James Tilton Pickett – 4/17/22
James Tilton Pickett was the son of General George Pickett, of Gettysburg infamy, and Sâkis Tiigang, a Haida woman. George Pickett was a close friend of Olympia surveyor James Tilton,…
Tumwater School – 4/10/22
Pictured here is the first Tumwater School and its students, along with principal Frank Clem and the school’s teachers. The school was located at 2nd Avenue between “D” and “C”…
Charles Burmeister – 4/3/22
Charles Burmeister was a well-known Olympia saloon keeper for decades. He first operated an establishment on Fourth Avenue (pictured in our July 26, 2020, Looking Back feature). He later moved…
Peterfield Turpin 3/27/22
Peterfield Turpin was an early American settler in Olympia, Washington Territory, arriving in 1858. President Buchanan appointed him to be a Land Office surveyor, and he held several other public…
History of Olympia, Washington
[Captured from Wayback Machine from deleted City of Olympia website pages] Native Roots Located on the southernmost point of Puget Sound, the peninsula known as Olympia was Steh-Chass to…
History of the Washington Center for the Performing Arts
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia pages] By Ed Echtle Introduction For nearly 90 years, the theater on South Washington Street in Olympia has served as…
History of Olympia Fire Department
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia pages] The Beginning Olympia’s first fire fighting unit, Barnes’ Hook and Ladder Brigade, was organized in the early 1850’s. Columbia…
Chronology of Elected Officials
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia pages. Links in green typeface were in original document; links with blue typeface are provided by OHS/BH to other pages…
Mosquito Fleet
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia pages] What is the Mosquito Fleet? The Mosquito Fleet was the myriad of steamboats that served the Puget Sound’s shipping and…
E.N. Steele
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia pages] E.N. Steele About E. N. (Earl) Steele was born April 19, 1881 in Altoona, Iowa, the son of John…
Caleb Reinhart
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia pages] Caleb S Reinhart About Caleb Reinhart was the son of Stephen and Sarah Reinhart, pioneers who crossed the plains…
William Winlock Miller
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia pages] About The following information is reprinted from a poster on display at Olympia High School (formally dedicated as William…
Francis Henry
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia page] Francis Henry Birth: January 27, 1827, Galena, Il Death: September 27, 1893, Olympia, WA Spouse: Eliza B. Henry (Married Yam Hill, Oregon,…
Elwood Evans
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia page] About On January 28, 1859 the Washington State Territorial Legislature adopted Articles of Incorporation for the Town of Olympia, and appointed…
Thornton McElroy
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia page] Thornton F. McElroy Born: West Middletown, Pennsylvania, 1825 Died: February 4, 1885 (Buried Masonic Cemetary, Olympia) Spouse: Sarah Elizabeth (Bates) McElroy (Married…
George Barnes
[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia page] Born: Dundee (Yates County), New York Died: November 18, 1912, Olympia, Washington. Spouse: Mary Ann Kandle (Married July 1842) About Started from…
Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias – 3/20/22
Fraternal organizations were immensely popular in the latter part of the 19th century. Pictured here are Olympia members of the Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias (KoP). According to a history…
Elizabeth Ayer – 3/13/22
Pictured here is Olympia native and resident Elizabeth Ayer, the first female to graduate from the University of Washington architectural school. Ayer was responsible for several important homes in Olympia…
Black Pioneers Walking Tour
Trifold brochure produced by the City of Olympia Olympia Area Black Pioneers
Toone James family – 3/6/22
Pictured here is the James family, including father Toone James (Chinese name approximates to Gim Dune), his wife Nettie Chiang and their five children. Most Chinese in Olympia at the…
Children of Joseph Conner – 2/20/22
Joseph Conner and his family arrived in Thurston County in 1852, the peak year of the Oregon Trail migration. The family settled in what is now Lacey. Joseph was killed…
Bordeaux Donkey Engine – 2/13/22
The former logging community of Bordeaux, Washington, located in Capitol Forest, was founded in the late 1800s by two brothers. It grew over the years to include a hotel, school,…
Dog Show at the Armory – 2/6/22
The historic Olympia Armory is soon to be converted to a city-sponsored Creative Campus. In addition to serving the Washington National Guard, the Armory was a venue for social gatherings,…
Washington Standard – 1/30/22
