Blog

The Carlyon Fill in 1910-1911 added 29 blocks to the central peninsula of Olympia, adding most of what we now know as the port area. Just after the fill was completed, in May 1911, aviator Fred Wiseman piloted his tiny aircraft to make several landings in the newly filled area. The little airplane is now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum, as it was the first airplane to carry mail. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, olympiahistory.org.

Bettman Block – 5/15/22

In 1891, the Bettman family, early merchants, built the masonry structure shown here, at 312-324 Fourth Avenue. It featured stores on the ground floor, with a hotel above. The building was damaged in the 1949 Earthquake and the second story and parapet removed. The building still exists, much altered. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, olympiahistory.org.

Jeffers returning from hunt – 5/1/22

Brothers Joseph and H.R. Jeffers founded a photography business in 1904, at the southeast corner of Washington Street and 5^th Avenue. Their original studio is shown in this 1908 photo (it was replaced by the current Jeffers Building at the same location). Joe Jeffers and friends pose in front of the studio as they return from a hunting expedition. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, olympiahistory.org.

Jeffers studio, 1908, Courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society

Morning Olympian – 5/8/22

The Morning Olympian newspaper operated at the southeast corner of State and Capitol for decades. Shown here in a 1910 photo is the press room, with foreman Bob Yantis and press operators. This building was succeeded in 1930 by the current Mission-style Olympia Press Building at the same site, now home to several downtown businesses. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross, Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, olympiahistory.org.

Jeffers returning from hunt – 5/1/22

May 1, 2022

Jeffers studio, 1908, Courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society

Kanaka Jack and Kiki – 4/24/22

April 24, 2022

“Kanaka Jack” and his wife Kiki lived on Johnson’s Point, where they maintained a woodyard and water tank for the benefit of visiting steamships. Kanaka Jack was a native of Hawaii. Before Washington became a U.S. Territory, he had worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company in what is now Dupont. Kiki was Native American. The couple’s birth names are unknown. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, olympiahistory.org.

unknown photographer, about 1900, Courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society

James Tilton Pickett – 4/17/22

April 18, 2022

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, a fellow Confederate sympathizer. James Tilton had care of his namesake when George left to join the Confederate army (link here for more information on James Tilton). This photograph was taken at the time the young man was attending Union Academy in Olympia. He later attended art school and was a talented painter, but died young and in poverty. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross.

A.B. Woodard photograph, 1877, courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society

Tumwater School – 4/10/22

April 11, 2022

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” Streets. The 45 stars on the large flag establish that the photo was taken between 1896 and 1907. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum (thank you to Don Trosper for additional information about the school). For more information see https://olympiahistory.org.

unknown photographer, 1896-1907, Courtesy State Capital Museum Collection, Washington State Historical Society

Charles Burmeister – 4/3/22

April 4, 2022

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 to the corner of Third and Main, now State Avenue and Capitol Way. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum.

unknown photographer, about 1880, Courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society

Peterfield Turpin 3/27/22

March 28, 2022

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 positions throughout his long life. His home was at the northwest corner of Legion and Capitol (then called 6^th and Main), kitty-corner from Sylvester Park. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society, olympiahistory.org.

A.B. Woodard photograph, around 1865, Courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society

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 the Coastal Salish who occupied the site for many generations before the American settlement was established.

The end of what we now know as Budd Inlet was a favorite shellfish gathering site for many Coastal Salish tribes, including the Nisqually, Duwamish and Squaxin. Potlatches, the Northwest tribal custom in which tribal leaders shared their wealth with neighboring tribal groups, were held both east and west of the Inlet near Olympia.

The falls of the Deschutes River at Tumwater called “Stehtsasamish” by the Nisqually Indians may have been occupied as a permanent village site for shellfish and salmon harvesting for 500 years or more before the coming of white settlers.

Historic photo. Frontier family in front of old growth tree

European Settlement

Peter Puget and a crew from the British Vancouver Expedition visited the site in 1792. The U.S. Exploring Expedition under Lt. Charles Wilkes came to the site in 1841 and named the waterfront bay Budd Inlet after Midshipman Thomas A. Budd, a member of that expedition.

More about Budd Inlet

A wide, navigable body of water extending north from Olympia about six miles to Boston Harbor. The inlet is shallow at its southern end and requires dredging of a channel for waterborne commerce. Budd Inlet was named by Lieutenant Commander Charles Wilkes for Thomas A. Budd acting master of the Peacock and a member of the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1841. Budd was appointed a midshipman on February 2, 1829. He resigned his commission on April 29, 1853. He rejoined the United States Navy in 1861 and was killed in action March 22, 1862, during the Civil War. In recent years, the inlet has also been called Olympia Harbor.

The first American settlers were Levi Lathrop Smith and Edmund Sylvester who claimed the town site in 1846, naming it Smither or Smithster (and later Smithfield), after themselves. The town was officially platted in 1850 by Sylvester, at which point it was given the name Olympia, as suggested by Isaac N. Ebey, a local resident in recognition of the view of the majestic Olympic mountains seen to the north on a clear day. Sylvester, a Maine native, laid out a town in a New England style with a town square, tree lined streets, land for schools, a Masonic Hall, and capitol grounds.

More about Edmund Sylvester

Edmund Sylvester is known as the founder of Olympia. A native of Eastport, Maine, Sylvester came to Oregon in 1843 at the young age of twenty-two. He remained in the Astoria-Portland area for two years but, being a native New Englander, he felt that the salt water climate would restore his ailing health. Sylvester took up a claim south of Olympia and his partner, Levi Lathrop Smith, whom he had met in Oregon, settled in what is now known as Olympia.

After Smith’s death in 1848, Sylvester, although owner of the area, did not lay out a town until his return from an ill- fated trip to the California gold fields in 1850.

Sylvester was a far-sighted man visualizing his settlement as a capital and center of timber trade although it did not reach its full potential in his lifetime. Sylvester erected the showplace of early Olympia along Capitol Way between Seventh and Eighth Streets facing the water. The home was the largest in Olympia and Sylvester’s strong-minded wife Clara hosted the first meeting of the Woman’s Club there in 1883 and housed a number of visiting suffragettes during the fight of Washington women for the right to vote. The house remained a landmark for many years but was moved in 1961 and later burned.

Drawn to the small peninsula as the first access to Puget Sound from the Columbia River on the Cowlitz Trail, American settlers numbered 996 in the area by 1853. Olympia welcomed the first Custom House on Puget Sound in 1851, and by 1852 was the county seat for the newly organized Thurston County.

More about Thurston County

Thurston County covers 719 square miles at the head of Budd Inlet located at the southern tip of Puget Sound.At the Cowlitz convention in 1851, delegates from the Oregon Territory north of the Columbia River — besides petitioning for a new territory — also asked for a new county to be called “Simmons” in the area then known as Lewis County. The Oregon Territorial Legislature acted on the matter by amended the bill at the request of Michael T. Simmons to memorialize Samuel R. Thurston, Oregon’s first territorial delegate to Congress. Thurston County was created on January 12, 1852. Oregon then encompasses what is now Washington. Thurston was a native of Maine, born in 1816. He attended Maine Weslyan Seminary, Dartmouth and in 1854, graduated from Bowdoin College. He later read law and was admitted to the Maine bar. After he settled for a time in Iowa, Thurston arrived in Oregon in 1847 and began his political life. With the creation of Oregon Territory in 1849, Thurston was elected its first delegate to Congress. He was an ambitious delegate pushing through the Donation Land Claim Law, working to establish mail routes and post offices, lighthouses and procuring a pension for 1812 War veterans, many of whom settled in the territory. He was an eloquent speaker and was tireless in his promotion of Oregon Territory. On his voyage home in 1851 across the Isthmus of Panama, Thurston — just 35 years old — contracted a fever. He died on the steamer California near Acapulco and was buried there. He was later reinterred in Salem, Oregon.

The boundaries of the new county encompassed much of what is now Western Washington, reaching from Willapa Bay northward to the Canadian border and from the Pacific Ocean to the summit of the Cascades.

In late 1852, Jefferson, Pierce, and King counties were carved out of Thurston County, and the final boundaries were set in 1877.

In the early 1850’s, as the settler population grew, ancillary businesses developed; stores, brickyards, boast builders, dry docks, hotels and services for summer visitors. Since there were only trails in this land, heavily forested to the water’s edge, the population was supported by the steamboats collectively called the Mosquito Fleet that used the Sound as a watery freeway to move mail, products and passengers.

In 1854, Daniel Bigelow – an attorney – and his wife Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow built their home in Olympia overlooking Budd Inlet (900 Glass Street, Olympia). Today it is a Museum, and it remains as one of the oldest frame buildings in the State of Washington. Visit the Bigelow House Museum website .

In the mid-1850’s, Olympia developed around the waterfront and quickly became a hub of maritime commerce. Federal officers and those seeking the opportunities of the capital flocked to the city which, at one time, boasted the largest population of any town on Puget Sound.

More about Puget Sound

Early Olympia docks overlooking Puget Sound

The name currently given to the whole of the inland sea of Western Washington, originally named by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy in honor of Lieutenant Peter Puget. Captain Vancouver sent Lieutenant Puget and a crew to survey the lower part of the sound in May 1792. Puget and his crew spent several days visiting nearly every cove and island in the region. To honor this work, Vancouver named the part of the sound south of the Tacoma Narrows for Puget. Vancouver named the northern part of the sound Admiralty Inlet.

Soon after the first Americans settled Olympia in the mid-1840s, Chinese immigrants arrived in the city. Olympia’s first Chinatown was on 4th Avenue between Columbia and Main (Capitol Way) where several buildings housed a hand laundry, stores and lodging for residents.

More about Olympia's Chinatown

Early on, Olympia emerged as a “Locke Town.” Olympia’s Chinese residents were predominantly from the Lok family villages near the town of Seulbo in Toisan County of Guangdong Province in southern China. Most of these sojourners were male and they relied on family surname associations to provide lodging, meals and social life.

Olympia’s earliest China town was on 4th Avenue between Columbia and Main (Capitol Way) where several buildings housed a hand laundry, stores and lodging for residents.

Although there is no Chinatown in Olympia today, many descendants of the original Chinese pioneers still make their homes in the region. In 1996, Gary Locke, grandson of Suey Gum Locke, who came to Olympia in 1890 as a teenager and worked as a servant, was elected Governor of the State of Washington. He was the first Chinese American elected Governor in the United States. In 2007, Doug Mah was the first person of Chinese-American descent to be elected as Olympia’s Mayor.

Olympia residents elected the town’s first Mayor in 1873 – William Winlock Miller. Before then, a Town President was selected annually from among the members of the Town Board.

In 1890, one year after statehood, Olympia City Marshal George Savidge was the first in City history to be officially referred to as Chief of Police. Prior to 1890, Olympia has a Town Marshall. In the years from 1889-1892, the Olympia Police Department was comprised of the chief, a captain and six patrolmen.

State of Washington Legislative Building under construction 1925

Capital of Washington State

When Washington Territory was formed in 1853, Olympia was named the provisional territorial capital by Isaac Stevens, Washington’s first territorial governor. In 1855, the designation was confirmed by the territorial legislature. Olympia’s incorporation as a Town occurred on January 28, 1859.

In 1856, the territorial legislature appointed a board of commissioners to oversee construction of a new bridge connecting downtown Olympia with the westside. Lack of funds held up the project until 1868 when Thurston County loaned the City of Olympia $1,500. The first westside bridge was built the following year.

An especially difficult blow fell when Olympia was bypassed by mainline railroads in the 1870s. City residents had to build their own line to connect with the Northern Pacific mainline at Tenino – 15 miles to the south.

Olympia’s title of capital was often contested during the early years, and Olympia townspeople fought challenges by Vancouver, Steilacoom, Seattle, Port Townsend and Tacoma for location of the seat of territorial and, later, state government.

In early 1889, Olympia resident and jeweler Charles Talcott was commissioned to create a State seal in time for the convening of the first State legislature in November of the same year. The simple round design with a copy of the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington in the center and the words “The Seal of the State of Washington, 1889” is still the official seal of Washington State.

More about the State Seal

A short time before Washington became a state in 1889, a committee brought an elaborate design for a state seal to Olympia jeweller Charles Talcott and asked him to complete it in time for the meeting of the first Legislature in November of that year. The design submitted by the committee was very complicated sketch, depicting the port of Tacoma, vast wheat fields, grazing sheep and Mount Rainier. Talcott argued that the design was too complicated and would be quickly outmoded by the growth of the state. Something simple, he suggested, would be timeless. He picked up an ink bottle and drew a circle around its base. Next he placed a silver dollar in the circle and drew an inner circle. Between these circles he lettered the words, “The Seal of the State of Washington, 1889”. In the center he pasted a postage stamp bearing a picture of George Washington. The design was quickly accepted by the Legislature. But making the die from the picture of George Washington on a postage stamp was no easy task.. Under magnification the picture was poorly detailed and would have been unsatisfactory when enlarged. George Talcott was given the job of finding a suitable picture and cutting the die. After reviewing a number of pictures, he finally found what he was looking for — a color drawing of George Washington on a packing box of “Dr. D. Jaynes Cure for Coughs & Colds”! Grant Talcott did the lettering and George cut the die. Over the years, more than two dozen variations of the Talcott design were used. In 1967, Seattle graphic designer Richard Nelms was commissioned to create a new insignia. He selected a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, which was accepted and made the official State Seal by the Legislature. By law, the Secretary of State is the custodian of the Great Seal, which is attached to official documents and certificates issued by the state. The original die and press for the State Seal — now more than 100 years old — is still used by the Secretary of State to impress the seal on official state documents.

Washington was given statehood designation on November 11, 1889, as the forty-second (42nd) state to enter the Union.

More about Washington State

On November 11, 1889, Washington was admitted to statehood as the 42nd state of the Union by the United States Congress, with the same boundaries as at present. Washington extends from the Pacific Ocean on the west to Idaho on the east, and from Oregon on the south to the Canadian Province of British Columbia on the north. Prior to statehood, Washington was first part of Oregon Territory, and later became Washington Territory on March 2, 1853. The name Columbia was favored by residents of the Territory and was suggested in Congress by Senator Stephen A. Douglas. However, the name Washington was chosen instead to honor George Washington, the first president.

