George Bush was part of the first group of Americans to settle north of the Columbia River at what is now Tumwater. Bush was of African American ancestry, and Oregon had prohibited settlement and land ownership by Blacks. He and his family, along with several other settler families, came north to what was in the 1840s territory disputed between the US and Great Britain. Bush took up a claim, but when the area became part of Oregon Territory he faced the possibility of losing his land. Nearby American settlers rallied to his defense and memorialized the US Congress to get a special waiver allowing Bush to maintain ownership. A Historical marker located just south of the Olympia Airport on the site of Bush's claim gives details.
*NOTE*
Also known as "George Washington Bush" However, recent research shows Bush likely didn't have a middle name. No documents from his lifetime list a middle name or initial. It wasn't until decades later his middle name appeared in writings, possibly due to confusion with another African American Pioneer, George Washington, founder of Centralia, WA.
George Bush's name appears on a monument in Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery, Memorial # 131853915 commemorating veterans of the War of 1812 interred in Washington State.
*NOTE*
Also known as "George Washington Bush" However, recent research shows Bush likely didn't have a middle name. No documents from his lifetime list a middle name or initial. It wasn't until decades later his middle name appeared in writings, possibly due to confusion with another African American Pioneer, George Washington, founder of Centralia, WA.
George Bush's name appears on a monument in Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery, Memorial # 131853915 commemorating veterans of the War of 1812 interred in Washington State.
George Bush was part of the first group of Americans to settle north of the Columbia River at what is now Tumwater. Bush was of African American ancestry, and Oregon had prohibited settlement and land ownership by Blacks. He and his family, along with several other settler families, came north to what was in the 1840s territory disputed between the US and Great Britain. Bush took up a claim, but when the area became part of Oregon Territory he faced the possibility of losing his land. Nearby American settlers rallied to his defense and memorialized the US Congress to get a special waiver allowing Bush to maintain ownership. A Historical marker located just south of the Olympia Airport on the site of Bush's claim gives details.
*NOTE*
Also known as "George Washington Bush" However, recent research shows Bush likely didn't have a middle name. No documents from his lifetime list a middle name or initial. It wasn't until decades later his middle name appeared in writings, possibly due to confusion with another African American Pioneer, George Washington, founder of Centralia, WA.
George Bush's name appears on a monument in Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery, Memorial # 131853915 commemorating veterans of the War of 1812 interred in Washington State.
*NOTE*
Also known as "George Washington Bush" However, recent research shows Bush likely didn't have a middle name. No documents from his lifetime list a middle name or initial. It wasn't until decades later his middle name appeared in writings, possibly due to confusion with another African American Pioneer, George Washington, founder of Centralia, WA.
George Bush's name appears on a monument in Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery, Memorial # 131853915 commemorating veterans of the War of 1812 interred in Washington State.
Bio by: Tenalquot
Gravesite Details
Marker restored in the 1980s by the Thurston County Black Cultural and Historical Society
Family Members
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