Shown in this 1910 photo are the office and staff members of Olympia’s Washington Standard, published by John Miller Murphy. The paper espoused progressive causes such as female suffrage, abolition…
1/23/22 – Clara White Dunbar
The White family, consisting of William and Margaret White and their children, were among the earliest American settlers in Washington Territory. Margaret and her three daughters later all settled within…
Greg Griffith
Greg Griffith has served the Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum (OHS & BHM) as President of the Board of Trustees from 2022 to the present, having been elected…
1-16-22 – James Madison Alden view of Main Street
The watercolor reproduced here was painted in 1857 by James Madison Alden, nephew of James Alden, commander for the U.S. Coast Survey in the 1850s. It is the oldest known…
1-9-22 – Chambers Butcher Shop
The extended Chambers family were among the earliest settlers in Thurston County. David and Elizabeth Chambers’ sons Andsworth and Walter set up as butchers in Olympia, with a long-running…
1-2-2022 – Inaugural Ball 1941
The historic Olympia Armory is soon to be converted to a city-sponsored Creative Commons. In addition to serving the Washington National Guard since the late 1930s, the Armory was a…
12/26/2021 – Sylvester Mansion
Throughout 2021 we have been featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The cityscape project portrays what Sylvester Park and Olympia might…
12/12/21 – Hazard Stevens
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. Pictured in the 1874 cityscape is Hazard Stevens. He was the son of…
11/28/21 – Mary Ann Bigelow
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 2001 cityscape includes Mary Ann Bigelow. Mrs. Bigelow, an artist and author,…
Dixy Lee Ray – 11/21/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1972 cityscape features Dixy Lee Ray, who was elected in 1978 as…
Amanda Benek Smith – 11/14/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. Pictured in the 1950 cityscape is Amanda Benek Smith. In 1953, Smith was…
Belle Reeves – 11/7/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from artist Robert Chamberlain’s Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. Pictured in the 1933 cityscape is Washington Secretary of State Belle…
Thurston County Courthouse (Old State Capitol) – 10/31/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1899 cityscape features the beautiful building that graces…
Spring 2022 Printing of Thurston County: Water, Woods and Prairies Now Available
Produced by the Thurston County Board of Commissioners and the Thurston County Historic Commission, and distributed by the Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum, Thurston County: Water, Woods and…
Bigelow House Photograph Collection
Thanks to a generous grant from the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation., we have been able to scan over 200 items from the Bigelow House‘s collection of family…
Friends and Neighbors
In addition to family photos, the Bigelow family collected dozens of photographs of friends and neighbors in the form of “cartes de visite,” a type of photographic calling card popular…
Korean Girls’ Seminary, Hawaii
In 1916 and 1917, Margaret Bigelow went to Honolulu, Hawaii by boat to teach at the Korean Girls’ Seminary, established by Syngman Rhee in 1916 in the Puunui area on…
Pastimes – Camping
Many Olympia families took to campsites in the summertime for fun, recreation, and get-togethers. The images on this page show a beachfront shack that the Bigelows repaired to in the…
Pastimes – Boating
Living close to Budd Inlet and Priest Point Park, the Bigelow family enjoyed waterfront activities. These images are iconic snapshots of water sports that many families around Olympia enjoyed during…
Pastimes – Fun with friends
The Bigelow children enjoyed a wide variety of friends and social activities. The images on this page show some of the many get-togethers they experienced as young adults in the…
Bigelow Garden
Daniel R. Bigelow claimed and was granted 160 acres under the Oregon Donation Land Law. The property included a spring which remains flowing on the property. Daniel and his wife…
Bigelow House
The Bigelow House, listed on local, state and national registers of historic places, was built by 1860 and is a fine example of the Carpenter Gothic style. The house, which…
The White Family
Margaret Stewart was born in Ohio in 1819, the daughter of Ann McLaughlin (1795-1847) and Reverend William Stewart (1794-1885). Margaret married William Nathan White in Illinois in 1835. William Nathan…
Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow
Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow 1913-2005 Mary Ann Campbell married Daniel Sylvester Bigelow in 1935 and moved into the Bigelow House sharing it first with Margaret and then for many years…
Daniel Sylvester Bigelow
Daniel Sylvester Bigelow 1911-2005 Daniel Bigelow was the oldest child of George Royal and Edith Sylvester Bigelow. He followed in the family tradition of law, graduating from the University of…
