May 13, 2021 By Todd Mordhorst, Office of the Provost Washington State College was a collection of a dozen buildings on a hillside in Pullman, home to less than 900 students. But for one night in 1913, the campus was buzzing with activity. Booker T. Washington was in town. College Hall was packed to the brim, with folks outside clamoring to get in. Washington was born into slavery in Virginia and rose to prominence at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he earned international acclaim for his practical approach to education. Washington toured the Northwest that year, visiting cities and towns in Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. He spoke of the educational innovation he had introduced at the Tuskegee Institute, where he worked from 1881 until he died in 1915. Washington emphasized the importance of education in crafts and industrial skills, and was, by one account, thoroughly impressed with WSC’s campus, faculty, and staff.