In 1854, four missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving in California were sent to labor in the Washington and Oregon territories. Enough converts joined to form a congregation along the Lewis River. During those early years, animosity against the Church members was so strong in Washington that when one convert died in 1911, her grave was dedicated secretly at night.
Many Church members helped with Washington's railroad construction for the Northern Pacific Oregon Short Line in the 1880s. In 1930, Church membership in Washington was 1,900 in eight congregations, with chapels in Everett, Spokane, Seattle, and Olympia. Many members flocked to the state with the completion of the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in the early 1940s. A temple was completed in Seattle in 1980.
The Spokane and Columbia River Washington Temples were completed and dedicated in 1999 and 2001, respectively.