George Royal Bigelow
George Royal Bigelow 1881-1961 The youngest of the D. R. and Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow family attended Tacoma High School (with Margaret) and Ohio Wesleyan University before graduating from the…
Richardson Lee (Ray) Bigelow
Richardson Lee (Ray) Bigelow 1873-1967 Ray Bigelow married Belle Knox (1878-1927) in 1900. They had one child. Ray was working as a dairyman in 1910 and he worked at Sloan…
Ruth Bigelow
Ruth Bigelow 1860-1950 Ruth worked at the Territorial Legislature as a “Messenger” in 1879 and was attending Union Academy also in 1879. She passed teacher exam that same year. It…
Duncan Jotham Bigelow
Duncan Jotham Bigelow 1871-1945 Duncan Bigelow attended the Olympia Collegiate Institute, graduating in 1892. He later owned a large dairy farm on land near Bigelow Lake where he had an…
Margaret Bigelow
Margaret Bigelow 1878 -1937 Margaret was the youngest of the Bigelow daughters. She graduated from Tacoma High School and taught in several schools locally. She later graduated from Ellensburg Normal…
Evaline Bigelow
Evaline Bigelow 1858-1959 Evaline attended the Union Academy and taught in schools in several areas of western Washington before her marriage to William Bonney (1856-1945) in 1882. Both William and…
Tirzah Bigelow
Tirzah Bigelow 1855-1927 Tirzah was the oldest of the Bigelow children. She attended Union Academy, founded by Daniel Bigelow, and taught in the Olympia and Tacoma area. She married the…
Daniel Richardson Bigelow
Daniel Richardson Bigelow 1824-1905 Daniel Bigelow was born in New York and graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York and read law at Harvard before coming west in 1851…
The Bigelow Family
The Bigelow Family After their marriage in 1854, Daniel Richardson and Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow raised a large family at the Bigelow House. Click on individual pages in the Bigelow…
Ann Elizabeth Bigelow
Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow 1836-1926 Born 1836 in Springfield, Illinois, Ann Elizabeth White traveled with her family over the Oregon Trail in 1851. After teaching for a number of years,…
10/24/21 – Marshville Bridge
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1874 cityscape includes the Marshville Bridge, built in 1869 to connect downtown…
10/10/21 – Farmer’s Market
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 2001 cityscape features the Olympia Farmers Market, near the northern tip of…
October 3, 2021 – Robert Chamberlain
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from artist Robert Chamberlain’s Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. Many interesting and charming surprises are included in each cityscape. In…
Margaret McKenny – 9/26/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1950 cityscape depicts Margaret McKenny in conversation with a young man who…
Josephine Corliss Preston – 9/19/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. In the 1933 cityscape we see the Old State Capitol Building, which had…
Olympia Opera House – 9/12/2021
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. At the far right of the 1899 cityscape is the Olympia Opera House,…
Capitol Center building – 9/5/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. Shown in the distance of the 1972 cityscape is the Capitol Center Building,…
Mother Joseph – 8/29/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1899 cityscape includes an elderly Mother Joseph visiting St. Peter’s Hospital, one…
Isaac Ellis – 8/22/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1874 cityscape includes Isaac (Ike) Ellis. Ellis was a noted and successful…
George Bush – 8/15/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1856 cityscape includes George Bush, early American settler. He and the Simmons…
Heritage Fountain – 8/8/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 2001 cityscape includes the popular Heritage Fountain, between Fourth and Fifth Avenues.…
Joyce Simmons Cheeka – 8/1/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1972 cityscape includes Joyce Simmons Cheeka, Squaxin Island Tribe activist. Mrs. Cheeka…
5th Avenue dam construction – 7/24/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1950 cityscape features construction of the Fifth Avenue dam and bridge to…
Hotel Olympian – 7/18/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. When the state acquired the Old State Capitol Building and moved the seat of government…
S.S. Beaver – 7/11/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The S.S. Beaver, pictured in the 1856 cityscape, was the first steam-operated vessel…
Bicycles – 7/4/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1899 cityscape features a bicycle parade around the grounds of Sylvester Park.…
Bertha Eugley – 6/27/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. In the 1899 cityscape we see Bertha Eugley in front of her millinery…
