James B. Metcalf

Who is James B. Metcalf?

James B. Metcalf was the first Attorney General of Washington.

Metcalf was the Attorney General of the Washington Territory serving from 1887 to 1889. He was succeeded by the first elected Attorney General William C. Jones after Washington achieved statehood. A Mississippi native and Confederate veteran of the Civil War, Metcalf worked his way west after the war while studying law at night. In 1870 he was admitted to the California bar. After moving to Washington Territory, he became a distinguished trial attorney and was appointed territorial Attorney General in 1887. After statehood, Metcalf resumed his private practice and became a cable car promoter in the rapidly growing city of Seattle.