Longview is birthplace of WA state boundaries

There are common questions you might get from people who are not from Longview.

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"Did R.A. Long name the town after himself?"

"Is the Monticello Hotel named after Thomas Jefferson's estate?"

The latter is an easy conclusion to come to. Monticello isn't a particularly common word, and Jefferson was behind the Louisiana Purchase, which gave the impetus to westward expansion. And it's true that the first settlers here were definitely Jeffersonian admirers, but the connection isn't that simple.

When Congress created the Oregon Territory in 1848, it encompassed a vast area stretching from the Pacific Ocean to Wyoming. The territory encompassed all of modern-day Washington and Oregon, as well as much of Idaho and parts of Montana. Residents began talking statehood shortly after, but there were obvious concerns.

The Oregon Territory was half the size of Alaska, and many people felt the sheer size demanded dividing Oregon up if it were to become a state. There were only a few thousand people living north of the Columbia at the time, but familiar settlements had already started to bloom, such as Vancouver, Seattle and Olympia.

Map of the Oregon Territory

A survey of the Oregon Territory circa 1844, as presented in Charles Wilkes' "Atlas of the Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition." The convention that split the Oregon Territory into the Washington Territory took place in Longview in 1852.

The first meeting centered on such concerns was the Cowlitz Convention, which took place on Aug. 29, 1851. Twenty-six settlers met on the banks of the Cowlitz River near modern-day Toledo to draft a 1,500-word letter to the U.S. Congress explaining their thoughts on the growing movement for statehood.

They explained that centering the territory's government and related services in Oregon City was placing an undue burden on them, and they believed dividing the Oregon Territory into smaller states was an ideal solution.

This meeting is now commemorated by a marker near Toledo's Cowlitz River Bridge, just off Jackson Highway. The marker was placed in 1922 by the Washington State Historical Society.

The Cowlitz delegates, confident that they had expressed their concerns, moved on to planning for the future. They decided to meet again in May of the following year to further chart the course of their new state. And this new state's name? Why, Columbia, of course.

Neither idea went according to plan. The planned May meeting failed to materialize, and the idea of a State of Columbia clearly never quite worked out either.

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Longview enters the picture

But on Nov. 25, 1852, 44 settlers met in a small town on a riverbank in what is today called Longview. Tucked between the Columbia and Cowlitz rivers was the settlement then known as Monticello, which was indeed named for Jefferson's home.

The Monticello Convention drafted another letter, this time to Oregon Territory Gov. Joseph Lane. This letter laid out clear ideas for what their proposed "Territory of Columbia" would be, but it was not without discussion.

The most important question to resolve was where the border with Oregon would be. One proposal even suggested splitting the Oregon Territory along the Cascades rather than along a line running east to west, but it was quickly agreed that they would set their southern border at the Columbia River.

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A few months after the convention, the request was approved, creating the Territory of Washington, most of which, much later, became the state of Washington in 1889.

However, when Congress drafted and passed the bill to separate the new Columbia Territory from Oregon, there was a small change from the delegates' proposal.

On March 2, 1853, Congress established Washington Territory to honor the nation's first president, forcing centuries of people to specify which Washington they're talking about - the state or the capital.

As for Monticello itself, the town that hosted Washington's founding delegation was washed away in an 1867 flood.

An aged walnut tree and a sign mark the site on Longview's Tennant Way where the original convention took place.

But that's not the only way that Longview remembers this important event.

Monticello Convention

A sign marks the spot where the Monticello Convention was held in 1852 off Tennant Way in Longview. The site is located behind railroad tracks, with no pathway to the location, but it can be seen from the road.

Modern updates

The Monticello Hotel was the first permanent building in R.A. Long's new planned city. Named for the town that once stood there, and the important convention it hosted, it overlooks R.A. Memorial Long Park in the center of town. A sundial and set of large stone markers celebrate their momentous decision.

In 2023, Longview-based construction company JH Kelly also refurbished the Monticello Convention Historical Marker near Lower Columbia College and the Longview library during the city's centennial celebrations.

The marker, first created in 1952, was rededicated in 2024 and includes the names of the 44 delegates at the historic local meeting.

JH Kelly also added an irrigation system to keep nearby landscaping watered, light poles for nighttime views, and two benches.

Monticello Convention Historical Marker

The Monticello Convention Historical Marker on Thursday, May 23, 2024, at 18th Avenue and Olympia Way in Longview. The site now also includes light poles and an irrigation system.

The idea to reburish that marker originated roughly three years before, thanks to Jackie Evans - whose grandfather founded JH Kelly - and Cal Fowler - whose great-great-grandfather signed the convention's petition to separate from the Oregon Territory.

So the next time someone asks, "Is the Monticello named after Thomas Jefferson's estate?" you can explain it's so much more than that. And be sure to let them know Longview is the birthplace of Washington state's boundaries.

Editor's note: This story was originally published in 2018 and was updated by The Daily News Local News Editor Hayley Day to include more recent events.

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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 4:28 AM.