Anna Conner Hartsuck – 6/20/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1874 cityscape includes Anna Conner Hartsuck, a so-called “Mercer Girl,” brought to…
Clara Sylvester – 6/13/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1856 cityscape depicts Clara Pottle Sylvester with her husband, Olympia’s co-founder Edmund…
Bulletin – 6/1/21
June 1, 2021 To all our very valued Bulletin recipients, Due to increasing personal time constraints, I am reluctantly stepping away from writing the Bulletin. My association with OHS-BHM…
Barbara O’Neill – 6/6/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. Barbara O’Neill, pictured in the 2001 cityscape, was a commanding presence in our…
Memorial Clinic – 5/23/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1950 cityscape begins to include some of downtown Olympia’s iconic mid-Century architecture.…
Security Building – 5/16/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The Security Building on Fourth Avenue, pictured in the 1933 cityscape, was Olympia’s first “skyscraper,”…
Trolleys – 5/9/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1899 cityscape shows one of Olympia’s five yellow trolleys proceeding southward on…
First Congregational Church – 5/2/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. Religious communities have always played an important role in the life of our…
Washington Center – 4/18/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The site of the Washington Center for the Performing Arts has been an…
Governor Hotel – 4/11/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The 1972 cityscape pictures The Governor Hotel at the corner of 7th and…
Lower Main Street – 4/4/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. In its early decades, as seen in the 1856 cityscape, Olympia’s commercial core…
3/28/21 – Miller’s
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. The Miller’s Department Store building was erected at Legion Way and Capitol Way…
Washington Veneer – 3/21/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. With the completion of the Carlyon Fill in 1911, the port area of…
3/14/21 – Sylvester Park with 7th Avenue “lid”
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. This photo, taken from the Old State Capitol building, shows Sylvester Park around…
3/7/21 – Washington Standard
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. John Miller Murphy, prolific, opinionated, long-lived editor of the Washington Standard, came to Olympia…
2/28/21 – Leschi
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. Leschi, a member of the Nisqually tribe, was designated a leader of the…
2/21/21 – Procession of the Species
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. In 1995, Earthbound Productions founder Eli Sterling spearheaded the Procession of the Species,…
2/14/21 – KGY
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. Radio station KGY is one of the oldest on the Pacific Coast, licensed…
2/7/2021- Centennial Parade
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. In May 1950, Olympia held a week-long celebration of our city’s centennial. The…
Little Hollywood – 1/31/21
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. A neighborhood known as Little Hollywood had existed for many years along the…
Ann Olson
A native Washingtonian, Ann was born in eastern Washington and raised in Tacoma. She moved to Olympia in January, 1971 and for most of those nearly 47 years has been…
David Goularte
David has always been interested in history. His maternal great great grandfather Joseph de Bettencourt came to California shortly after the Civil War to work on the western portion of…
Sylvester Park – 1/25/2021
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. After the construction of the magnificent Thurston County Courthouse, now the Office of…
Columbia Hall – 1/17/2021
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. Columbia Hall, pictured in the 1874 cityscape, was built in 1869 on 4th…
Konrad Schneider – 1/10/2021
Throughout 2021 we are featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. In 1856, Olympia’s cofounder Edmund Sylvester was overseeing construction of his Italianate mansion,…
Charles Wilkes – 1/3/2021
Throughout 2021 we will be featuring events and people from the Sylvester’s Window cityscape project, now available online. In 1838, an American naval officer, Charles Wilkes, was given command of…
Admittance Day – 12/27/2020
In this image from November 1939, a group of Cub Scouts participates in a parade celebrating the Golden Anniversary of Washington’s admittance as a state into the Union. The float,…
GP Tester – 12/20/2020
Manufacturing giant Georgia Pacific took over the Washington Veneer plywood plant in Olympia and built its headquarters in the Port area, a building noted for its modern architecture demonstrating the…
Ron Dodge – 12/13/2020
Olympia native Ron Dodge was a 19 year old up-and-coming baseball player for Tacoma’s Cheney Studs when this photograph was taken of him in 1955. After playing for several different…
