AS YOU ENTER BUDD INLET…
The Dofflemyer Point Lighthouse greets you. It sits seven miles
north of the Port of Olympia, near the Boston Harbor Marina.
This structure provides the southernmost light in Puget Sound.
‘A JOYFUL NOISE’ - The . . . — — Map (db m312216) HM
In 1848, David and Elizabeth Harrison Chambers filed a claim for 640 acres of land on what became Chambers Prairie. Their home was located at this site, surrounded by fruit trees and livestock.
In 1917, the family sold a portion of the . . . — — Map (db m293268) HM
This simple farmhouse was built c. 1896 on
the corner of Pacific Ave. and Carpenter
Road. The building was owned by
Cornelius and Anna Gallagher from
1908 to 1950, and moved in 1985. — — Map (db m293107) HM
Jackson Family History
Nathaniel, “Nat” Jackson and Thelma. Harrison both grew up in the Jim-Crow-segregated, South. Nat was born in Lilly, Louisiana in 1943 and Thelma in Pritchard, Alabama, in 1946, the two met in the fall of 1963 while . . . — — Map (db m293280) HM
This clubhouse was built by a local carpenter, H.R. (Frank) Hoffman, for the Lacey Women's Club in 1937. The club has been active in the Lacey community since the early 20th century. — — Map (db m293110) HM
Grasses, flowers and other plants support the food web of prairies. Butterflies thrive on flower nectar and may use just one plant species to host their caterpillars. Bees pollinate the flowers. Ground-nesting birds hide their nests among the . . . — — Map (db m71781)
What Makes a Prairie
Grasslands thrive where dry soil and frequent drought or fires limit or exclude trees and shrubs. The soils and climate in each of North America’s grasslands support a unique mix of native grasses, flowers, and other . . . — — Map (db m71780)
Early Encounters, Early Hypotheses
The Mima Mounds intrigues travelers and explorers in the 1800s as described in their journal entries.
MAY 20, 1841
Charles Wilkes, commander of the United States Exploring Expedition from . . . — — Map (db m71769) HM
More than 30 explanation have been proposed for the origin of the Mima Mounds, but none has been proven.
Were the Mounds Created by Glacial Ice?
In 1913 glacial geologist J Harlan Bretz completed the first detailed study of the Mima . . . — — Map (db m71779)
The Mima Mounds were formed some time after ice age glaciers began receding 16,500 years ago. Their origin has puzzled scientists and curious visitors since the mid-1800s. Research has revealed what we know so far about the glacial history of this . . . — — Map (db m71778)
The Chambers Prairie School opened in 1916
simultaneously with the Northern Pacific Point
Defiance Railroad Line. In 1937, the school was named
East Olympia Elementary, and in 1964 merged with the
Tumwater School District. The Olympia Waldorf . . . — — Map (db m294375) HM
In the Beginning
In early days, communities used bucket brigades to deliver water, ladders to reach higher floors, and hooks on poles to create fire breaks.
Alert Hook & Ladder
After a series of suspicious fires, thought to be . . . — — Map (db m309420) HM
Born in Brunswick, Maine, September 4th, 1838. Died in Olympia, Washington, December 26th, 1901. Twice governor of Washington.
Philosopher and statesman. Author of the Barefoot School Boy Law, which gives to every poor son of this . . . — — Map (db m83695) HM
This stretch of public shoreline—a part of the Washington State Capitol Campus—is named in honor of the first U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials, which took place in Olympia on May 12, 1984. Competitors in that historic race ran 26.2 . . . — — Map (db m128630) HM
The Masonic Temple was built in 1854 by the first Masonic Lodge in Washington, Olympia Lodge No 1 F. and A. M. It was built on land donated by Edmund Sylvester who had platted the town of Olympia in 1850. Designed in a classical style, the . . . — — Map (db m91488) HM
In gratitude to those who sacrificed their freedom in the service of our country. We, the citizens of the State of Washington dedicated this monument to honor all former American Prisoners of War, those still missing, and those Americans who may . . . — — Map (db m92618) WM
Black pioneer George Bush (c.1790-1863) helped establish the first non-Indigenous American settlement in Washington. George, his wife Isabella and others traveled the Oregon Trail to escape discrimination and prejudice in Missouri, only to arrive . . . — — Map (db m234226) HM
This tree is dedicated to
Senator Cal Anderson
as a tribute to his integrity, dignity and
courage in striving to make all citizens of
Washington Sqtate equal under the law.