When Washington became a state in 1889 with Olympia as the capital, the city grew and prospered adding amenities such as an opera house, city water system, street car line, street lamps, and a new hotel to accommodate visiting legislators. State government has been housed in a series of buildings in Olympia, including the former county courthouse in downtown.

Aerial view of Olympia 1929

Twentieth Century Growth

Changes were made to the topography of the city in 1911-12, when almost 22 blocks were added to the downtown area in a gigantic dredging and filling effort to create a deep water harbor and fill the sloughs to the north and east of the city.

In 1919, the City awarded a contract to Union Bridge Company to build a more reliable bridge concrete bridge connecting downtown Olympia with the westside. The amount of the contract was $132,750.

With increased growth in state government and the economic stimulus of World War I, the city began to grow in population and development. Olympia became a center of lumber processing and the city boasted as new smokestacks went up on the waterfront. Downtown buildings were constructed and residential areas south and west of the city developed. By the time of the completion of the grand domed legislative building in 1927, the city had become a fitting setting for such an imposing structure.

An earthquake in 1949 damaged or destroyed many historic downtown buildings, which were quickly rebuilt. Today, downtown Olympia is a charming mix of historic, mid-century, and contemporary architecture.

State government grew rapidly in Olympia after World War II, but many state offices were moving to other parts of the State. A Washington State Supreme Court decision in 1954 mandated that Olympia was the seat of government and that state office headquarters must locate here.

The 1950’s ushered in construction of a new freeway through Olympia and her neighboring communities of Tumwater and Lacey. Interstate 5, which runs from the southern tip of California to the Washington State/Canadian border, is a vital transportation link for Olympia and the Puget Sound region.

In the 1960’s the time of smokestacks and plywood mills drew mostly to an end along Olympia’s waterfront when the Simpson, Georgia Pacific, and St. Regis mills closed, victims of changing markets.

Long time residents still mention the “Columbus Day” storm which hit the northwest on October 12, 1962, with seventy-eight mile per hour winds. Two people were killed in the Olympia area and extensive damage was caused to buildings and trees.

A new era began at the close of the 1960’s when The Evergreen State College was authorized by the state legislature on Cooper Point road at the site of historic Athens University, just west of the Olympia City limits. The institution has changed and enlivened the Capital City’s cultural and social climate.

Toward the end of the 20th century, Olympia experienced rapid growth as individuals and families continued to relocate to the Pacific Northwest. In 1994, the Olympia City Council adopted the City’s first Comprehensive Plan produced under the new Washington State Growth Management Act (GMA). The Forward of the 1994 Plan stated that it “reflects the realities faced by Washington’s fast growing counties and cities in attempting to find the balance between planning responsibly for our future population while preserving the qualities our residents so appreciate.”

Credits:

Introduction and Copy
– Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater, A Pictorial History by Shanna B. Stevenson, published by The Donning Company/Publishers, 1985. Much of the copy on this page is reprinted from this book with permission of the author.

History of European Settlement, Olympia as the Territorial and State Capital, Olympia’s Chinatown, Twentieth Century Growth, Twenty-First Century Vision
– Image of the Bigelow House courtesy of Bigelow House Museum
– The Olympia History information presented on this page has been mostly copied or paraphrased with permission from Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater, A Pictorial History by Shanna B. Stevenson, published by The Donning Company/Publishers, 1985

Budd Inlet
– Information from Thurston County Place Names: A Heritage Guide by the Thurston County Historic Commission, Edited by Gayle Palmer and Shanna Stevenson, November 1992)

Edmund Sylvester
– Information from Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater – A Pictorial History by Shanna Stevenson, The Donning Company/Publishers, 1985.
– The picture of Edmund Sylvester (date unknown) is provided courtesy of the Washington State Library.

Olympia, Puget Sound,Thurston County, Washington State
– Information from Thurston County Place Names: A Heritage Guide by the Thurston County Historic Commission, Edited by Gayle Palmer and Shanna Stevenson, November 1992)

Washington State Seal
– Information is reprinted from the Washington Secretary of State website. The Seal is published with permission from the Secretary of State’s office for educational purposes only.

History of the Washington Center for the Performing Arts

[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia pages]

By Ed Echtle

Introduction

WCPA 2014 For nearly 90 years, the theater on South Washington Street in Olympia has served as a hub for entertainment, public meetings and social events. Originally built as the Liberty Theater in 1924, it reopened in 1985 after an extensive renovation as the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Throughout its history, the theater’s programming reflected changing fashions in entertainments as well as the changing fortunes of Olympia’s downtown.

Although it begun as a for-profit venture, the theater’s evolution into an anchor for Olympia’s downtown and as a key cultural space for the larger community parallels the reemergence of Olympia’s historic town center as the South Sound’s principal social space. As the Washington Center for the Performing Arts continues its mission, understanding how the vision for its creation emerged from a combination of the community’s needs and the theater’s past uses is key to understanding its significance in Olympia’s community history.

Grand Theaters for Olympia

The Liberty Theater By the end of WWI, movies were a booming industry in the US. In the early 1920s, Olympia had two smaller movie houses, the Rex and the Ray. The Olympia Opera House, built in 1890 on East Fourth Ave. by newspaper pioneer John Miller Murphy, was becoming a relic of the past as its earlier grandeur faded with use and time. As 1920s audiences nationwide increasingly expected movie-going to be an elegant experience, competing entrepreneurs planned two new larger, more refined theaters to provide Olympia’s moviegoers with more luxurious facilities.

By 1924, a race was on between construction crews to see which of the two new theaters would open first. The Zabel Family, owners of the Rex and the Ray, were behind the Capitol Theater project on 5th Avenue, designed by prolific local architect Joseph Wohleb. Nearby, the Reed-Ingham Investment Co. developed the Liberty Theater as part of a larger project that included an adjoining indoor garage to help accommodate Olympia’s increasing numbers of automobiles. Situated across Washington Street from the Hotel Olympian and less than a block from what was then the State Capitol, the Liberty Theater and Garage was poised to take advantage of the influx of people and cars that arrived for legislative sessions.

Family Business

The site of the new Liberty Theater was formerly the location of the Thomas Milburne Reed family home. Reed arrived in 1857 as a Wells Fargo agent, just a few years after Olympia’s founding. By the 1860s he was elected to the Washington Territorial Legislature where he served as speaker of the house in 1862-63. He later served in a number of appointed positions in Washington and Idaho Territories and won election to the legislature again in 1878-79, serving as president of the Council (Senate). Reed was also an astute businessman and developed the Reed business block adjoining his home in 1891 which housed Olympia’s post office until 1914.

By the time Reed died in 1905 his son, Mark Reed, was manager of the Simpson Timber Co. in Shelton, Washington and was married to Irene Simpson, daughter of company founder Sol G Simpson. Mark Reed also later served in the Washington State legislature during the 1910s. As his business interests expanded, he formed the Reed-Ingham investment Co in partnership with Dr. George W Ingham of Olympia. Ingham was married to Emma Reed, Mark’s sister, and was an avid local investor with interests in the South Sound oyster industry and the Olympia Knitting Mills. Among their many projects, they decided to redevelop the site of the old Reed family home on South Washington Street, adjacent to the Reed Block and increasingly surrounded by Olympia’s expanding business district.

Accessible Elegance

The Reed-Ingham investment Co retained Mark Purvis of Seattle as architect for the new facility. Purvis was an accomplished theater designer with decades of experience including Murphy’s 1890 Opera House. Among Purvis’ other projects were the Columbia and the Mack Theaters in Longview and Port Angeles Washington. Reed-Ingham also hired the Seattle firm of Jensen and Von Herberg to build and operate the new facility. Jensen and Von Herberg were renowned in the field of theater building, having managed construction of Liberty theaters in Portland Oregon and Seattle, as well as the Neptune, also in Seattle.

By August 1924 it was apparent the Liberty Theater would open first, beating the Capitol by nearly two months. A two-page feature in the Morning Olympian newspaper lauded the new facility’s fine interior finish and included ads placed by many of the subcontractors and suppliers congratulating the Liberty’s management and touting their own involvement in the construction of the theater.

The well-appointed theater drew lavish praise in the local press. Primary colors of the Liberty’s interior design theme were blue and bronze. Upholstered seats, a new feature in Olympia’s movie houses, offered new levels of comfort to patrons. The Liberty also installed “thick velvet carpet [that] will yield to the tread like beds of moss.” Like its counterparts in larger cities, the Liberty also employed uniformed ushers to escort patrons to their seats.

The grand opening on Saturday August 30, 1924 featured “The Last Hour” a silent melodrama, as well as five vaudeville acts and “two concerts given by premier organist Esther Stayner, from Chicago and Spokane.” The affair brought out large crowds and the opening was standing room only.

The Liberty’s managers intended Stayner’s performance to showcase their impressive Wurlitzer organ. Jensen and Von Herberg made such organs integral parts of their theater designs. The theater’s organ was equipped with two keyboards and nine “ranks” or sets of pipes. Installed by Sandy Balcom of Seattle, a large loft above the stage housed the pipes. The organist also controlled a variety of percussion instruments through the keyboard, including a glockenspiel, snare and bass drums and chimes. The organ also produced sound effects including horse-hoof beats and bird twitters to enhance the silent movie experience. Among the early performers on the Liberty’s Wurlitzer was Oliver Wallace who played for the 1924 New Year’s Eve program. Wallace went on to score several Disney studio features including Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland. Together with collaborator Frank Churchill, Wallace won an Oscar in 1941 for his work on Dumbo.

Shortly after its opening, the Moore Amusement Co of Seattle assumed management of the Liberty Theater as part of a chain of Liberty Theaters in Oregon and Washington. Afterward, the Liberty settled into a routine cycle of programs, mainly movies and vaudeville acts. However, its cache as a well-appointed venue attracted other uses as well. After Roland Hartley was elected Governor, state building engineers raised concerns that the old capitol building on Legion Way and Washington Street was structurally incapable of supporting the crowds expected for the inauguration. Event planners quickly booked the nearby Liberty Theater, where Hartley took the oath of office in January 1925, beginning the theater’s decades-long career as a site for public events.

As the movie industry grew, the Fox Theater Chain acquired the Moore Amusement Co. and later merged with West Coast Theaters becoming Fox West Coast in 1929. That year, the Liberty featured On With The Show, the first ever feature-length color film with sound.

The Great Depression and Wartime

Theater ad replica While feature films were the Liberty’s main offering, from early on, weekend matinees for children were a staple at the theater. Former Olympia Mayor Bill Jacobs recalled attending the Liberty as a child, to catch the weekly cartoon lineup billed as “Popeye Theater.” While vaudeville performances were becoming less fashionable, live performances in the theater continued in diverse forms.

One of the more unusual were the midnight “Spook Frolics” presented by performers such as “Francisco” who travelled the west coast in the 1930s and ‘40s. Francisco and similar acts did not claim to be spiritualists but managed to scare audiences with eerie sounds and visual effects, including floating tables, spirit writing, disembodied voices and invoking rapping noises throughout the theater.

Despite its role as a respite from daily life, the realities of the world intruded on moviegoers the afternoon of December 7, 1941. In later years reporter Gus Angelos recalled he and his sister, aged 10 and 11 at the time, were startled when their movie abruptly cut off and the house lights came on. Theater manager Harold Murphy took the stage and announced that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor and that all military personnel were to report to their posts immediately. “We didn’t stay for the rest of the show. We ran all the way home, and home was on the eastside of town, several miles away.”

During the war theater attendees kept abreast of wartime events through newsreels preceding feature films. In addition, the USO broadcast live musical performances from the Liberty over the radio, to entertain troops stationed nearby at Fort Lewis.

A New Era

As Olympia entered the postwar years, Olympia’s theater owners prepared for increased numbers of moviegoers as servicemen and women returned to civilian life. Nearby, on Fourth Avenue, a third large downtown theater, The State, opened its doors in 1949. The State sported a modern neon marquee including a large backlit reader board. The Capitol Theater also added a similar lighted marquee trimmed in neon, to advertise its offerings and present a more modern façade.

The Liberty needed refreshing to compete as well. After Wes “Mac” McDonald leased the Liberty in 1948, he invested $75,000 in upgrading the theater. McDonald was an experienced manager and owned another small movie house in Olympia, the Avalon, built in 1928. At the Liberty, workers installed updated heating and ventilation systems while the house received new burgundy damask wall coverings, flower-patterned carpet and the first “self-raising” seats installed in Washington State. McDonald also retained artist Robert Berg who added murals to the stairwells depicting scenes of tragedy and comedy described by the press as “Indo-Chinese” in style. Among the areas most improved in the upgrade was the women’s lounge including walls newly upholstered in chartreuse leatherette. The theater also took on a new name, the Olympic, as well as a new backlit marquee with a large revolving “O” in the style of the Olympia Beer brand logo.

The Olympic also continued hosting special events, as when the Washington Federation of Labor held its 54th annual convention there in 1956. United Churches of Olympia held Sunday services at the Olympic after the 1949 earthquake severely damaged their nearby church, until they dedicated a new church in 1951. Producers of the 1961 film “Ring of Fire” booked both the Olympic and the Capitol Theaters to host concurrent premier showings. Shot in Oregon and Washington, the film’s climax featured the wreck of a steam locomotive in the collapse of a high trestle across the Wynoochee River. At the conclusion of the film the cast including David Janssen, Joyce Taylor and Frank Gorshin appeared on the Olympic’s stage to greet the audience.

Despite improvements to the Olympic, its future was increasingly uncertain. American society was in transition as the automobile became central to daily life and new suburban developments took families farther from downtown. In addition, the advent of television made staying home a more appealing option for family entertainment.

New drive-in theaters in the area offered another alternative to the downtown theaters: the Sunset opened in Tumwater in 1949 and Lacey Drive-In in 1953. Drive-ins not only offered convenience, they promoted themselves as a casual, more private alternative to traditional theater going, inviting young working families to “come as you are.” That same privacy especially appealed to young adults with access to cars, who quickly adopted drive-ins as the preferred destination for romantic dates.

Since the coming of sound film, the aging Wurlitzer organ in the Olympic fell into disuse and was in need of repair and maintenance. In 1962 the Olympic theater management contacted Andy Crow to assess the instrument’s needs. Crow, an accomplished organist in the region, regularly performed at the Music Box, Roxy and Temple Theatres in Tacoma, and the Orpheum and Paramount in Seattle. Crow began maintaining the organ with the help of Les Lehne. In 1971 Andy Crow and business partner Marshall Woodbridge purchased the Olympic for their own, to protect the historic structure and the venerable organ.