Ken Balsley – 12/6/2020
A young Ken Balsley poses for his photograph, accompanying an article from 1971 that identified him as a student representative to The Evergreen State College Board of Trustees. Ken has…
Land Office – 11/29/2020
Throughout much of the 19th century, citizens were entitled to claim acreage under a series of federal laws designed to encourage Americans to settle in Western territories and states. As…
Vote for Olympia poster – 11/22/2020
When Washington achieved statehood in 1889, it was by no means a foregone conclusion that Olympia would remain the capital of the new state. A concerted campaign featuring posters like…
Oxen team at Bordeaux – 11/15/2020
The Bordeaux logging community was established in the 1880s by French Canadian-born Thomas Bordeaux. Before the advent of a logging railroad, teams of oxen laboriously pulled the huge logs along…
Diamond Jubilee Cake – 11/8/2020
Washington State celebrated its Diamond Jubilee (75th anniversary) in November 1964 with a 600 pound cake. Although there had been concerns that the cake would not fit inside the doors…
Olympia High School football team of 1909 – 10/25/2020
The Olympia High School football team of 1909 included the children of many of Olympia’s most prominent citizens. The sweaters, emblazoned with a capital “O,” were made at Olympia Knitting…
Hays children at Governor’s Mansion – 10/18/2020
It may surprise some that there was no Washington State-owned Governor’s Mansion until 1909. The current mansion on Capitol Campus was first occupied by Governor Marion Hay and his family.…
Donald Anthony White demonstration – 10/11/2020
Donald Anthony White, a young Black man, was sentenced to death after being convicted of murder. Protesters against the death penalty, including folk singer Joan Baez, convened on the steps…
Franklin Roosevelt in Olympia – 10/4/2020
On October 1, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt went on a whirlwind tour of the Olympic Peninsula, and then stopped for a few minutes in Olympia. Rain throughout the day…
Velodrome – 9/27/2020
Bicycles and bicycle racing were immensely popular at the turn of the 20th century. A velodrome (bicycle racing arena) was constructed near the current site of Olympia High School, and…
Olympia Cafe – 9/20/2020
In 1914, photographer Robert Esterley took a series of photographs documenting downtown businesses, their owners, and staff. Shown here is The Olympia Cafe at 116 4th Avenue. It was owned…
Olympia Brewing Company poster – 9/16/2020
Leopold Schmidt began brewing beer in 1896 at the foot of Tumwater Falls. By 1906 he had built the large complex seen in this advertising poster. The Old Brewhouse building,…
Sky River II – 9/6/2020
In 1969, the second annual Sky River Rock Festival took place in Tenino over Labor Day weekend. (The first Sky River was in Snohomish County.) Held over the objections of…
Burmeister Saloon – 7/26/2020
In 1853, Charles Burmeister established one of the earliest saloons in Olympia. It was located on Fourth Avenue and Washington Street, where the State Theater is now. This photograph from…
McClarty Orchestra – 8/23/2020
The Olympia jazz scene was hopping in the 1930s and 1940s, with both local and nationally known groups performing in several area venues. In this photo from that era, Olympia’s…
Mary O’Neil – 8/16/2020
Mary O’Neil was one of the earliest territorial schoolteachers, arriving in Olympia in 1863. In 1910, several of her former students gathered to honor her, posing here on the steps…
George Adams – 8/30/2020
George Adams, a member of the Skokomish Tribe in Mason County, was one of the first Native Americans elected to the Washington State Legislature, serving for sixteen years. In this…
Sylvester’s Window: 2001 – Arts Walk
Click on image to view larger image (tip: if you have two monitors, it may be helpful to open the image while you browse the accompanying materials) Narrative Research Meet…
Sylvester’s Window: 1950 – Grand Parade of Progress
Click on image to view larger image (tip: if you have two monitors, it may be helpful to open the image while you browse the accompanying materials) Narrative Research Meet…
Sylvester’s Window: 1972 – The Big Snow
Click on image to view larger image (tip: if you have two monitors, it may be helpful to open the image while you browse the accompanying materials) Narrative Research Meet…
Sylvester’s Window: 1933 – The Hunger March
Click on image to view larger image (tip: if you have two monitors, it may be helpful to open the image while you browse the accompanying materials) Narrative Research Meet…
Sylvester’s Window: 1899 – The Century’s Last Fourth of July
Click on image to view larger image (tip: if you have two monitors, it may be helpful to open the image while you browse the accompanying materials) Narrative Research Meet…
Sylvester’s Window: 1874 – Building a Railroad
Click on image to view larger image (tip: if you have two monitors, it may be helpful to open the image while you browse the accompanying materials) Narrative Research Meet…