May 2, 1948-August 4, 1995
Legislative service: November 1967- August . . . — — Map (db m294715) HM
1¼ miles north-west is a bronze tablet placed by Sacajawea Chapter D.A.R. marking site where Governor Stevens held council with Nisqually, Puyallup and Squaxon Indians, December 24-26, 1854. — — Map (db m304090) HM
The first William Winlock Miller High School opened on this site in 1907. Known as Olympia High School, it was the first high school building in lower Puget Sound, built on land donated by Mary McFadden Miller. In 1851 her husband William Winlock . . . — — Map (db m128577) HM
A seedling from the Gray's Harbor "Lone Tree"
which served as a maritime beacon since it
guided Captain Robert Gray into the harbor in 1792.
Placed in honor of Charles Tallmadge Conover
patriot, historian and writer, who dedicated
his life to . . . — — Map (db m58662) HM
The Medal of Honor is the highest distinction which can be awarded to a member of the Armed Forces of the United States. It is presented by the President in the name of Congress to an individual who while serving in the Armed Forces distinguished . . . — — Map (db m92619) WM
On June 6th 1870, in a time when women were barred from politics, 15 local women tested their citizenship rights by voting in a general election. After endearing themselves to the election judges in Grand Mound with a picnic dinner, seven Grand . . . — — Map (db m233377) HM
Named for Samuel E. Thurston, first Delegate to Congress from Oregon Territory, one year before Washington Territory was carved out of “North Oregon”
Traditional home of Nisqually, Squaxin Island and Upper Chehalis American Indian . . . — — Map (db m153964) HM
To the memory of
the citizens
of the State of Washington
who lost their lives
in the service of
the United States
during the World War
1917-1918. — — Map (db m291431) WM
Here, in February 1909, both Houses of the Washington Legislature authorized a vote by the State’s qualified voters to amend the Washington State Constitution to enable women to vote in all elections. Male voters of Washington approved the amendment . . . — — Map (db m255120) HM
On August 3, 1911, the Washington State Capitol Commission awarded first prize in a design competition for our state's new capitol to New York architects Walter R. Wilder and Harry K. White. Wilder and White were relatively unknown, young . . . — — Map (db m128611) HM
Noted women's suffrage advocate Susan B. Anthony was a guest at the Bigelow House on October 18, 1871. "Dine at Judge Bigelow's - his wife splendid, she wrote in her diary. Anthony later worked with Daniel and Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow to form . . . — — Map (db m287313) HM
The historic landscape of the West Capitol Campus honors the 1929 plan designed by the renowned Olmsted Brothers firm. A variety of trees, shrubs, flowers, woodlands and water bodies-incorporated with civic buildings, monuments and memorials-create . . . — — Map (db m288392) HM
After plans to replace the wooden Territorial Capitol on the present campus were abandoned in the mid-1890s, the Romanesque-style Thurston County Courthouse (now the “Old Capitol”) was purchased in 1901 to serve as the capitol building. A wing to . . . — — Map (db m293851) HM
From a Nisqually and Squaxin Island Indian lineage, Bily Frank, Jr. was born in 1931 on the treasured banks of the salmon-bearing Nisqually River glacial stream originating on the sacred Mountain Takhoma. Billy learned early of the Treaty of . . . — — Map (db m298010) HM
Home site of the first Territorial Governor of Washington Isaac Ingalls Stevens and his wife, Margaret Hazard Stevens and Territorial and future first State Governor Elisha P. Ferry and his wife, Sarah Kellogg Ferry. Erected in 1856 – Razed in . . . — — Map (db m291428) HM
Original meeting place, Olympia Lodge No. 1 F. & A.M., Dec. 11, 1852.
Laid by the M.W. Grand Lodge of F. & A.M. of Washington, Dec. 10. A.L. 5927.
Robert A. Wilson, Grand Master. — — Map (db m286842) HM
In 1993 nonprofit leaders Jean Sloan (Child Care Action Council) and Kathy Jordan (Olympia Early Learning Center) led efforts to transform Olympia's 1912 City Hall/Fire Station into a resource center for families. We are grateful for the leadership . . . — — Map (db m265440) HM
The two anchors on the Port Plaza pay tribute to the brave men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine and their role in defending the United States in World War II.
The Reserve Fleet
These anchors belonged to a Merchant Marine "Sea . . . — — Map (db m292958) HM
Alexander and Rebecca (Groundage) Howard emigrated from Massachusetts to Olympia in the late 1850s, just a few years after the town's founding. The Howards were among the earliest Black residents of Olympia and Washington Territory.