Downtown Struggles

Olympia theater By the 1950s diffusion of state agencies to other cities in Washington created operational difficulties and legislators determined to reconsolidate government in the Olympia area. Washington State acquired property across Capitol Way from the legislative building and began construction of new office space on the site. In the process, the state demolished William Winlock Miller High School (known locally as Olympia High School) including its large 1000+ seat auditorium. Since its construction in 1919, the Olympia High auditorium served as the main large-capacity venue for local arts organizations and its loss left the Olympia area with no similar sized space for local productions.

While the state capitol campus was growing, the opening of the Interstate 5 freeway bypass in 1958 began a period of economic decline for Olympia’s downtown. Exacerbating the loss of drive-through tourist revenue was the closing of industries and the departure of larger “anchor stores” to new suburban shopping centers. Meanwhile, movie going became less formal and patrons dressed more casually than they had in the past. In response, movie houses no longer vied with one another to maintain their former grandeur and often deferred expensive maintenance to cut costs.

By the 1970s, new movie house design was more utilitarian, foregoing decorative refinements typical of earlier theaters. Near Lacey, a six-screen multiplex opened in 1979, close to the freeway. In 1980 the recently completed Capitol Mall on Olympia’s west side added another four-screen multiplex. The combination of easy access, abundant parking and more modern sound and projection equipment further hastened the decline of Olympia’s aging downtown movie houses, including the Olympic. Coupled with the advent of home video movie rentals, the classic movie palaces struggled to stay viable.

Owners of the State theater, the newest of the downtown venues, attempted to keep it profitable by partitioning its large auditorium into three screens and showing second-run movies at reduced prices. The Olympic and Capitol Theaters increasingly relied on special events including live performances and classic movie revivals to generate income.

The Movement for a Performing Arts Center

Since the loss of the Olympia High School Auditorium, local arts organizations vied for venue space. While the downtown theaters were capable of accommodating large crowds, their need to generate revenue for their owners often made their use expensive for local arts organizations with tight budgets. However, as competition from suburban movie venues and decreasing attendance caused downtown theaters to struggle for business, they became more affordable and local groups began using them more frequently.

In 1966 local arts advocates including the Olympia Fine Arts Guild (founded in 1942), along with Washington First Lady Nancy Evans, launched the Governor’s Festival of the Arts in Olympia, to bring world class artists and performers to the Capitol City and the Olympic theater served as a principle venue. Performers slated for the six-month event included the Seattle Repertory Players, the Seattle Symphony, and an appearance by actress and singer Pearl Bailey. Afterward the Governor’s Festival of the Arts became an annual event for several years, regularly utilizing the Olympic.

By 1968 local arts supporters founded a new group, Patrons of South Sound Cultural Activities (POSSCA) to take on fundraising for community arts events. As the need for a multi-purpose arts venue grew, local arts advocates also founded The Capital Area Association for the Performing Arts (CAAPA) in 1973. The driving force behind CAAPA was Vern Eke, a 1952 graduate of Olympia High School. Eke went on to earn a doctorate in performing arts at UCLA where he became an instructor. A talented musician, performer and production manager, he returned to the Olympia area in the early 1970s where he managed local productions in smaller venues including the Saint Martin College’s Abbey Theater and the Jade Room in the old Hotel Olympian.

Efforts for a new dedicated performing arts center gradually gained momentum. In response, the City of Olympia agreed to dedicate several acres of surplus land on the Westside for the project in 1976; formerly the city’s solid waste landfill. The site, located near the Black Lake Boulevard entrance to Highway 101, followed the commercial trend of outmigration from downtown. Despite the free land, many supporters found this site remote and preferred a downtown location, presaging the movement for revitalization of Olympia’s downtown.

Meanwhile, CAAPA adopted the name, “Washington Center for the Performing Arts” (WCPA) for the project to underscore their vision of the new facility as a regional venue and garner support from beyond Olympia. While CAAPA’s initial attempt to procure state support in 1977 fell short, in 1979 an endorsement from former Washington first family Dan and Nancy Evans helped persuade the legislature to approve a $1.5 million matching grant for the WCPA project.

That same year, the local architects serving as part of the Regional and Urban Design Assistance Team (R/UDAT) weighed in on the project. Founded in 1967 by the American Institute of Architects to offer growth management guidance to cities across America, R/UDAT authored its first assessment of Olympia’s increasingly vacant downtown core in 1979. In addition to their advocacy for a farmers market, new community center and the redevelopment of Percival Landing as a public space, R/UDAT urged the city to support the WCPA project as an anchor attraction for downtown.

Increasing numbers of stakeholders led the City of Olympia to create the Cultural Arts Advisory Committee (CAAC) in 1980 to steer the project. The city also hired Lynn Schrader as coordinator of CAAC which included representatives from POSSCA, CAAPA, R/UDAT and other local arts organizations. CAAC members embraced R/UDATs recommendation for a downtown site and abandoned plans for the Black Lake Boulevard location.

After an unsuccessful attempt by the city to acquire property on State Avenue, the committee turned its efforts toward repurposing an existing theater. The Olympic theater and garage, since purchased from Crow and Woodbridge by the Moyer Theater chain of Portland, seemed to offer the best combination of location and space. However, not everyone was convinced the aging Olympic could meet their needs, including former board member Lynn Brunton who later recalled, “I can remember the first time I walked through this theater and the garage, I thought, no way, this is not going to work!” In 1981 the committee hired architect Richard McCann to study the feasibility of repurposing the site. McCann, whose other projects included refits of the Orpheum in San Francisco, Seattle’s Fifth Avenue Theater and the Pantages in Tacoma, endorsed the Olympic refit as the best course of action.

CAAC members also determined that operations at the new performing arts center should follow the model used by other cities and turn management over to an independent non-profit. The city made the new organization official in September of 1982, registering “Washington Center for the Performing Arts” with the Secretary of State and appointed a 9 member board.

From the outset the board was made up of people from diverse career backgrounds. Local attorney Judy Henderson served on the original board and later recalled there was a steep learning curve for the newly appointed members: “We did not know performing arts, so we went on a road trip. We went to Eugene Oregon, we went to Seattle, we went to Yakima, we studied performing arts centers and learned the business of keeping it in the black instead of the red!

By 1982 events were winding down in the Olympic. One of the last performers to take the stage was American folk singer and social justice activist Odetta, serving as an artist in residence at The Evergreen State College in 1981-82. By August the city appropriated funds to purchase the Olympic theater from the Moyers chain and passed an ordinance to sell $1.5 million in bonds to match the state’s grant. On October 12 the Olympic’s final feature showing, Das Boot, played to a small audience, most attending in honor of the theater’s closing after nearly 60 years of service.

Immediately after the movie, WCPA supporters gathered in the theater and toasted the milestone with champagne in paper cups. Organist Andy Crow entertained on the venerable Wurlitzer with a selection of standards including “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Sentimental Journey” and “Tumblin’ Tumbleweed.” In the following weeks Crow also oversaw the removal of the organ’s components to storage, to await reinstallation in the new theater.

Building

While demolition of the original theater interior got underway, the WCPA board began fundraising in earnest. In addition, the CAAC and the WCPA board held numerous meetings with local arts groups to determine their needs and develop an operations plan that would facilitate their use of the new theater. Meanwhile the design was taking shape. McCann enlisted acoustic experts Professor Yoichi Ando of Japan and his protégé Dennis Noson of Seattle to consult on the interior design to maximize its acoustic capabilities. WCPA was Ando’s first project in the US. He and Noson proposed an innovative trapezoidal space with hard surfaces to reflect and enhance sound from the stage.

The facility planners were also concerned with accommodating diverse uses. McCann designed the main stage to be expandable by enabling the orchestra pit to rise to stage level. The design also included a second, smaller rehearsal/conference space connected to the main stage via a shared storage area to facilitate transfer of sets and other materials between stages. This smaller space later evolved into a public performing space, known as the “Black Box Theater.”

As excitement over the project increased among arts supporters, local advocates for historic preservation in Olympia raised concerns over the extent of alterations to the original Liberty theater facade. However, the recently formed Olympia Heritage Commission’s apprehensions were trumped by the fact that the city and architects already made most of the key design decisions and any new changes would result in delays and increased cost. In the final design, the retention of one exterior wall and several architectural elements were intended to allude to the original theater and garage, most recognizably the Liberty’s ornate oval vent ports, which became the symbol for the WCPA. In addition, plans called for the reinstallation of a WWI-era street clock donated by the Kluh Family outside WCPA’s entrance. Previously the historic clock stood for decades outside Kluh jewelers in downtown Olympia.

At the conclusion of the demolition phase, city leaders and WCPA supporters gathered in the gutted building in June 1984 for the formal groundbreaking ceremony. By then the WCPA board’s fundraising efforts passed $1.2 million, well on the way to meeting goals. The city also determined that proceeds from the sale of the surplus land in west Olympia originally proposed as the site of the WCPA be used to create an endowment fund for the new organization.

As construction continued into 1985, Robert Stewart replaced Lynn Schrader as director when Schrader departed to manage Pacific Northwest Ballet. Efforts to complete the facility ahead of its opening date accelerated as workers continued installing new fixtures up through opening day. Longtime volunteer Nancy Walsh later recalled she became involved with WCPA after she saw how much work there was yet to be done just days from opening: “I was horrified when I went inside! There was no carpet, the seats were in the lobby, and I thought, ‘I wonder if they need some help.’ So I went home and I called the number and they said, ‘sure, come on down!’”

Premiere week programs at WCPA commenced on September 28 and lasted through October 7, 1985. Programs included a diverse lineup of performers and offerings including the Olympia Symphony and Masterworks Choral Ensemble, A Salute to Olympia Schools featuring local youth musicians and performers, Olympia Chorale, Ballet Northwest, the Seattle Symphony, and the Modern Jazz Society. National acts included comedian David Brenner and the US Marine Band. Headlining the week was a premier gala and solo appearance by entertainer Ben Vereen on October 1st.

Down to Business

WCPA prior to exterior renovation After the festivities of premier week, WCPA settled into the day-to-day business of providing the local performing arts venue its supporters envisioned. While nationally famous performers remained a regular part of programming, more local organizations, including Olympia Junior Programs (OJP,) began utilizing WCPA as well. Founded in 1940, OJP introduces South Sound youth to live theater through daytime matinees in partnership with school districts and was among the number of arts organizations displaced by the loss of the Olympia High School auditorium. Harlequin Productions, founded in 1990 by Linda and Scot Whitney, called the Black Box Theater home until they acquired the nearby State theater as their permanent home in 1997.

While theater and music entertainment dominated WCPA’s programming schedule, it also hosted lectures and public meetings such as the April 1990 appearance of renowned primatologist Jane Goodall who updated the audience on her work since she achieved wide recognition through televised National Geographic documentaries. WCPA also served as a venue for major public policy forums as well. In 1989 the US Department of Fish and Wildlife scheduled a public meeting to stem the controversy over the listing of the spotted owl as an endangered species. Environmentalists and supporters of unrestricted old growth logging squared off in the WCPA to discuss the issue.

In the following years locals nostalgic for the original theater turned out to ensure historical continuity between the WCPA and its predecessor theater. In 1995 WCPA finally gathered enough funds for Andy Crow and friend Les Lehne to reinstall the theater’s historic Wurlitzer, updated with a three-keyboard console connected to 23 ranks of pipes, including many components from the 1924 original. With the organ installed, WCPA paid homage to its past by offering silent movie revivals in the late 1990s. Appreciative audiences got a taste of the silent-film era through showings of Charlie Chaplin movies including “Easy Street,” “The Tramp” and “Those Love Pangs” as well as a presentation of DW Griffith’s “Way Down East,” and Douglas Fairbanks in “The Mark of Zorro,” accompanied by Crow on the theater’s renovated Wurlitzer.

In 2011 Staff, volunteers and supporters celebrated 25 Years of successful performances at the WCPA with a program lineup that included the return of the theater’s inaugural headliner, Ben Vereen. Longtime associates of WCPA also took the opportunity to share their favorite moments in the theater since its opening. Board member Bob Haase recounted Tony Bennett’s performance in 2002 when Bennett asked for the amplification to be switched off so he could demonstrate the exceptional acoustics of the space. Former WCPA director Tom Iovanne recalled Gregory Hines’ appearance shortly before Hines’ death in 2003. Hines’ illness was unknown to the audience at the time but he delivered a memorable performance which included inviting audience members who brought their tap shoes to join him on stage for a number.

New Again

Performers at the WCPA dedication 2014 In recent years the WCPA facility itself showed increasingly troublesome signs of age. By 2008 its artificial stucco exterior reached the end of its service life and required replacement. Since that time the City of Olympia undertook an extensive renovation of the facility including a new brick and stone exterior. The renovation began in April 2013 with workers replacing the roof, exterior, and the original mechanical systems.

As the WCPA performing arts enters its next phase, it continues to provide the region with a world-class venue for local and nationally-known performers as well as space for community events, lectures and discussions. As of 2013, the number of community arts groups that share use of WCPA has grown to twenty-seven. A new director, Jill Barnes, took on guiding WCPA in spring, bringing her desire to facilitate even more public participation through increased interaction between visiting artists and the community.

Since the opening of the Liberty in 1924, it has been a place where Olympia residents and their friends and neighbors from around the region immersed themselves in an extraordinary diversity of arts and entertainment experiences. The community spirit that led to the creation of the WCPA still inspires the current staff, volunteers and supporters to continue that legacy through ongoing cultivation of programs that transcend the stage, firmly rooted in the community partnerships that made WCPA possible. It’s renewal helps insure it will continue serving as an important cultural anchor for Olympia’s downtown and the surrounding community for generations to come.