Sylvester’s Window: 1856 – The Indian War
Click on image to view larger image (tip: if you have two monitors, it may be helpful to open the image while you browse the accompanying materials). The Narrative page…
Sylvester’s Window: 1841 – Cheetwoot
Click on image to view larger image (tip: if you have two monitors, it may be helpful to open the image while you browse the accompanying materials). The Narrative page…
Fourth Avenue Bridge – 8/9/2020
The Fourth Avenue Bridge shown here was completed in 1921, replacing a faulty drawbridge. The new bridge accommodated a trolley line from downtown to West Olympia, as well as foot,…
Rutledge and Littlerock – 8/2/2020
Albert Rutledge, son of pioneer Thomas Rutledge, stands behind the rock that gives Littlerock, Washington its name, in this photo from 1963. The Rutledge family settled here in 1855. The…
Elmer Plumb – 7/19/2020
Elmer Plumb, son of early pioneers, operated a cigar and confectionary store in the Cowling Building at 117 Washington Street (the building still exists, in the National Downtown Historic District).…
Genealogy Resources
(Legacy page from Roger Easton’s WAResearcher website). Not all links are still active List of Thurston County Pioneer Settlers Pioneer Biographies Genealogy Resources in Washington State Archives Holdings Inventory…
Easton Collection
The pages below are legacy pages from the late Roger Easton’s website, WAResearcher.com, copied here by permission from Easton’s literary executor, Ed Echtle. Not all links are still active. Washington…
Washington State Archives, Southwest Regional Branch Collections Abstract
Note: This is an abridged version of the above. It contains a listing of records Roger Easton, a volunteer at SW Archives, selected and transcribed, for those interested in family…
Capitol Lake swimming area – 7/12/2020
When the Capitol Lake recreation area opened in summer 1964, it was an instant hit with adults and children alike. Here an unidentified grownup makes a big splash while trying…
1908 Suffrage Float – 7/5/2020
The 1908 Fourth of July parade in downtown Olympia featured a float, dubbed the Liberty Car, promoting the drive for women’s suffrage. Women dressed in white, the emblem of the…
Wooden Pipes – 6/28/2020
Early public water systems used wooden pipes to carry water underground to homes and businesses. One major manufacturer of wooden pipes was the National Wood Pipe company, located about where…
Fourth Avenue in 1860s – 6/21/2020
This drawing of Fourth Avenue, reproduced in an 1891 edition of the Olympia Tribune, was based on an earlier photograph, now lost. It shows Fourth Avenue, looking west. The building…
Civil War veterans – 6/14/2020
A group of Washington State Civil War veterans gathered for a convention in Olympia in 1934, posing here for their photograph in the Old State Capitol Building (now Superintendent of…
Ernest Cheeka – 6/7/2020
In 1964, Ernest Cheeka, Jr., was named chief of the Makah Tribe. Cheeka, then a resident of Olympia, took the Indian name of Khulchoot. He is pictured here with a…
The Importance of Being Earnest – 5/31/2020
Our focus this month has been Thurston County’s long love affair with amateur theatrics. School dramatic performances have always been popular with students and parents alike. In this Daily Olympian…
Whirl O’ The Town – 5/24/2020
Our focus this month is Thurston County’s long love affair with amateur theatrics. In 1908 a performance of The Whirl O’ the Town was staged at the 1,000-seat Olympia Opera…
Minstrels – 5/17/2020
Our focus this month is Thurston County’s long love affair with amateur theatrics. Unlike some other kinds of comedy routines, men dressing as women never seems to go out of…
Chimes of Normandy – 5/3/2020
Our focus this month is Thurston County’s long love affair with amateur theatrics. In this image from 1888, members of the St. John’s Musical Society perform a number from the…
4/12/2020 – Mann’s Seeds
Frank Sparks looks over an antique prescription case in this photograph from 1965. His grandfather was Champion Mann, who first operated a pharmacy downtown, and later opened Mann’s Seeds, at…
4/5/2020 – Abbie Howard Hunt Stuart
Abbie Howard Hunt, born and college-educated in Massachusetts, came west to seek a career. She eventually married Robert Stuart, a Federal lands commissioner, and moved to Olympia. Abbie was an…
3/29/2020 – Lurana Percival
Meet Lurana Ware Percival. The Percivals were early arrivals to Olympia. Samuel Wing Percival operated a lumber mill and store, and established Percival Wharf, now Percival Landing, in order to…
3/15/2020 – Marlon Brando is arrested
In March 1964, Marlon Brando arrived in our area to support Native American tribes as they challenged the state’s interpretation of fishing treaty rights. He was arrested for his efforts.…
Abbreviations, legends and keys used in Sanborn colored maps
These are abbreviations used in Sanborn colored maps. Link here for abbreviations used in black and white maps.
