Throughout 2023 we’ll be exploring the origins of area place names. Three creeks, a hill, a prairie, a heritage oak tree, and a street in Thurston County are all named for the Schneider family, early area settlers. Pictured here is Swedish-born Albertina Schneider, wife of Konrad Schneider. She was a long-time resident of West Bay Drive, where she and her children operated a farm and wharf at the foot of Schneider Hill. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, olympiahistory.org. Courtesy Ron Secrist, Schneider descendant