Sources

Washington Center Exterior, Courtesy City of Olympia

The Liberty Theater by Vibert Jeffers ©Susan Parish Collection/Shadow Catchers

Thomas Milburne Reed, Courtesy of the Olympia Historical Society

Zabel film, Courtesy of the Richard Talcott Collection

Reproduction of Liberty-era Advertisement, painted by Ira Coyne, Courtesy of City of Olympia

The Olympic Theater, 1964, Courtesy of Washington State Archives

The Olympia Theater, 1984 (postcard), Courtesy of City of Olympia

Andy Crow and his Wurlitzer, Courtesy of Andy Crow

Exterior walls of Liberty/Olympic Theater, 1984, Courtesy of City of Olympia

Washington Center for the Performing Arts, ca 1990, Courtesy Washington Center for the Performing Arts

Washington Center Dedication performance, Courtesy City of Olympia

History of Olympia Fire Department

[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia pages]

The Beginning

Historic Olympia Fire Department

Olympia’s first fire fighting unit, Barnes’ Hook and Ladder Brigade, was organized in the early 1850’s. Columbia Number 1, the first fire engine company to be established in Washington Territory, was formed in Olympia in 1865. Olympia’s first salaried fireman was hired in November 1889. By 1930, the Fire Department employed nine fire fighters and an electrician.

Growing in Numbers

In 1959, the Olympia Fire Department initiated a three-platoon system to meet the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act and added seven firefighters, for a total of 27. In 1968, 12 more firefighters were hired to staff the Eastside and Westside substations, which opened due to population growth and annexations, bringing the total number of firefighters to 39. In 1975, the Westside Station was closed to reassign personnel to a newly created Fire Prevention Bureau, boost staffing at the Eastside Station, and establish a Fire Mechanic’s position. The Department established the Fire Prevention Bureau to fulfill its legal obligations under the Uniform Fire Code as part of the Washington State Building Code and Standards Act. In 1978 the Westside Station was re-opened with existing staffing.

In 1987, six firefighters were hired to staff an aid unit at the Westside Station, which increased total staffing to 46. To reduce the firefighter workweek to 53 hours and comply with a change in the fair Labor Standards Act, three firefighters were hired in 1988.

Medic One

Early Medic One vehicle The Thurston County Medic 1 System was initiated in 1974. Through an Intergovernmental agreement, the Olympia Fire Department hired six paramedic firefighters. In 1976 an additional paramedic was hired to improve the supervision of the paramedics. In 1988 an eighth paramedic was hired to comply with the reduction in work hours required by the Fair Labor Standard Act. In 1993 a ninth paramedic was hired to balance the three shifts and eliminate the need for paramedics to float. The Westside SPRINT unit was opened in 2000, and four paramedics were hired due to lengthening response times in the Northwest portion of the county. Following the earthquake, February 28, 2001, the SPRINT unit was temporarily converted to a full medic unit due to the closure of the 4th Avenue bridge. In January 2002 Medic 10 was changed from a temporary status to a permanent status and 3 additional paramedics were hired. At this time Olympia Fire Department currently employs 18 field paramedics, three of which are Paramedic Lieutenants.

OFD Today

Today, the City of Olympia Fire Department (OFD) is an all-career department with 100 members total. The department deploys four engines, one ladder truck, two medic units and a battalion unit. The engines and truck are staffed with three firefighters and an officer, while the medic units are staffed with two firefighter/paramedics. At minimum staffing, there is a full complement of 20 members on duty. OFD covers approximately 25 square miles and in 2019, responded to 13,810 calls for service.

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 on this website (some individuals will have links to more than one page). Links in bold face indicate that an image of the official is found elsewhere on this site. Corrections to the original are shown in brackets]

Historic Headshot collage: Evans, Elwood, Steele

Olympia’s Leadership

Olympia was named the capital city of Washington Territory on November 28, 1853. Incorporation as a Town occurred on January 28, 1859 by act of the territorial legislature. In 1882, the Town of Olympia incorporated as the City of Olympia.

Olympia has changed its form of government several times. What began as a Board of Trustees became a single Mayoral election, followed by a three person Commission and finally the Council-Manager system we use today.

Historical Documents from City of Olympia Archive

Act to Incorporate (Charter) the Town of Olympia, Washington, adopted by the Washington Territorial Legislature, January 28, 1859
First Town of Olympia Board Minutes, February 12, 16 and 24, 1859
Town Board Minutes, April 14, 1859 – Selection of Officers for first elected Town of Olympia Board of Trustees
Town Board Minutes, April 12, 1871 – Selection of Officers by Trustees (editor note: appears to be last year when a Town President was selected by and from within the Board of Trustees)
Town Board Minutes, April 3, 1872 – states that W. W. Miller was duly elected Mayor in a municipal election on April 1, 1872 (editor note: appears to be first direct election of an Olympia Mayor)
Directory of City Officials (1859-1904) published in 1904

Board of Trustees | 1859-1871

The Act of Incorporation provided that an election of officers should take place on the first Monday of April each year. Article 8, Section 1, also designated an interim Board of Trustees to serve until the first election.

Members of the interim Board of Trustees for the Town of Olympia appointed by Act of the Territorial Legislature were George A. Barnes, Joseph Cushman, Elwood Evans, T. F. (Thornton Fleming) McElroy, and James Tilton. At the first meeting of the interim Board on February 12, 1859, Cushman was appointed by his fellow trustees to serve as Chairman, and on February 24, 1859, he was elected by his fellow trustees to serve as President of the Board of Trustees until the election in April.

The first election of Town of Olympia Board of Trustees was held April 4, 1859. At the organizational meeting of the first elected Board on April 14, 1859, Elwood Evans was selected by his fellow trustees to serve as Town President for the year. George A. Barnes was selected to serve as Treasurer.

List of Town Board Presidents, 1859-1871:

Joseph Cushman | 1859 (Interim February-April), 1863
Elwood Evans Elwood Evans| 1859-1861
George A. Barnes George A. Barnes| 1862, 1866-1869
E[dward] Giddings | 1864
B.G. [F.] Yantis Benjamin F Yantis| 1865
Francis Henry Francis Henry| 1870-1871

Mayoral | 1872-1924

According to the City Official Directory for the Year 1904 compiled by then Clerk V. A. Milroy, the Office of Mayor was created November 11, 1873 which replaced the President of the Board position.

However, in official Town Minutes maintained by the City of Olympia Clerk’s Office, W. W. (William Winlock) Miller is shown by the Clerk as being elected “in a municipal election” to the position of “Mayor” on April 1, 1872, and again on April 7, 1873. Town Minutes for officer elections prior to 1872 refer to the position as Town Board “President,” and the appointment to that position was from within and by the Trustees.

List of Mayors, 1872-1924:

William Winlock Miller William Winlock Miller| 1872-1873
Ike [Isaac] C. Ellis | 1874
Thornton F. McElroy Thornton F. McElroy| 1875
J[ames] C. Horr | 1876, 1891
J.P. Hudson | 1877
E[sdras] N. Quinette [Ouimette] | 1878-1879
George A. Barnes George A. Barnes| 1880
E[dward] T. Young | 1881
Dr. Nathaniel Ostrander | 1882-1883
J[ohn] S. Dobbins | 1884
A[lbert] A. Phillips | 1885
A[ndsworth].H. Chambers | 1886-1888
J[ohn] F. Gowey | 1889-1890
Gen. R[ossell] G[albraith] O’Brien | 1892
J.W. Robinson | 1893
C[hampion] B[romwell] Mann | 1894-1895
Chas H. Ayer | 1896
John Byrne | 1897
Geo[rge] B. Lane | 1898
Caleb Springer (C.S.) Reinhart Caleb S. Reinhart| 1899-1901
Clarence J. Lord | 1902-1903
H[arvey] G. Richardson | 1904
Dr. P[hilip] H. Carlyon | 1905-1906
Thos. McLarty | 1907
W.A. Hagemeyer | 1908
Mitchell [Mitchel] Harris | 1909-1911
Dr. Wayne L. Bridgfors [Bridgford]| 1912
George A. Mottman | 1913-1916
Jesse T. Mills | 1917-1920
C.H. Bowen | 1921-1922
Geo. W. Draham | 1923-1924

Commissioners | 1925-1982

On November 16, 1925 the City government was changed to a three-member elected commission composed of the Mayor (Commissioner of Public Safety), Commissioner of Finance, and Commissioner of Public Works.

The Commission originally began serving three 3-year terms. In 1950 their terms were increased to four years.

List of City Commissioners, 1925-1982

1925-1928

James C. Johnson | Mayor, Public Safety
E.N. Steele Earl N. Steele| Commissioner of Finance
Frank H. Phillips | Commissioner of Public Works

1929-1931

George N. Mills | Mayor, Public Safety
E.N. Steele Earl N Steele| Commissioner of Finance
C[harles] L. Dufault | Commissioner of Public Works

1932-1934

E.N. Steele Earl N Steele| Mayor, Public Safety
W[illiam] Manier | Commissioner of Finance
*C[harles] L. Dufault | Commissioner of Public Works
Edw[ard] C. Dohm | Commissioner of Public Works

1935-1937

Dr. F[rancis] B. Longaker | Mayor, Public Safety
David Gammell | Commissioner of Finance
Edw[ard] C. Dohm | Commissioner of Public Works

1938-1940

*Dr. F[rancis] B. Longaker | Mayor, Public Safety
David Gammell | Commissioner of Finance, Mayor
M.Y. Haskett | Commissioner of Finance
Edw[ard] C. Dohm | Commissioner of Public Works

1941-1943

J.T. Trullinger | Mayor, Public Safety
M.Y. Haskett | Commissioner of Finance
Otis Gray Murray | Commissioner of Public Works

1944-1946

J.T. Trullinger | Mayor, Public Safety
M.Y. Haskett | Commissioner of Finance
Otis Gray Murray | Commissioner of Public Works

1947-1949

Ernest Mallory | Mayor, Public Safety
Dan L. McCaughan | Commissioner of Finance
W.A. Kellogg | Commissioner of Public Works

1950-1953

Ralph A. Swanson | Mayor, Public Safety
Dan L. McCaughan | Commissioner of Finance
*J. Ross Roberson | Commissioner of Public Works
J.F. (Jack) Hamilton | Commissioner of Public Works

1954-1956

Amanda Benek Smith | Mayor, Public Safety
Claude Yount | Commissioner of Finance
J.F. Jack Hamilton (Died 10/13/54) | Commissioner of Public Works
Thomas Allen | Commissioner of Public Works

1957-1960

Amanda Benek Smith | Mayor, Public Safety
*Frank McClanna | Commissioner of Finance
Dr. Matthew Kast | Commissioner of Finance
*Peter F. Skoog | Commissioner of Public Works
*Herbert Legg | Commissioner of Public Works
Clarence Shain | Commissioner of Public Works

1961-1964

Neil R, McKay | Mayor, Public Safety
Thomas Allen | Commissioner of Finance
Ed Krenik | Commissioner of Public Works

1965-1969

Neil R. McKay | Mayor, Public Safety
Thomas Allen | Commissioner of Finance
Gil Olson | Commissioner of Public Works

1970-1973

Thomas Allen | Mayor, Public Safety
George Earsley | Commissioner of Finance
*Gil Olson | Commissioner of Public Works
Keith Kisor | Commisioner of Public Works

1974-1977

Thomas Allen | Mayor, Public Safety
George Earsley | Commissioner of Finance
Keith Kisor | Commissioner of Public Works

1978-1981

Lyle Watson | Mayor, Public Safety
Ron Rants | Commissioner of Finance
Wm. Jacobs | Commissioner of Public Works

1982

Lyle Watson | Mayor, Public Safety
David Skramstad | Commissioner of Finance
Wm. Daley | Commissioner of Public Works

Council/City Manager | 1982-Present

On May 18, 1982, the voters of Olympia approved the Council-Manager form of government. A new 7-member City Council was elected on November 2, 1982 and assumed office on November 18, 1982. The first meeting of the newly elected City Council was November 23, 1982. The Mayor was selected by the Councilmembers for a two-year term in January of each even numbered year.

In 1991 the voters approved the selection of the Mayor through election by the citizens, rather than through appointment by the Council. The Mayor is elected to serve a 4-year term.

List of Mayor & Councilmembers, 1982-Present [page removed from City website in 2021]

1982-1985

David Skramstad | Mayor
Pete Knittle | Mayor Pro Tem
Mary Lux
Gilbert Carbone
William Daley
Holly Gadbaw
Joan Kelly

1986-1987

William Daley | Mayor
Gilbert Carbone | Mayor Pro Tem
Pete Knittle
Mary Lux
Holly Gadbaw
Joan Kelly
Rex Derr

1988-1989

Holly Gadbaw | Mayor
Rex Derr | Mayor Pro Tem
Gilbert Carbone
Pete Knittle
Mary Lux
William Daley
Cora Pinson

1990-1991

Rex Derr | Mayor
Mary Lux | Mayor Pro tem
Gilbert Carbone
Holly Gadbaw
Sandra Romero
Nina Carter
Cora Pinson

1992-1993

David Skramstad | Mayor (Resigned 3/2/93)
Bob Jacobs | Mayor (Appointed to replace Romero, Selected to become Mayor post resignation)
Mary Lux | Mayor Pro Tem
Rex Derr
Holly Gadbaw
Nina Carter
Mark Foutch
*Sandra Romero (Resigned 1/5/93)
Margaret McPhee (Appointed to replace Skramstad)

1994-1995

Bob Jacobs | Mayor
Mark Foutch | Mayor Pro tem
Pat Cole
Mary Lux
Holly Gadbaw
Margaret McPhee
Jeanette Hawkins

1996-1997

Bob Jacobs | Mayor
Mark Foutch | Mayor Pro Tem
Pat Cole
Laura Ware
Holly Gadbaw
Margaret McPhee
Jeanette Hawkins

1998-1999

Bob Jacobs | Mayor
Mark Foutch | Mayor Pro tem
Stan Biles
Laura Ware
Holly Gadbaw
Margaret McPhee
Jeanette Hawkins

2000-2001

Stan Biles |Mayor
Mark Foutch | Mayor Pro tem
Laura Ware
Curt Pavola
Holly Gadbaw
Margaret McPhee
TJ Johnson (Appointed 8/15/00 to replace McPhee)
Jeanette Hawkins

2002-2003

Stan Biles | Mayor
Mark Foutch | Mayor Pro Tem
Laura Ware
Curt Pavola
Matthew Green
Doug Mah
Jeanette Hawkins

2004-2005

Mark Foutch | Mayor
Laura Ware | Mayor Pro Tem
Matthew Green
Jeanette Hawkins
Joe Hyer
TJ Johnson
Doug Mah
Curt Pavola