Shortly . . . — — Map (db m287308) HM
Purchased by: City of Olympia, September 16, 1887
Purchased from: McShane Bell Foundary [sic] Baltimore
Cost: 17 x 1509 pounds = $25,633
Shipped: from Baltimore to San Francisco to Seattle
Use: To call out volunteer fire . . . — — Map (db m308617) HM
You are standing on the Willamette Meridian, which is the principle survey line from which the rectangular surveys of Washington State
were commenced. William Ives, deputy surveyor, commenced the survey of the Willamette Meridian from the Initial . . . — — Map (db m301253) HM
Honoring and Remembering
all Washington State Women Veterans
who serve The United States of America
Yesterday - Today - Tomorrow — — Map (db m289266) WM
"My father's reading Lewis and Clark's Journal was the cause of our crossing the plains. We started the 1st of April, 1845..." Recollections by Andrew Jackson Chambers, 1904
And so it was that Thomas M. Chambers moved his family to . . . — — Map (db m292067) HM
Site of the Medicine Creek Treaty between governor I.I. Stevens and Puget Sound Indians 1854 marked by Sacajawea Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution 1922. — — Map (db m286083) HM
Pioneer lawyer and territorial legislator Daniel R. Bigelow (1824-1905) crossed the Oregon Trail and arrived in the new town of Olympia in late 1851. A Harvard educated attorney, he established a law practice, filed a 160 acre land claim east of . . . — — Map (db m291308) HM
The Lord Mansion was built for prominent
Olympia banker C.J. Lord and his wife
Elizabeth in the Mission Revival style
by local architect Joseph Wohleb.
Deeded to the state in 1939, the
house opened as the State
Capital Museum in 1942. — — Map (db m294729) HM
For more than 100 years, West Bay was a busy industrial
district. Wood products from that era built cities and towns
around the world and employed generations of workers.
Many of the West Side industries were family operations, often . . . — — Map (db m291810) HM
When quality grade sandstone was discovered here
quarrymen came from far and wide
to work. The sleepy junction town of Tenino sprang to life as a boomtown. The Tenino Stone Company Quarry's proximity to the first Tenino Depot provided easy . . . — — Map (db m294435) HM
This 25 foot wooden Caboose Car, X549, was one of forty-seven built by the Great Northern Railway at the Waite Park Car Shops in St. Cloud, Minnesota between April 1923 and November 1923 at a cost of approximately $1900.00. Its original number was . . . — — Map (db m280363) HM
World War I
Russell Wilcox •
Charles C. Cady •
Leon A. Beebe •
Ole E. Counts •
William T. Mullaney •
William Percy •
Gustave Prenxlau •
Olstead
World War II
George Pendarvis •
John Doyle •
Orange Cummings •
Lloyd . . . — — Map (db m294620) WM
From 1871 to 1873 the Northern Pacific Railroad constructed the “Prairie Line” from Kalama on the Columbia River to Tacoma on Puget Sound. With the coming of the railroad, logging and milling operations moved inland along the rails. Many of these . . . — — Map (db m192407) HM
This building once served as the Hercules
Stone Company office at Hercules Quarry
No.1. It was designed by Walter Scheel. The main
offices were upstairs while the lower floor was the
drafting department. When Hercules went
bankrupt, the City . . . — — Map (db m298038) HM
The Tenino Stone Company wasn't the only Sandstone Quarry Operation in town, but it was the first, and its site, the most iconic. The first Quarry Office was located where the Tenino Depot Museum is today. This second Quarry Office (now called the . . . — — Map (db m294669) HM
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn;
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We will remember them."
4th stanza from the poem.
"For the . . . — — Map (db m294635) HM WM
This delightful two-and-a-half story home dates from the optimistic age at the turn of the 20th century. By then Tumwater had blossomed from a tiny pioneer village into a very promising town with electric streetcars, a railroad spur and a highly . . . — — Map (db m292668) HM
The Crosby House dates back to a time when pioneer mills and factories clustered around the waterfalls at the mouth of the Deschutes River. It stands on its original site, looking much the same now as it did in the mid-1800s—although the . . . — — Map (db m292685) HM
Near this location passed an important traditional trading path. First forged by game animals, later followed by Native Americans, fur-traders from the Hudson's Bay Company, and American pioneers who established a permanent settlement here in 1845. . . . — — Map (db m254647) HM
Registered State Historic Place
Washington State Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
Crosby House
Under the provisions of the State Historic Preservation Act of 1967, this property possesses particular value in commemorating . . . — — Map (db m118809) HM
The Little Railroad That Could
Early in 1870, Washington Territory buzzed with the news that a railroad was headed this way. The Northern Pacific Railway was building a line from Minnesota to the tiny port of Kalama, on the Columbia River, and . . . — — Map (db m292006) HM
One of the earliest railroad lines in Thurston County began in 1878 and eventually became known as the Port Townsend Southern Railroad (PTSRR) in 1890. The original rail line construction was spearheaded by Thurston County residents hoping to . . . — — Map (db m292790) HM
Here the Deschutes River cascades into Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound, where the old Oregon Trail ended, the arduous route of hardy pioneers of the West. With determined disregard for British opposition to their settlement north . . . — — Map (db m301779) HM
This was the first brewing kettle installed by the modern Olympia Brewery after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. The first brew was completed in October of that year and beer sales began on January 14, 1934. This copper kettle was used for beer . . . — — Map (db m301748) HM
