Lawmaker draws fire in renaming

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- When a state lawmaker noticed the stone highway marker near Washington's border with Canada, he wondered: Why would Washington state, of all places, have a highway named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis?

So Rep. Hans Dunshee, a Democrat, sponsored a bill to rename the highway for William P. Stewart, a black Union soldier who settled in Washington.

Dunshee thought removing the relic would be a simple task. Instead, he said, "I got a live snake in my living room."

His proposal sparked protests, nasty letters and even threats. He has removed his address from his Web site as a result, and asked the State Patrol to watch his family.

"I will have to come to Washington State and give you what you deserve! I may be just a woman, but I will slap and spit in your stupid racist face," wrote one Florida woman.

"The e-mails I received convinced me that this was more than just a rock," Dunshee said of the stone marker.

Dunshee believes his state should not honor Davis, who defended secession and slavery. The marker belongs in a museum, Dunshee said, and he has threatened to rip it out himself.

"It is critical we remove that stamp of approval," he said.

Dunshee's detractors

Although the bill is expected to pass easily in the state Legislature, Dunshee's effort has detractors.

"At the time Jefferson Davis believed in what he was fighting for," said Rep. Tom Mielke, a Republican from southwestern Washington. "Right or wrong, it's not for me to decide."

Highway 99 in Washington was dubbed the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway in 1939, the same year "Gone With the Wind" was released. A group called the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed stone markers at either end of the state -- in Blaine and Vancouver -- as part of their campaign to create a Jefferson Davis highway across the country.

The Vancouver marker, near Mielke's district, was quietly removed a few years ago by city officials.

Most Washington residents don't even know the state has a highway named after Davis. But some locals don't want to see the Blaine marker go.

"They put up the memorial for a reason," said Tim Johnson of Bellingham, near the border. "You don't see them moving the Jefferson or Lincoln memorials, do you?"

The Bellingham Herald chided the legislator: "Dunshee is making an issue where none exists. It's not like this is the Deep South and there's a highway dedicated to Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest."

Former KKK ties

That history is not as far removed from the Pacific Northwest as residents may think. Washington is 3,000 miles from the Deep South, but the Klan once held sway here.

The KKK experienced a national rebirth in the 1920s. About 40,000 Washington residents joined the Klan in the mid-1920s -- 3 percent of the population then. A 1924 rally outside Seattle drew 30,000 people. The Bellingham mayor gave state Klan leaders the keys to the city during their 1929 convention.

"It wasn't just a Southern phenomenon," said Dan Whisenhunt, a Bellingham historian. "We're not pure here. Racism exists everywhere."

The Klan's past prominence in Washington doesn't surprise Marian Harrison, a descendant of William P. Stewart. After fighting for the Union Army, Stewart settled north of Seattle and became a successful farmer. His family still lives there.

ON THE NET:

WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATURE: www.leg.wa.gov

United Daughters of the Confederacy: WWW.HQUDC.ORG