2006-2007

Mark Foutch | Mayor
Laura Ware | Mayor Pro tem
Joe Hyer
TJ Johnson
Jeff Kingsbury
Doug Mah
Karen Messmer

2008-2009

Doug Mah | Mayor
Joe Hyer
Jeff Kingsbury
Joan Machlis (Appointed 1/7/08 to open position when Mah became Mayor)
Karen Messmer
Craig Ottavelli
Jeannine Roe (Elected to open position 11/24/09, replaced Machlis)
Rhenda Strub

2010-2011

Doug Mah | Mayor
Craig Ottavelli
Rhenda Strub
Karen Rogers
Stephen H. Buxbaum
Jeannine Roe
Joe Hyer (Resigned 4/10/10)
Steve Langer (Appointed 5/25/10 to replace Hyer)
Jim Cooper (Elected November 2011 to complete term)

2012-2013

Stephen Buxbaum | Mayor
Jim Cooper
Julie Hankins (Appointed 1/10/12 to open position when Buxbaum became Mayor)
Nathaniel Jones | Mayor Pro Tem
Steve Langer
Jeannine Roe
Karen Rogers

2014-2015

Stephen Buxbaum | Mayor
Jim Cooper
Julie Hankins
Nathaniel Jones | Mayor Pro Tem
Steve Langer
Jeannine Roe
Cheryl Selby

2016-2017

Cheryl Selby | Mayor
Jim Cooper
Julie Hankins
Nathaniel Jones | Mayor Pro Tem
Jessica Bateman
Jeannine Roe
Clark Gilman (Appointed 1/4/16 to open position when Selby became Mayor)

2018-2019

Cheryl Selby | Mayor
Jessica Bateman | Mayor Pro Tem (2019)
Jim Cooper
Clark Gilman
Nathaniel Jones | Mayor Pro Tem (2018)
Lisa Parshley (Elected to open position, replaced Julie Hankins)
Renata Rollins (Elected to open position, replaced Jeanine Roe)

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 transit needs for the more than 50 years that straddled the dawn of the 20th century. The name, so the story goes, came from a fellow in an office overlooking Elliot Bay and remarking as he observed all the boat activity that it looked like a “swarm of mosquitoes.”

In the early 1850’s, as the settler population grew, ancillary businesses developed; stores, brickyards, boat builders, dry docks, hotels and services for summer visitors. Since there were only trails in this land, heavily forested to the water’s edge, the population was supported by the steamboats collectively called the Mosquito Fleet that used the Sound as a watery freeway to move mail, products and passengers.

Steamship dining room The fleet was the lifeblood of the community and commerce that launched the Pacific Northwest. Steamer schedules governed daily lives, and the whistle of an approaching boat was the call to collect the mail, greet friends, or send a package. To ride on a steamboat was an occasion, a chance to visit and enjoy the leisurely, often long passage to the city. Old-timers recall the smooth, gleaming wood on the passenger cabins, the box lunches en route, and the fact that, for a child, the journey enlarged the world.

About the Boats

In short, a Mosquito Fleet boat was a craft of any size that performed any required task on Puget Sound.

Size

The smallest was less than 40 feet long and the largest nearly 300 feet. As passenger and freight businesses grew, the boats became larger, and there came a distinction in nomenclature. Generally boats over 50 feet were called steamboats; those under that were called launches.

Routes

When they first arrived (the Beaver was the earliest to the Northwest in 1836), these boats ran all over Puget Sound and even into Canada. They simply went where they were needed. By 1880, they began to settle into regular routes, though boats changed hands and moved to different parts of Puget Sound quite often.

Fuel

In the beginning, they were steam powered, first by wood, later by coal, and still later by oil. There were experiments: non-steam engines boiled naptha (an idea soon abandoned) and then, more safely, were fueled with gasoline. Boilers sometimes exploded, or heat caused fires with disastrous results.

Cargo

They fleet delivered passengers, mail, newspapers, produce, fish, eggs, bricks, shingles, brush, logs and more. Basically if there was water access and it could be loaded or towed, a Mosquito Fleet boat took care of it.

So many boats did so many different duties that it was not always possible to define a boat as a tugboat, freight boat, or passenger boat.

Boat Design and Construction

The End of an Era

Mosquito Fleet crew The Mosquito Fleet era ended as customers switched their allegiance to cars and paved highways. The traditional design of the steamers were outmoded, too, as newer boats came down the ways with gasoline or diesel motors instead of steam, propellers instead of paddle wheels, and steel instead of wooden hulls. To survive, the fleet tried to adapt, the larger boats finding new life as ferries, the smaller ones as tugboats, freighters, or excursion boats. Ultimately, they did not endure. By the 1920’s, car ferries were taking over, and passenger-only patronage was declining. By the 1930s, they were gone.

E.N. Steele

[Captured from Wayback machine that archived deleted City of Olympia pages]

E.N. Steele

About

E.N. Steele

E. N. (Earl) Steele was born April 19, 1881 in Altoona, Iowa, the son of John and Margaret (Newell) Steele. He married Clara Remdt of Findley, Ohio, on December 25, 1917. They had three children: Margaret Steele Everst, Richard N. Steele, and Bonnie J. Steele Lindsay.

Mr. Steele was public school teacher in Tenino, Washington in 1903-04. A lawyer, he was a member of the Washington State Bar Association engaged in private law practice in Olympia from 1904-45. He was owner and manager of the Oyster Company in Olympia, 1922-50, the Rockpoint Oyster Company at Samish Bay, Washington (1922-50), and past president of the Pacific Coast Oyster Growers Association. He authored two notable books about oysters, The Rise and Decline of the Olympia Oyster and The Immigrant (Pacific) Oyster.

In 1925, when the City of Olympia changed from a Mayor/Council form of government to the Commissioner form, Steele was elected Commissioner of Finance, a position he held until he was elected Mayor and Commissioner of Public Safety in 1932.

Steele was also elected to the Washington State Legislature as a State Senator representing the Thurston County area. Earl N. Steele died in 1968.

More information:

The Following is the Forward to Steele’s The Immigrant Oyster. It was written by Charles R. Pollack of Seattle in 1962.

It is only occasionally that a man who starts the development of a new idea or industry, stays with it through the formative stages, meeting problems as they arise; and the fruition of his dreams in a successful industry developed; employing several hundred people; providing profits for not only those who worked with him through the trying periods of small successes, but to others later engaged in the industry; hampered by temporary obstacles and failures, to the achieved goal, such a man is the author of this book.

It has been this writer’s privilege to know the author of this book since his Pacific oyster operations started in 1924, when his company imported the first large cargo of Japanese oyster spat (seed) from the Miyagi Prefecture area of Japan. Previous small shipments of trial spat had been imported for a few preceding years prior to Messrs. Steele and Barnes taking over the program under the name of the Rock Point Oyster Company at Blanchard, Washington.

Earl Newell Steele was born in Altoona near Des Moines, Iowa, April 19, 1881; lived at Perry, Iowa, where he graduated from high school and entered the University of Iowa in 1900; graduated in law the Spring of 1903. It is a recorded fact that Steele traveled from Perry, Iowa, to Iowa City by bicycle, and mainly through his own efforts financed his schooling and graduated in law from Iowa State University in 1903.

Coming to Washington in August, 1903, Steele taught school at Tenino near Olympia for eight months, and then having passed the State Bar examination, he opened his law office at Olympia in 1904, where he practiced his profession for over forty years.

Public spirited and interested in the development of his community, he served as a Director of the Olympia Chamber of Commerce three years and its President two years; elected Olympia City Commissioner of Finance he served seven years, and was appointed Mayor to replace the Mayor who passed away; he served two years in this position; elected State Senator from Thurston County in 1932, he served four years in the Washington State Senate with very considerable distinction.

In 1907 and continuing to this date, being so close to the Oyster operations around Olympia, Steele took a great interest in the practical growing of oysters and with it the scientific development and improvement of the industry. With his summer home on Oyster Bay, the large production area for the Native Olympia Oysters, his interest which might have been called a hobby, developed with the purchase of oyster acreage into a regular profitable business side line.

Jn 1912 he was elected Secretary of the Olympia Oyster Growers Association and held that office until 1941, over 35 years. Principally through his tireless efforts the advertising of the Olympia Oyster Growers Association developed the Pacific Coast demand for these succulent bivalves to the point where the entire available production was sold each year.

On December 25, 1917, Mr. Steele married Clara Ann Remdt in Findlay, Ohio, and their three children, now grown, with families of their own, are Margaret Ann, Richard N., and Bonny Jean. Richard N. and Margaret’s husband, Marshall Hinton, now operate the Rock Point Oyster Company’s plant.

In 1930, it was through his efforts the Pacific Coast Oyster Growers Association was formed. He was president and secretary until 1945, and a Trustee for several years afterwards, as well as a valued consultant to date.

Beginning with the scientific study of the propagation of the Native Olympia Oyster and since early in 1920 pioneering the importation of Japanese transplanted oysters, now known to the trade as the Pacific Oyster, and engaging in the culture of this species for these many years, it goes without Saying that Earl Newell Steele, known to all of us as the Daddy of the Pacific Oyster Industry, after fifty five years, should have a whole book full of interest, information, and observations on oysters for the permanent record.

In 1957, the Olympia Oyster Growers Association published Steele’s book “The Rise and Decline of the Olympia Oyster”. A story of men’s lives, the life of the oyster which they cultivated, and the Olympia Oyster industry.

Personal and most agreeable contacts over the years since 1924 makes me welcome this opportunity to salute “E. N.” and I feel deeply honored to be asked to provide this foreword.

CHARLES R. POLLOCK
Seattle, May 1, 1962

The following article about E. N. Steele is reprinted from The Olympian newspaper’s Mainly About People series published in 1964.

A new chapter has been added to the long and varied career of E. N. Steele, pioneer lawyer, legislator and businessman from Thurston County.

Eighty-three year old Steele is the author of a book about Pacific Oysters – the oysters that grow from the Japanese seed he was first to import, cultivate and put on the market.

Titled The Immigrant Oyster (Ostrea Gigas), the book is published in cooperation with the Pacific Coast Oyster Growers Association Incorporated, and is being distributed now.

The Immigrant Oyster tells the story of the first planting of the Japanese seed in Bellingham’s Samish Bay 42 years ago, problems with importing the seed to the West Coast, troubles with pollution and the growth of the experiment into a profitable industry.

Steele, who also wrote The Rise and Decline of the Olympia Oyster which was published in 1957, now lives in Des Moines, but spends his summers at Rock Point Oyster Company property on Oyster Bay, where his home is located.

Just beyond the rolltop desk in the study of his home is a window that opens on to a long line of dikes protecting the company’s oyster bed.

Steele remembers when there were no dikes, and oyster growing was mostly an Indian occupation.

That was in 1903, the year the young lawyer named Steele was fresh out of the University of Minnesota and ready to make his mark in Olympia.

Steele and oysters is much a story of friendship. He tasted them, liked them, and by 1904 he was growing them on the same Toten Inlet Tidelands his home overlooks.

Young Steele was to have a colorful career in the Olympia area. In 1925 he became the first City of Olympia commissioner of finance when the city switched from the mayor-council form of government to the commission form.

He served until 1931 in this capacity, and from 1932 to 1934 he was Olympia’s mayor and commissioner of public safety.

But he will likely to be remembered primarily in government circles as the senator from Thurston County who in 1933 wrote the Steele Act. The law provided for the state’s control of liquor sales after the end of prohibition and established the State Liquor Control Board.

But oysters are his first love, and from 1933 to 1945 Steele served as the first president of the Pacific Coast Oyster Gorwers Association, comprised of the leading men in the industry.

A long-time friend, Jay Bolster, of Olympia, says Steele is probably the most widely known oyster grower in the United States.

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 in 1852 over the old Oregon Trail. He was born April 5, 1856 in Olympia, approximately ten years after the first western settlers had arrived. Mr. Reinhart died December 10, 1934 at his home in Olympia located at 1112 Olympia Avenue. He is buried in the Reinhart family plot at the Masonic Cemetary in Tumwater, WA.

Caleb Reinhart married Clara Downer, the daughter of Oregon pioneer Joseph Downer who had arrived there in 1847. Caleb and Clara Reinhart had six children, including Anna R. Stanford, a 1900 graduate of Olympia High School, long time art teacher at that school, and the paternal grandmother of Jim Stanford and Jeri Ramsey who provided this biographical information. As of 2009, five generations of Caleb and Clara’s descendents had graduated from Olympia High School.

Mr. Reinhart was a graduate of Williamette University and an attorney who worked as the chief clerk of the Washington State Supreme Court from 1891 until his death in 1934. He was Mayor of Olympia in 1899, 1900, and 1901.

He was a member of the Washington National Guard from its beginning, joining as a noncommissioned officer in Company B, then shortly thereafter promoted to lieutenant and later captain. After four years in that capacity, Company A of the National Guard was formed and Caleb Reinhart was transferred to be captain of that company. Throughout the rest of his life, he was often referred to as “Cap” Reinhart.

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 Winlock Miller High School).

Before the establishment of Washington Territory, William Winlock Miller arrived in Olympia in 1850, with the first commission as an American official in what was then known as Oregon Territory, north of the Columbia River, or Northern Oregon.

His first duties were as customs surveryor, measuring the trade through the Nisqually docks of the British Hudson’s Bay Company for American tariffs.

Miller served as Olympia’s first directly elected mayor, as a member in the Washington Territorial Legislature, as quartermaster general in Governor Stevens’ Territorial Army, as Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Washington Territory, and as United States tax collector for the territory.

Miller was an accomplished businessman, having interests in savings and lending before banks came to the Northwest. Settlers were generally cash poor, but land collateral was considerable. Miller untimately developed vast real estate holdings throughout Western Washington.

When Washington Territory’s population was under a couple thousand and travel was by overland trails or boat, Miller raised supplies, equipment and treasury among settlers to provision the Territorial Army for the Indian Wars. For purchasing, he could only offer scrip, un-negotiated promises to pay at a later date that were ultimately authorized years later by Congress, at a discounted value of 71 cents on the dollar.

Miller’s counsel and backing were widely sought by leaders in Washington Territory. He helped in the election of many territorial leaders, including his father-in-law, Judge Obediah McFadden, who served as territorial representative to Congress.

