Washington's State Historic Preservation Office was first created by Washington State Bill 363 in 1967. Within a year, the State Advisory Board convened for the first time, and it was staffed by the State Parks Department. Funding for the program was not secured until 1973, and coincided with the creation of the Washington Heritage Register. In 1975, the first Washington SHPO was appointed. The office bounced around for a time, cycling between independent agency and housed within another state agency. Most recently, DAHP became an independent agency after leaving the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (now the Washington State Department of Commerce, formerly the Department of Community Development and the Department of Trade and Economic Development) as the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation."Timeline" Michael Houser, Washington State Historic Preservation Office. https://www.dahp.wa.gov/pages/AboutUs/documents/WASTATESHPOTIMELINE_001.pdf
