. The population was 136 at the 2020 census, down from 174 at the 2010 census. The primary residents of th ...

(), north along Pacific coast to origin.

References

Sources

* * {{authority control 1868 establishments in Washington Territory 1869 disestablishments in Washington Territory Former counties of the United States Quileute Washington (state) placenames of Native American origin