Miller married Mary Margaret McFadden in 1869. They had two children, Winlock and Pendleton. William, Mary and Pendleton are buried at the Masonic Cemetery (in Tumwater, Washington) just off Cleveland Boulevard.

More information:

The following information is reprinted from an Olympia High School alumni directory provided to the City by Winnifred Castle Olsen, January 2009.

William Winlock Miller arrived in Olympia from Illinois in 1851 and became one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in the Washington Territory. He was successful in business as well as politics, serving in the legislature and as quartermaster general to territorial Governor Isaac Stevens during the 1855-1856 Indian uprising. He was later appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs by President Buchanan. Mr. Miller’s popularity in the local community was evident when the people of Olympia elected him Mayor for two terms.

William Winlock Miller was born in Greenbury, Kentucky, January 12, 1822. He died on January 14, 1876 at the age of 54 and is buried in the Masonic Cemetary, in Tumwater, Washington.

In 1853, Mary McFadden came from Pennsylvania to the Washington Territory with her family when her father O. B. McFadden was appointed justice of the Territorial Supreme Court. She married William Winlock Miller in 1869 and raised two sons, Winlock and Pendleton. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Miller carried on and expanded the family businesses and remained active in both philanthropic and social activities. In 1906 she donated land for the first high school building in Olympia with the stipulation that it be named in honor of her husband.

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, May 14, 1857)

About

Born in Galena, Illinois, January 27, 1827, Francis Henry was the first white child born in Galena. His parents, William and Rachel (McQuigg) Henry, were natives of New York and Connecticut respectively. His father took an active part in the War of 1812, being a Lieutenant of Artillery, and was one of the first settlers of Galena in 1825, where he engaged in the mercentile business. In 1836, William Henry moved with his family to Mineral Point, Wisconsin, where he passed the remainder of his days.

Francis Henry secured his education in the old proverbial “log school house,” walking several miles to improve the simple facilities then offered by the short winter terms. His early manhood was spent in (?) 1847. He received his appointment from General Cass as a Lieutenant of the U.S. Dragoons for the Mexican War serving at the City of Mexico under General Scott. Henry was one of General Scott’s aides all through the war.

After his discharge he joined his family in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and engaged in the study of law under Judge Dunn. In 1851 started for the gold fields of California via Panama; mined at Hangtown, California, (?) and Plaserville. In 1855 he crossed the mountains to Jacksonville, Or. where he found mining profitable for a time. The discovery of gold in Eastern Washington again setting him going, but the Indian War in 1855 saved him from further disappointment. He was a member of several legislatures and two constitutional conventions 1878-1889.

More Information

The following excerpt is from Pioneer Association of the State of Washington posted on the website as part of historylink.org.

Also at the 1886 meeting (Pioneer Association meeting at Yesler’s Hall in Seattle in 1886), Francis Henry suggested that the new association gather material pertinent to the region’s history. Henry, called Olympia’s “town wit, cartoonist and writer of satirical verse” by historian Gordon Newell, authored a poem titled “The Old Settler,” which was later used by restaurateur and Pioneer Association member Ivar Haglund. It included the famous line: “I laugh at the world and its shams, as I think of my happy condition, surrounded by Acres of Clams.”

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 Elwood Evans to serve on a 5-person interim Town Board until the first Olympia elections were held.

The interim Board convened for its first meeting on February 12, 1859. At that meeting, Evans and fellow Trustee George A. Barnes were appointed as a Committee to draft ByLaws for the Town Board. On February 24, 1859, the committee of Barnes and Evans presented recommended ByLaws to the Town Board, which were unanimously adopted.

On April 14, 1859, Mr. Evans was appointed by the newly elected Board to a vacant position created by the resignation of William Rutledge. At that meeting, Evans was also selected by his fellow Board Trustees to serve as President of the Town Board for 1859.

Elwood Evans Resources

Northwest Illustrations Collection , Washington State University Libraries, A collection of 53 selected illustrations taken from the rare book, History of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington. Elwood Evans was the main contributor to this series of volumes published in 1889, the same year Washington was granted Statehood.

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 October 15, 1847, Pittsfield, Illinois)

About

T.F. McElroy Started from Pittsfield, Illinois by ox team, date 1849. Arrival on coast at Oregon City, Oregon Territory in 1849. Incidents on way: The ox team “gave out,” the party divided and Mr. McElroy and another man (name unknown) came on to Oregon City. The original desitnation was California, where Mr. McElroy went by sea in a sailing vessel (Barque Diamond, Capt. Reynard) in October and November 1849. Companions in party: Norton Bates (brother-in-law), others unknown.

Mr. McElroy located in Thurston County in the fall of 1852; and with J. W. Wiley founded the first newspaper, The Columbian, in what is now the State of Washington.

Mr. McElroy was the first master of the first masonic lodge in Washington Territory. He was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Town of Olympia (appointed by the Territorial Legislature, January 28, 1859), as well as its first treasurer (February to April 1859), and held the office of Mayor of Olympia (1875).

Information filed by Harry B. McElroy (only son of Thurston F. McElroy and Sarah E. McElroy), February, 1918.

More information:

McElroy Family Papers (1847-1927), held by the University of Washington Special Collections, Manuscript Collection # 0027.

Biographical Note from the UW Special Collections website for the McElroy Family Papers:

Pioneer family.

Thorton Fleming McElroy, 1825-1885
Sara Collins McElroy, 1827-1894
Harry Bates McElroy, 1861-1928

Thornton McElroy joined the gold rush to California, journeyed overland by wagon train to Oregon City, OR, to work on the Oregon Spectator, was sent by Thomas Dryer to Olympia, Washington to establish and publish “The Columbian” in 1852; was Territorial printer (1863-1872), and was foreman of the “Pioneer and Democrat.”

Scope and Content of the McElroy Family Papers:

Family papers, including correspondence of Thornton F. McElroy, Washington Territorial Official; his wife, Sara Collins McElroy; and their son, Harry Bates McElroy; papers relate to an overland journey to California in 1849, the newspaper publishing and printing business in Oregon and Washington Territories, politics in Washington Territory, and social conditions in the Northwest during pioneer period: 1847-1927.

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

George A Barnes

Started from Fort Wayne, Indiana by team, Spring of 1848. Arrival on coast: Oregon City, Oregon, Fall of 1848. Spent the winter there and then wagoned to the California mines where he stayed until November 1849 when he and his wife took ship for New Orleans via the isthmus and up the Mississippi river to Fort Wayne, Indinana. After passing the winter there, Barnes, his wife, his father, and family came across the plains to Portland, Oregon in 90 days. He arrived in Portland in August 1850 and opened a general merchandise store. In 1852, he sold out the store and came by schooner to Olympia where he continued in the merchandise store business. Later he organized the First State Bank of Olympia and erected Olympia’s first brick building. He continued in business 23 years in all, and then retired to a quiet life.

Mr. Barnes served on the first Portland Council and helped organize the Olympia (Town Board) on which he served several times as well as school boards. Mrs. Barnes was a Pioneer Hostess.

George A. Barnes was appointed to the first Town of Olympia Board of Trustees which convened for its initial meeting on February 12, 1859. At that meeting, he and fellow Trustee Elwood Evans were appointed as a Committee to draft ByLaws for the Town Board. On February 24, 1859, the committee of Barnes and Evans presented recommended ByLaws to the Town Board, which were unanimously adopted.

Mr. Barnes was elected to the Town Board in Olympia’s first general election of Trustees, April 4, 1859. By request of his fellow Trustees, he served as Chairman of the Board for one week, from April 7 – 14, 1859. On April 14, 1859, the Board conducted its first annual election of officers. Elwood Evans was appointed by the Board to serve as Town President for 1859 and George A. Barnes was appointed as Treasurer.

George A. Barnes was subsequently elected by his fellow Trustees as President, Town of Olympia Board of Trustees in 1862, 1866 to 1869, and Mayor in 1880.

Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias – 3/20/22

Olympia Area Black Pioneers

Fraternal organizations were immensely popular in the latter part of the 19^th century. Pictured here are Olympia members of the Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias (KoP). According to a history of the KoP, the Uniform Rank was an auxiliary of the KoP, formed during the Civil War and organized along the lines of a military unit. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org.

Unknown photographer, around 1885, courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society

Elizabeth Ayer – 3/13/22

March 14, 2022

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 and elsewhere, including the endangered Hanson Duplex on Capitol Campus. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org.

Black Pioneers Walking Tour

March 8, 2022

Trifold brochure produced by the City of Olympia

Toone James family – 3/6/22

March 7, 2022

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 time were from Toisan in southern China. They tended oyster beds, worked in canneries, businesses, and restaurants. Son Walter James later opened the landmark Nankin Cafe in Minneapolis in 1919. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross and Ron Locke on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum.

Ida Smith photo, around 1900, courtesy State Capital Museum Collection, Washington State Historical Society

Children of Joseph Conner – 2/20/22

March 7, 2022

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 in the Puget Sound War of 1855-1856. Pictured here are his four children, Milton, Alice, Jane, and Martha, in a studio photograph taken in the early 1900s. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. Unknown photographer, early 1900s, courtesy Washington State Historical Society

Bordeaux Donkey Engine – 2/13/22

February 14, 2022

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, stores, and over 1,000 residents. Logging crew members and family members are posing here in front of a donkey engine. A donkey engine was a steam-powered winch, once widely used in late 19^th to and early 20^th century logging operations. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org.

Dog Show at the Armory – 2/6/22

February 14, 2022

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, sports events, and fundraisers. This photograph, taken at the 1958 Olympia Dog Fanciers Association competition, shows Frances Rice with her winning great Dane, Long Crest March Wind. Please submit your own memories of the Armory to the Olympia Armory Storytelling Project, olympiaarmory.org. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum.

Washington Standard – 1/30/22

January 31, 2022

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 of slavery, temperance, and other reforms. Unlike many publishers of the time, Murphy did not consistently endorse a particular political party’s position – the paper’s motto was “Hew to the line, let the chips fall where they may.” Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, olympiahistory.org.

1/23/22 – Clara White Dunbar

January 23, 2022

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 a few blocks of each other on Olympia’s east side, and were active in the community. Pictured here is Clara White Dunbar. She and her husband Rolph (or Ralph) Oregon Dunbar built the Dunbar House on Olympia Avenue, which is still in existence. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, olympiahistory.org. See also White Family photographs in the Bigelow House Photograph collection. Charcoal portrait, Courtesy Washington State Historical Society

Gerry Alexander

March 2, 2013

Justice Alexander has deep Washington roots. He was born in Aberdeen, and, at an early age, moved with his family to Olympia. He attended Garfield grade school and then graduated from Olympia High School, which, at the time, was located within sight of the Temple of Justice. After receiving an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Washington, he served as a lieutenant in the United States Army Infantry, and then returned to his alma mater to earn his J.D. in 1964. He was president of the Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity during his final year of law school.

Alexander practiced law privately in Olympia for nine years with the firm of Parr, Baker, Alexander and Cordes. During his years in private practice he was involved in a number of bar efforts to improve the legal profession and served a term as president of the Thurston-Mason County Bar Association. Alexander served as a judge of the superior court for Thurston and Mason Counties from 1973 through 1984, and as a judge for the Court of Appeals, Division Two, from 1985 through 1994.

Justice Alexander was first elected to a seat on the Washington Supreme Court in 1994 and re-elected in 2000. Shortly thereafter, his colleagues elected him to a four-year position as chief justice, and re-elected him as chief in 2004 and again in 2008. Although Justice Alexander stepped down as chief justice in January 2011, his nine years of service in that position give him the distinction of being the longest running chief justice in the state’s history. He retired from the Supreme Court on December 31, 2011. In February 2012, he became “of counsel” to the Olympia Law Firm of Bean, Gentry, Wheeler and Peternell, limiting his practice to arbitration and mediation and consulting on appellate procedure.

Justice Alexander has been involved in legal education and served on several boards, commissions and committees advising on legal matters, including chairing the Board for Judicial Administration and serving on the Statute Law Committee of the State of Washington. He is a co-founder and board member of the Washington Courts Historical Society and co-chaired the State Capitol Furnishings Preservation Committee, to help refurbish and care for the Temple of Justice and other Capitol Group buildings. Justice Alexander has also been active in his community serving in various capacities on local charitable, religious, and civic organizations. He was active in efforts to save and preserve the 1930s era Thurston County Courthouse and served as president for the Bigelow House Preservation Association.

Justice Alexander has been designated as a distinguished alumnus of the University of Washington Law School and has been awarded a Doctor of Laws by Gonzaga University. In 2012, the Legal Foundation of Washington presented him with the Charles A. Goldmark Distinguished Service Award.

He is the proud father of three adult children and has nine grandchildren.

Greg Griffith

January 21, 2018

Greg Griffith has worked for over 30 years in the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historical Preservation. In that timespan he has worked as the agency’s historic preservation planner and implementing the Section 106 consultation process for the built environment. He later moved into the position of Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer. In that role he manages the work and programs of the Built Environment Unit and is responsible for the SHPO’s development and implementation of the Washington State Historic Plan: Getting the Future Right 2014-19. Greg is a long-time member of the Thurston County Historical Commission and in previous experience in the non-profit sector he has served the Olympia Heritage Commission, Olympia Design Review Board, the Bigelow House Preservation Association, and Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.

Before arriving in Washington, Greg worked for county planning organizations in northeast Ohio and metropolitan St. Louis. He has a Masters in City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University; a Masters in Historic Preservation Planning from Eastern Michigan University; and a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Miami University

Ann Olson

January 21, 2018

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 active in the community. As her children were growing up she had a strong interest in their various activities and education volunteering with many youth programs and educational endeavors. Ann is a past state PTA president and past national PTA vice president serving on those boards over 10 years. Locally Ann co-chaired the Olympia Citizens for Schools levy campaign with Dick Pust from 1982 until 2015.

Ann’s interest in history and genealogy began at a young age when she used to draw pedigree charts of her family. Her mother’s paternal side came to the Dayton, Washington area in the early 1860’s where the first of four consecutive generations were born, Ann being the 4th. Continuing that interest, in 1974 Ann was one of the founders of the Olympia Genealogical Society where she held every elected office and twice served as president. She continues as a board member chairing the Beginner’s Genealogy Workshop held annually at the Olympia library. She is also the society’s annual Spring Seminar registrar, which she has done for a number of years.

