Location: 1821 Water St SW
South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood, Women’s History
Andsworth Chambers/Flo Brodie House 1939, Thurston County Assessor, Southwest Regional Archives |
Andsworth Chambers/Flo Brodie House today (2013), photo by Deb Ross |
Although modest in size, this home in the South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood is associated with two prominent Olympia citizens.
Andsworth (or Answorth) Chambers was the son of very early pioneer David and Elizabeth Harrison Chambers. Working on the family farm in Lacey (now the location of Panorama retirement community), he decided on butchering as a career. He built up the business to the point where he was shipping processed meat all over Washington Territory, specializing in logging camps. The Chambers and Swanton meat market was located at the current site of the Security Building downtown. Chambers later became involved in politics, serving as mayor for three terms and as state legislator. He was involved in many local businesses, and in 1887 built the Chambers Block, one of the oldest surviving structures in downtown Olympia.
The house at 1821 Water Street, built around 1910, is connected with the Andsworth Chambers family, and is consistently listed as a dwelling in city directories and Sanborn maps; although tenants may have included family members while Andsworth and his wife Mary lived nearby. Although the Thurston County inventory sheet states that the building was used as the office of Chambers Packing, this can’t be confirmed through existing documents or contemporary Sanborn maps.
In mid-twentieth century, Flo Brodie and her husband Doane, an attorney, moved to Olympia. They lived in this home, where Flo befriended neighbor Margaret McKenny. With others, Brodie and McKenny were responsible for helping to preserve the Nisqually Delta from development. Brodie was active in historic, artistic, and environmental causes, and was named Environmentalist of the Year in 1975.
The home is not on the local register, but is located in the South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood.
Women’s History Walking Tour, Flo Brodie House
South Capitol National Historic Neighborhood
For more information on the Chambers family, see the Residents section of this website.
Copyright © 2022 Deborah Ross