Abbreviations used on Black and White Sanborn Maps
These are abbreviations used by the Sanborn company in its black and white maps. Link here for abbreviations used in colored maps
CC and Asenath Ann Kennedy Simmons – 3/8/2020
In 1864, Asenath Ann Kennedy and Christopher Columbus (CC) Simmons eloped via a “rudely fashioned rowboat.” Asenath Ann was only 14, and CC 19. Legend has it that Asenath Ann…
Makah protestors – 3/1/2020
As the “fish wars” asserting Native American fishing rights heated up in the mid-1960s, protests regularly occurred at the Legislative Building. In this photograph from March 1964, a group of…
Road Runners – 2/23/2020
Roadrunners of Olympia was a hot rod club for teenage boys, aimed at “giving teenage boys good things to do.” The boys helped motorists, engaged in car talk, and enjoyed…
Olympia High School Band – 2/16/2020
Music has always been an important feature of Olympia life. In this photo from around 1915, instructor Benjamin McClelland is seated with members of the Olympia High School Band. McClelland’s…
Port of Olympia – 2/2/2020
In February 1938, Ann Nielsen’s Scottish father was aboard the Pacific Pioneer, a British cargo ship that arrived at the Port of Olympia, loading fresh fruit and lumber bound for…
Sherwood Press – 1/19/20
Jocelyn Dohm founded the Sherwood Press in 1940 to produce high-quality printed material using traditional techniques. Here, in a photo from 1964, Miss Dohm is creating stationery for the Olympia…
Ted Burntrager – 1/12/20
Ted Burntrager, long-time Olympia resident, demonstrates how to mount a “pennyfarthing,” or high wheeled bicycle. The bicycle was on display at Talcott Jewelers, a long-time Olympia store that sold jewelry,…
Jeannette Whitcher pays it forward – 1/5/20
Jeannette Whitcher understood the concept of “pay it forward” before it became a byword. In this January 1964 photo, she and Olympia Vocational Technical Institute classmate Paul Golden view a…
Rotunda castle – 12/29/19
Carpenter Bill Soller put his talents into action to create this Disneyesque castle for the holiday display at the Legislative Building Rotunda in 1963. Soller is shown at the entrance…
Washington Junior High Glee Club – 12/2/19
The Daily Olympian captured youngsters from Washington Junior High School in December 1963 as they practiced for an upcoming Christmas concert. Pictured here are Freddy Dobler, Tom Cooper, and Doug…
Frost girls – 11/24/19
Meet the four daughters of Olympia merchant Robert Frost: Carrie, Annie, Nellie and Florence (Floy). The Frost home was on the east side of Olympia, near East Bay Drive. Photograph…
Union Pacific Depot – 11/17/19
The Union Pacific depot on Fourth Avenue is shown here in a photo from the 1920s. The depot was later the site of a tragic 1959 accident involving runaway freight…
All-Woman Jury Trial in Olympia
Note: Links in this article are to Residents and/or Where Are We? entries on our website for the individuals and organizations named. The issue of jury service for women was…
First All-Woman Jury in Washington State
After most women in Washington permanently achieved the right to vote on November 8, 1910 with the ratification of an amendment to the Washington State Constitution, the first all-women jury…
History of Women’s Suffrage in Olympia
Excerpted in part from Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices: The Campaign for Equal Rights in Washington by Shanna Stevenson, published by the Washington State Historical Society 2009. Copyright Washington State Historical…
Minnie Mossman Hill – 11/10/19
A former resident of Olympia, Minnie Mossman Hill was the first licensed female steamship captain. She navigated some of the most treacherous waters on the Pacific Coast, the mouth of…
New Voting Machine – 11/3/19
League of Women Voters members Mrs. Jess Spielholz and Mrs. Frank Calkins receive instructions from Thurston County auditor Wes Leach on the workings of the new voting machine in Olympia,…
Margaret McKenny autographs books for youngsters – 10/20/19
Renowned and beloved mycologist (mushroom expert) Margaret McKenny meets with young Freddy Dobler, Gary Bichsel and Greg Bichsel at Pat’s Bookery in downtown Olympia, to autograph her book The Savory…
John Grace – 9/29/19
John Grace is a cherished member of Olympia’s music-loving community. Blind from early childhood, Grace has operated a piano tuning service for over five decades. He is shown here in…
Loyal Women at Emma Page fountain – 9/22/19
Emma Page was a noted temperance advocate. A fountain at the corner of Sylvester Park commemorates her work to promote water as a healthy alternative to alcohol. A trough at…
China Clipper – 9/15/19
The China Clipper, now the Clipper Cafe, is an iconic establishment in downtown Olympia. In this photograph from 1963, owner CY Wong is at work in the restaurant’s kitchen. The…
Washington State Teachers’ Association – 9/8/19
The Washington State Teachers Association, now the Washington Education Association, is one of the state’s oldest professional associations. In this photograph from April 1889, its charter members and their families…
Lincoln Crossing Guards – 9/1/19
Lincoln Elementary School crossing guards sported new fluorescent vests for the start of the 1963 school year. Pictured here are fifth graders Charles Barron and Mary Thomson, assisting young Susie…