A docent at the Governor’s Mansion since the mid 1970’s, Ann was encouraged to seek a tour guide position at the state capitol. She retired in 2011 after 17 years of providing civic

educational tours to 100’s of school children, youth and adults from around the world – a job she thoroughly enjoyed.

Ann was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Governor’s Mansion Foundation in the early 1990’s where she served as the Foundation’s historian. In 2008 Ann co-chaired the Governor’s Mansion Centennial Garden Party held on the front lawn of the mansion. Over 300 guests attended, most in period costume, including then Governor Gregoire and First Gentleman Mike. In 2015 Ann was elected treasurer of GMF and is currently serving a second term in that position.

Ann served on the committees to celebrate the centennial of the Temple of Justice in 2013, our state’s 125th birthday party in 2014 (she was in charge of the giant 3’ by 5’ cake decorated with a historical map of the state), and the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015.

A 33-year member of the local Sacajawea Chapter of the DAR, Ann is finishing her second term as registrar. She is also the chapter’s parliamentarian. She is a life member of the Pioneers of Washington and a 35 plus- year member of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington where she is a trustee on the state board. Locally, she belongs to Olympia Chapter #4 which manages and operates the Crosby House Museum in Tumwater. She is serving her second term as president of the chapter. Chapter Daughters opened the house as part of the OHS/BHM Holiday Tour of Homes in 2015. She is part of the South Sound Historical Association as well as the group supporting the new Thurston County Journal. She has participated in the History Conferences put on by Don Trosper with the Olympia/Tumwater Foundation and, dressing in period costume, she has manned a booth at the Thurston County Through the Decades event. Ann most recently served on a group providing input to the City of Olympia officials regarding community arts, culture and heritage.

In her genealogical research, she finds she is a distant relative of the Bigelow family.

1-16-22 – James Madison Alden view of Main Street

January 19, 2022

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 image of Olympia, showing Main Street (now Capitol Way) extending down to Budd Inlet. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum.

1-9-22 – Chambers Butcher Shop

January 19, 2022

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 shop, pictured here, at the southeast corner of Fourth Avenue and Washington Street. Andsworth also served as Olympia mayor and developed the Chambers Block building at Capitol and Fourth. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum.

Courtesy Washington State Historical Society

1-2-2022 – Inaugural Ball 1941

January 19, 2022

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 venue for social gatherings, sports events, and fundraisers. This photo portrays Governor Langlie, his wife, and other dignitaries, at the 1941 Inaugural Ball. Please submit your own memories of the Armory to the Olympia Armory Storytelling Project, olympiaarmory.org. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum.

12/26/2021 – Sylvester Mansion

December 27, 2021

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 have looked like through history, from the vantage point of a window high in the tower of Sylvester Mansion, overlooking the park. For this last image of the year, we show the mansion, this image captured soon after it was built around 1856. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross, Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum.

12/12/21 – Hazard Stevens

December 12, 2021

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 first Washington Territorial governor, Isaac Stevens. After serving in the Civil War, Hazard returned to Olympia and became a developer and city booster. He established Cloverfields Farm on Carlyon Street, where his house still stands. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org.

11/28/21 – Mary Ann Bigelow

November 28, 2021

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, was named Mother of the Year in 1964, the occasion for the above photograph with her son. The Bigelows sold their home, now the Bigelow House Museum, to the Bigelow House Historic Preservation Association, but continued to live in the home until their deaths. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross, Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org.

Dixy Lee Ray – 11/21/21

November 22, 2021

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 Washington State’s first female governor. Ray ran as a Democrat, despite having no previous political experience, and her one term was marked by controversy as well as achievement. She is pictured in the cityscape with one of her beloved dogs, whom she always kept with her. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. 1980 Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society

Amanda Benek Smith – 11/14/21

November 15, 2021

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 elected as the first female mayor of Olympia. She oversaw several civic improvements during her tenure as mayor and was noted for her spirit of openness. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org.

Susan Parish collection, Washington State Archives

Belle Reeves – 11/7/21

November 15, 2021

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 Reeves. First elected as Chelan legislative representative through a write-in campaign, Mrs. Reeves spent her entire career in politics, many years as the only female representative, then as the state’s first female Secretary of State. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org.

Washington State Archives, general photograph collection

Thurston County Courthouse (Old State Capitol) – 10/31/21

November 15, 2021

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 the east side of Sylvester Park. It was built in 1892 to serve as the Thurston County Courthouse. It is now the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The clock tower shown in this photo burned in 1928; several turrets were lost in the 1949 earthquake. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross, Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1899-2/

Jeffers photograph, State Library collection

Spring 2022 Printing of Thurston County: Water, Woods and Prairies Now Available

November 4, 2021

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 Prairies is a 290 page, fully illustrated volume containing essays authored by local historians about Native Americans, maritime explorers, loggers, early settlers and farmers, as well as the story of the state capital and contemporary times. The book is fully footnoted, indexed and features 250 illustrations as well as an extensive bibliography.

To order your copy, fill out the form below. If paying ahead with credit card or Paypal Account, be sure to proceed to step two.

Note: For updates to the first printing of Water, Woods and Prairies, please download this document.

Thank you for your support. Questions? Email olyhistory@gmail.com

Loading…

Bigelow House Photograph Collection

November 3, 2021

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 photographs. Over one hundred of these have now been added to our website and convey a sense of the family, home, friendships, and daily life. Click on the following links to be taken to individually-themed webpages. Contact us if you would like more information, higher resolution images, or other details, or if you have additional identifications or corrections.

Bigelow Family
Daniel Richardson Bigelow
Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow
Tirzah Bigelow
Evaline Bigelow
Margaret Bigelow
Korean Girls’ Seminary, Hawaii
Ruth Bigelow
Duncan Bigelow
Ray Bigelow
George Bigelow
Daniel Sylvester Bigelow
Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow
Bigelow House
Bigelow Garden
Pastimes
Fun with Friends
Boating
Camping
The White Family
Friends and Neighbors

Bigelow House Museum Collections, © Copyright Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. No commercial use of images permitted. Contact olyhistory@gmail.com for rights information.

Friends and Neighbors

November 4, 2021

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 in the 19th century. This page shows a few of these, all Olympia area residents. Each image provides a link to the page of our Who Are We? feature where you can find out more about the person in the photo.

Mary O'Neill, early Olympia teacher (https://olympiahistory.org/o/)

Ralph (or Rolph) Oregon Dunbar and brother (https://olympiahistory.org/o/)

Fred Finch, son of Duncan and Eunice Finch (https://olympiahistory.org/f/)

Captain Duncan B Finch (https://olympiahistory.org/f/)

Carrie Ayers, daughter of William and Sarah Ayers (https://olympiahistory.org/a/)

Walter Ayers, son of William and Sarah Ayers, age 17 (https://olympiahistory.org/a/)

John Ayers, son of William and Sarah Ayers, age 19 (https://olympiahistory.org/a/)

Sarah Ann Sanborn Ayers, wife of William Ayers (https://olympiahistory.org/s/)

William Norton Ayers (https://olympiahistory.org/a/)

Mary Thomson Beatty, wife of Daniel Beatty (https://olympiahistory.org/t/)

Daniel Beatty (https://olympiahistory.org/b/)

Eunice Finch, wife of Captain Duncan Finch (https://olympiahistory.org/f/)

Eliza Henry, wife of Francis Henry (https://olympiahistory.org/h/)

Howard Ayers, son of William and Sarah, age 14 (https://olympiahistory.org/a/)

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 the island. The school was to improve the educational opportunities for the daughters particularly of those working on sugar plantations in the area. These photographs show Margaret with her students at the school and the Hawaiian area at the time.

Margaret Bigelow left, with two students and another woman.

Margaret Bigelow center with students at the Korean Girls' seminary, Hawaii

Margaret Bigelow second from left with students another woman.

Margaret Bigelow second from left with students and another teacher, Korean Girls' Seminary, Hawaii.

Two images: Left: Margaret Bigelow on left with student another woman. Right: Margaret Bigelow on right with woman and students.

Two images: Left: Margaret Bigelow on left with student and another teacher. Right: Margaret Bigelow on right with woman and students and another teacher, Korean Girls' Seminary, Hawaii.

Margaret Bigelow right with leis with other teachers? And students.

Teachers and students, Korean Girls' Seminary, Hawaii. Margaret Bigelow second row with leis.

Margaret Bigelow top row third from right with other teachers? And students

Teachers and students, Korean Girls' Seminary, Hawaii. Margaret Bigelow top row

Three images. Left, four women and child. Center and Right Margaret Bigelow and second woman with leis, Korean Girls' Seminary, Hawaii

Two images. Women with car on road. Women near car. Margaret Bigelow bottom right.

Margaret Bigelow with students at Korean Methodist School Hawaii.

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 early 20th century summer.

Beach front tent camp view.

Summer beach tent camp.

Group of men, women and children at a table at waterfront summer camp. Margaret Bigelow 4th from left top row.

Group portrait at beach front tent camp.

Two women in beach front tent camp view

Man and women in beach front tent camp view with table

Beach front tent camp view

Two images of beachfront summer camp with men and women.

Two views of beach front summer tent camp with groups of women and men. Margaret Bigelow in both images.

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 the summer.

Seven Oars Photo—Women on beachfront holding oars with small girl. Margaret Bigelow at far right.

Same grouping as 044 with oyster shells in foreground.

Bigelow family members on the beach with oyster shells. Possibly Priest Point Park

Women and men with two canoes. Margaret Bigelow in rear canoe—after the 7 Oars photo?

Woman in canoe.

Margaret Bigelow and child in canoe.

Four women with canoe on beach front.

Six children in waterfront canoe.

Large group on a boat with dock in the forefront.

Passengers and captain on a small steamboat with dock in the forefront.

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 early 20th century.

Group photo of unidentified men and women posing in white cloth hats and aprons in front of a house. Margaret Bigelow top row second from left.

Margaret Bigelow left with three unidentified women in summer white clothing in woodland setting—Priest Point Park?

Margaret Bigelow left with three unidentified women in summer white clothing in woodland setting, possibly Priest Point Park

Men and women on beach front posing with tree branches. Margaret Bigelow second from left. Likely Priest Point Park

Beachfront view—Priest Point Park? Four women (Margaret Bigelow at far left) seated on a rock with another unidentified woman next to the rock.

Beachfront view - Four women (Margaret Bigelow at far left) seated on a rock with another unidentified woman next to the rock. Possibly Priest Point Park

Group of men, women and children at a table at waterfront summer camp. Margaret Bigelow 4th from left top row.

Beach front group of four women and one man. Margaret Bigelow second from left.

Margaret Bigelow, third from left with two unidentified men and two unidentified women (in summer white clothing)—appears to be at Priest Point Park—dock in the background.

Summer beachfront unidentified group photo posing on a large snag, probably Priest Point Park

Two images of beach front activities showing men, women and children

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 established the “Bigelow Orchard” and raised a variety of crops and livestock, according to early agricultural census records. The property had a variety of outbuildings but only one remains. The Bigelows exhibited produce at local fairs and were mentioned in early newspaper articles about their crops. In later life Ann Elizabeth with her family were noted for the “show place” at their home which included naturalized daffodils and tulips, dahlias and especially roses. Ann Elizabeth exhibited the prize-wining roses at the local Rose Carnival. Many of the featured photos show the family in the garden, especially during the height of the blooming season and their enjoyment of the property.

Daffodil Path/ Three Women, Bigelow House

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow in garden

Two unidentified women with Ann Elizabeth Bigelow in front garden.

Two views: Unidentified woman and man with Bigelow House roses.

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow and another woman at Bigelow House

Two views of Bigelow Yard: Top: Ann Elizabeth Bigelow seated with unidentified woman. Bottom: Unidentified woman with daffodils.

Young woman with Ann Elizabeth Bigelow at Bigelow House

Unidentified woman with Ann Elizabeth Bigelow with garden of tulips and daffodils.

Bigelow House Garden and Family ca. 1904. Pictured L-R: Unknown, Unknown, Ruth Bigelow Wright; Ann ElizabethBigelow, Margaret Bigelow

Bigelow House from garden looking west across Budd Inlet

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 was restored in the 1990s, retains the signature elements of the style on the exterior. The house interior features authentic furnishings and artwork as well as the records of the long residence of the Bigelow family. Focused on the territorial period of Washington, the house includes elements the continued residency of the family to 2005. The house is open to the public for docent guided tours. The photographs in this collection, on this and other pages, show both the interior and exterior of the house and grounds over the years.

Bigelow House—West Side

South view of Bigelow House

Daffodil Path/ Three Women, Bigelow House

West side of Bigelow House with garden path

View of West side of the Bigelow House showing garden (Image reversed?), about 1910

AE Bigelow outside Bigelow House near sw porch with child.

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow outside Bigelow House near sw porch with unidentified child.

See also Bigelow House in Where Are We? feature; The Story of the Bigelow House

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 White came over the Oregon Trail in 1850 and Margaret White followed in 1851. After living in Oregon and then Chehalis area, they moved to Chambers Prairie where White was killed during the Puget Sound Indian War in 1856. Margaret married Stephen Ruddell (1816-1891) in 1857.

In 1871, she joined her daughter Ann Elizabeth Bigelow in calling for a Suffrage Convention and attended the Washington Territory Woman’s Suffrage Association convention in Olympia in November 1871. The Whites had a large family: Ann Elizabeth, William Nathan, George, Mary Ellen (Byrd), Anson, Clara (Dunbar) and John Lee. Mrs. White had a son Rigdon after her marriage to Stephen Ruddell. Margaret and Stephen, and Margaret’s three daughters all lived in close proximity on Olympia’s East Side, and their homes are all still in existence.

Rev. William Stewart, Margaret Stewart White Ruddell's father

Margaret Stewart White Ruddell, Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow's mother, photograph by A.B. Woodard

Margaret Stewart White Ruddell with three daughters

Margaret Stewart White Ruddell with her three daughters Clara White Dunbar, Mary Ellen White Byrd, Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

Margaret Stewart White Ruddell Mother of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

William White, father of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

George White, brother of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

Clara White Dunbar (1852-1930), sister of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

Addie Byrd (later Athow), Jessie Byrd (later Stevenson), and Clara Byrd (later Anderson), nieces of Ann Elizabeth Bigelow

Anson White, brother of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

William White, Margaret Stewart White Ruddell's first husband

Mary Ellen White (Byrd), sister of Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

See additional photographs of the family in our Who Are We? collection, as well as locations associated with the family: Dunbar House, Byrd House, and Ruddell House

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 with Ruth and her husband. It was not until Ruth’s death in 1950 that the family lived in the entire house.

