OLYMPIA — The Legislature has passed a measure to rename a state highway in honor of a black Civil War veteran.
The House unanimously concurred with changes made in the Senate on House Joint memorial 4010, and the bill now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee. The measure tells the Washington State Transportation Commission — which is responsible for naming highways and bridges — to start the process of naming state Highway 99 after black Civil War veteran William P. Stewart of Snohomish.
Markers along what used to be state Highway 99 near Blaine and Vancouver once honored Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America.