Pet Parade – 8/25/19
The annual Pet Parade, sponsored by the Olympian, is a long-standing late summer tradition. In this photo from 1964, four-year-old Jeff Hettler dresses as his favorite Beatle, John. His pet…
Waiting for Taft – 8/19/19
In 1909, President William Howard Taft took a tour of Washington State. This photo commemorates the day that residents of Lacey came out in force to cheer on the president…
Null Set – 8/11/19
The Null Set coffee house opened in West Olympia in August 1964, owned by Pat and Pete Holm and Bonnie and Bob Gillis. In addition to serving coffee and pastries,…
Mary Olney Brown – 8/4/19
Mary Olney Brown, an early area settler, was a medical practitioner, poet, and ardent suffragist. In 1870 she attempted to vote in Thurston County but was turned away. Several other…
Petroglyph – 7/28/19
A group of workers carefully places a large stone, called a petroglyph, at the Olympia Tumwater Foundation’s headquarters at Tumwater Falls Park. The stone, inscribed with multiple tribal symbols, had…
Henry Harris – 7/21/19
A young Henry Harris looks distinctly unimpressed at being photographed in his smart kilted suit. The Harris family were prominent Olympia merchants and active in the Jewish community. Their store…
Olympia Women’s Suffrage Trail
The Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum has created an Olympia Women’s Suffrage Trail to highlight the important contributions Olympia residents made toward the goal of votes for women.…
July 4, 1889 – 7/7/19
On July 4, 1889 the S.S. T.J. Potter and the S.S. Fleetwood, members of Puget Sound’s Mosquito Fleet, steam into the Port of Olympia. The day was a particularly important…
The Spotlighters – 7/14/19
Father Eugene Kellenbenz was a renowned liturgical composer and faculty member at St. Martin’s College in Lacey. But he also enjoyed music on the lighter side, and is shown here…
Emiline Himes – 6/30/19
Pioneer Emiline Himes is shown here with her knitting, in this photo taken around 1880. Mrs. Himes was the mother of George Himes, one of the first and most prolific…
Crosby store – 6/16/19
Nathaniel Crosby III was the son of a sea captain whose family settled in Tumwater in early days. Nathaniel, the central figure in this photo, operated this store for several…
Anna Blom – 6/9/19
Anna Blom, a Russian immigrant, opened the Anna Blom Book Shop in 1938 at the current location of Drees. She was a beloved and long-time fixture in downtown Olympia, presiding…
Capt. Duncan Finch – 6/2/19
Captain Duncan Finch began his sailing profession in New York, then navigated the Horn to California. In about 1868 he arrived in Puget Sound, where he pursued a distinguished career…
Jury Selection – 5/26/19
In this photograph from 1963, a blindfolded Mary Hall, Thurston County clerk, selects slips of paper with prospective jurors’ names from a hopper and hands them to Judge Charles Wright.…
Katherine Musgrove milliner – 5/19/19
This photograph of milliner Katherine Eugley Musgrove is one of a series, taken by Robert Esterly around 1914, of local businesses and their owners. Mrs. Musgrove was one of a…
Computer Disk – 5/12/19
Phyllis Olsen and Nelson Osborn, students at the Olympia Vocational Technical Institute (now South Puget Sound Community College), fire up a new data storage disk machine. The machine was rented…
Mosquito Fleet Messenger – 5/5/19
The Messenger was a member of the Mosquito Fleet of steam-power vessels that plied that waters of Puget Sound. The small stern-wheeler had separate compartments for ladies and gentlemen. In…
Chambers Cherry Tree – 4/28/19
In 1850, pioneer David Chambers purchased a Black Heart cherry sapling from Oregon-based orchardist Henderson Lewelling and planted it on his homestead, now the site of Panorama retirement community in…
Capital City Forging Moves – 4/21/19
In August 1963, Capital City Forging was forced to relocate from its site in downtown Olympia, to make way for the establishment of new recreational facilities at Capitol Lake.…
1949 Earthquake – 4/14/19
Sixty years ago, on April 13, Olympia experienced the most destructive earthquake in recent memory. In this photograph taken the following day, hardware store owner Oscar Kincy surveys the damage…
Arbor Day at the State Capital Museum – 4/7/19
On a rainy Arbor Day in 1963, Governor Albert Rosellini plants a tree on the grounds of the State Capital Museum. With the governor are museum staffers and naturalist Margaret…
Daffodil Princesses – 3/31/19
The Daffodil Festival has been held in Pierce county annually since the 1930s. Here the 1964 daffodil princesses make a goodwill stop at the Hotel Olympian in downtown Olympia in…
3/10/19 – Artesian Fountain
In this photo from 1963, Olympia native Walt Hamilton fills a jug with artesian water at a fountain on the corner of 4th Avenue and Washington Street. Although he had…
Rossell Galbraith O’Brien – 3/17/19
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we bring you this photograph of Rossell Galbraith O’Brien, an Irish immigrant who rose to become a Brigadier General in the Washington National Guard.…
Harry McElroy – 3/3/19
A young Harry McElroy poses in a studio portrait from around 1865. Harry was the son of Olympia’s first newspaper publisher, Thornton McElroy. Until the early 20th century, it was…