Mary Ann and Daniel were stewards of the historic house and were recognized with a statewide preservation award for their care in 1993.

Mary Ann led her family to Florida as the Washington State representatives in the All America Family Search; in 1964, she was named Washington State Mother of the Year; in 1999 she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Olympia YWCA; and in 2001, she was celebrated as a Living Legend of Thurston County by the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Thurston County.

Daniel and Mary Ann Bigelow with 3 sons.

Daniel Sylvester and Mary Ann Bigelow with 3 sons.

Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Bridal Portrait

Daniel S. and Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Family 1949

Daniel S. and Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Family 1947

Daniel Sylvester and Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Wedding Party Group Photo, 1935

Timothy 16, David 17, Mrs. Bigelow, Mr. Bigelow, Superintendent of Public Instruction Lloyd Andrews with Book of Knowledge for Washington All American Family.

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 Washington Law School. He worked for the State of Washington. He married Mary Ann Campbell in 1935. They had four sons: George, John, David and Tim. They lived in the Bigelow House from the time of their marriage. Both were active in the Methodist Church. He followed his father’s interest in the YMCA.

Daniel S. and Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Family 1947

Daniel Sylvester and Mary Ann Bigelow with 3 sons.

Daniel S. and Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Family 1949

Daniel Sylvester and Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Wedding Party Group Photo, 1935

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 University of Washington Law School. He married Edith Sylvester (1881-1973) in 1910. They had four children. He was a long- time attorney in Olympia, including serving as the city attorney for many years. He was a partner in the firm of Bigelow and Manier for over 50 years. George Bigelow was very active in the Methodist Church and YMCA, including working for the Y in France in 1918-1919. Their home was just east of the Bigelow House on Glass Avenue.

George Royal Bigelow 1904. Photographed by Bodurtha.

George Royal Bigelow, 1904, photograph by Bodurtha

George R. Bigelow as a young Man. Photographed by Jeffers.

George R. Bigelow as a young man, Photograph by Jeffers studio.

Two men in hats and overcoats. George Bigelow at right.

George Royal Bigelow 1881-1961

Bigelow Family Portrait 1889. Top Row: Richard Lee (Ray) Bigelow, Tirzah Bigelow Royal, William Ellis Bigelow, Duncan Bigelow, Ruth Bigelow Wright, First Row: Evaline Bigelow Bonney, Daniel R. Bigelow, George Bigelow (on lap) Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow, Margaret Bigelow.

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 Shipyards in Olympia in World War I. He was later an insurance agent and built the Bigelow Apartments in 1922 and continued to manage them into the 1940s.

Ray Richardson Bigelow 1873-1967

Ray and Belle Knox Bigelow Wedding Photo

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 is unclear if she taught locally.

She married Albert Wright (1860-1953) in 1910 at the Bigelow House and lived her entire life there. The Wright Family were local saddle makers.

Ruth Bigelow (1860-1950) later Wright (right) with unidentified friend, photo about 1880 by W. Duckering

Ruth Bigelow Wright interior view of Bigelow House.

Ruth and Ann Elizabeth Bigelow in the garden

Ruth Bigelow Wright and Ann Elizabeth Bigelow with roses on south side of the house

Ruth Bigelow (later Wright) (1860-1950) at top row right with other young women (possibly Evaline at top row far left)

1879 Washington Territorial Legislative Council with Ruth Bigelow as messenger

1879 Washington Territorial Legislative Council showing Ruth Bigelow (1860-1950) later Wright as messenger, photo by A.B. Woodard

Bigelow House Garden and Family ca. 1904. Pictured L-R: Unknown, Unknown, Ruth Bigelow Wright; Ann ElizabethBigelow, Margaret Bigelow

Two images. Left: older man outside with car. Right: woman gardening Ruth?

Ruth Bigelow Wright and Albert Bigelow in the Bigelow House garden

See additional links in Who Are We?

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 award winning herd and also farmed in South Bay. He married Sarah Markham (1872-1965) in 1893. Duncan Bigelow also ran unsuccessfully for Thurston County Sheriff.

Duncan Bigelow (1871-1945), around 1891, L. Wilson Clark photographer

Young Bigelow Child, possibly Duncan 1871-1945, photo by L. Wilson Clark

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 School, attended Ohio Wesleyan University and later attended Columbia University and secured a Master of Arts there in 1914. She returned to teach in Olympia and then went to Hawaii from 1916 to 1917 where she taught at the Korean Girls’ Seminary in the Honolulu area (a separate page of this Photograph Collection is devoted to her time at the Seminary).

A musician, she gave piano lessons and was active in local music and theatrics. Notably, she was part of the “Jubilee” at the Methodist Church in 1910 when Washington women permanently won the vote.

Margaret lived out her life in the Bigelow House.

Margaret Bigelow, 1915

Margaret Bigelow 1875-1937 as a child

Margaret Bigelow 1902. Photographed by Paterson, Olympia.

Margaret Bigelow 1903 as a graduate, Ellensburg Normal School

Margaret Bigelow, 1902

Group Photo Teachers at WW Miller High School? Margaret Bigelow third from left.

Group Photo Teachers at WW Miller High School (Olympia High School) Margaret Bigelow third from left.

Margaret Bigelow and child in canoe.

Margaret Elizabeth Bigelow 1875-1937 (attended Ohio Wesleyan in 1908), photo by Baker Art Gallery around 1908

Margaret Bigelow left, with two students and another woman.

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 Evaline were active in the Washington State Historical Society, where William was a curator. The Bonneys had two children who lived to adulthood. Zaidee (high school teacher at Lincoln High School in Tacoma) and Victor (government chemist)/ Eva Bonney was Charter member of Nesika Women’s Club in Tacoma and active in the Daughters of Pioneers.

Evaline Bigelow (Bonney) 1858-1959, around 1878, photographer L. Wilson Clark

Three women and two men in porch front view—possibly Tirzah Bigelow Royal and Evaline Bigelow Bonney and Will Bonney in later life.

Ruth Bigelow (later Wright) (1860-1950) at top row right with other young women (possibly Evaline at top row far left)

See additional photo in Who Are We? feature

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 Union Academy Principal, Miller Royal (1852-3?-1910) in 1877 and they had two children–Ethel Royal Hardman and Bonnie Royal Gastra. Tirzah and Miller were later divorced and she retook her maiden name. Tirzah owned property in the Bigelow House area and is buried in the Forest Cemetery as Tirzah Bigelow.

Tirzah Bigelow (Royal), photo by Charles Logan

Tirzah Bigelow as a child (cropped image)

Tirzah Bigelow (later Royal)

Three women and two men in porch front view—possibly Tirzah Bigelow Royal and Evaline Bigelow Bonney and Will Bonney in later life.

See also Tirzah Bigelow in our Who Are We? feature

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 via the Oregon Trail to Portland, Oregon and then north by ship to Olympia. Active in politics, he was a member of the first Territorial Legislature of Washington in 1854, held a number of other county and territorial offices and advocated for women’s voting rights. He married Ann Elizabeth White in 1854. They later built the Bigelow house and reared a large family. He was instrumental in founding the Methodist Church in Olympia and related ventures. Bigelow lived to be last survivor of the first legislature.

Daniel Richardson Bigelow and Ann Elizabeth Bigelow 50th anniversary

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow 1836-1926 and Daniel Richardson Bigelow 1824-1906 50th Anniversary, 1904

See also additional images on this page in our Who Are We? feature; Searchable PDF of Bigelow materials at State Library, including Daniel Bigelow’s diary, pages from family Bible, and photographs. (Caution: large PDF file; diary is handwritten so may not be searchable) Link to State Library catalog page

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

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 House Photograph Collection to see images of family members, mostly at the Bigelow House and at other important events in their lives. There are also photos of Ann Elizabeth’s mother, father, sisters and grandfather, as well as descendants of the original settlers.

Daniel S. and Mary Ann Campbell Bigelow Family 1947

Women and men with two canoes. Margaret Bigelow in rear canoe—after the 7 Oars photo?

Three women and two men in porch front view—possibly Tirzah Bigelow Royal and Evaline Bigelow Bonney and Will Bonney in later life.

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow

October 28, 2021

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, she married Daniel Bigelow in 1854 at her parents’ home. Daniel and Ann Elizabeth Bigelow were stalwarts in both the Methodist Church and the local Temperance Group. The Bigelows were both active in the Territorial women’s suffrage movement. Notably in 1871 Susan B. Anthony had dinner at the Bigelow House and declared Mrs. Bigelow “Splendid.”

After Daniel Bigelow’s death in 1905 she continued to live on in the Bigelow House until her death in 1926. She was interested in gardening and managed her own property.

Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow as a young woman

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow 1836-1926 with unidentified child, ambrotype

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow 1836-1926 and Daniel Richardson Bigelow 1824-1906 50th Anniversary, 1904

Margaret Stewart White Ruddell with her three daughters Clara White Dunbar, Mary Ellen White Byrd, Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow

Ruth Bigelow Wright and Ann Elizabeth Bigelow with roses on south side of the house

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow in garden

Ann Elizabeth Bigelow outside Bigelow House near sw porch with unidentified child.

See also entry for Ann Elizabeth White in our Who Are We? feature

Digitization and posting of these images from the Bigelow House Collection funded through the Pendleton & Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation.

10/24/21 – Marshville Bridge

October 25, 2021

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 Olympia with West Olympia. In this photograph from around that time, we see the bridge in the foreground, spanning the Deschutes Estuary; downtown Olympia is in the center; and beyond, we can see the hillside home of Daniel and Ann Elizabeth Bigelow, now the Bigelow House Museum. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross, Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1874-building-a-railroad/

10/10/21 – Farmer’s Market

October 25, 2021

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 the Port of Olympia. The market, one of the largest in Puget Sound, was built at this location in 1996. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/2001-2/

October 3, 2021 – Robert Chamberlain

October 25, 2021

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 the 1950 cityscape, a young man is seen in Sylvester Park. This is “a portrait of the artist as a young man,” Mr. Chamberlain himself as a youngster. He gave us permission to publish this updated self-portrait – made many decades later! Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1950-2/

Margaret McKenny – 9/26/21

October 1, 2021

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 will be featured on his own account in an upcoming Looking Back. Miss McKenny grew up in Olympia and in her adulthood became a world-renowned mushroom expert, naturalist, and environmental advocate. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1972-2/

1962 photograph, The Olympian collection, Washington State Historical Society

Josephine Corliss Preston – 9/19/21

October 1, 2021

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 recently been repurposed to the house the Superintendent of Public Instruction after the Legislative Building was completed in 1926. Pictured revisiting her old haunts is Josephine Corliss Preston, former superintendent from 1913-1929, and the first woman elected to office in Washington State. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1972-2/

Superintendent of Public Instruction Election Pamphlet, 1915

Olympia Opera House – 9/12/2021

September 13, 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, built in 1890 by publisher John Miller Murphy. Over its short 35 year life, it hosted national celebrities such as Mark Twain, and many local productions. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1972-2/

Olympia Opera House, State Library photograph collection, Washington State Archives, about 1890

Capitol Center building – 9/5/21

September 6, 2021

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, erected in 1966. The building was the feather in local architect G. Stacey Bennett’s cap. It featured cutting edge modernism with its glass curtain effect, termed the Miesian style, after Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. It has been rehabilitated and remodeled as the Views on Fifth apartment building. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1972-2/

late 1960s photo, courtesy Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation

Mother Joseph – 8/29/21

August 30, 2021

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 of the many schools and hospitals that her order, the Sisters of Providence, built during her long tenure in the Pacific Northwest. Mother Joseph is honored with statues in our Legislative Building and the U.S. Senate Statuary Hall. For more information, visit us at olympiahistory.org. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1899-2/

Courtesy Providence archives

Isaac Ellis – 8/22/21

August 30, 2021

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 lumberman, establishing efficient logging and milling operations throughout Puget Sound. Later in his life, he invested in a short-lived racetrack in what is now Lacey. For more information, visit us at olympiahistory.org. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1874-building-a-railroad/.

Unknown photographer, 1860-1880, courtesy Washington State Historical Society

George Bush – 8/15/21

August 30, 2021

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 party arrived first in Oregon Territory; but as a mixed race man, Bush was not welcome there. The party proceeded north to what is now Tumwater, where Bush and his wife Isabella helped countless fellow settlers to establish their homesteads. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society. For more information see. For more information, see https://olympiahistory.org/1856-the-indian-war/

Heritage Fountain – 8/8/21

August 10, 2021

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. The property was acquired by the city, with the fountain donated by a generous family. It was dedicated in 1996 and is one of the few public recreational water features in our city. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/2001-2/

Joyce Simmons Cheeka – 8/1/21

August 10, 2021

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 was trained as a Rememberer, responsible for preserving and celebrating her tribal culture. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information, see https://olympiahistory.org/1972-2/

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 create Capitol Lake. In this photo from 1949 we can see the project from the vantage point of the Fourth Avenue Bridge. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information, visit us at olympiahistory.org. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1950-2/.

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 to downtown Olympia, it was apparent that downtown accommodations were inadequate to house all of the legislators, lobbyists and others during legislative session. After much delay, the elegant five-story Hotel Olympian, pictured in the 1933 cityscape, was completed in 1920, directly to the north of Sylvester Park. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross. For more information, see https://olympiahistory.org/1933-2/6/27/21

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 in Puget Sound. She was owned by the British Hudson’s Bay Company and plied the waters of our sound and all the way to Alaska, until she foundered in 1888. The Vancouver (B.C.) Maritime Museum has a display with several of her salvaged parts. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross. For more information see https://olympiahistory.org/1856-the-indian-war/

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. Bicycling was all the rage in the last years of the 19^th century. Pictured here are Olympia’s Robert Blankenship and another unidentified man with their “wheels,” including a high-wheeled pennyfarthing, already going out of style when the photo was taken. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross. For more information, see https://olympiahistory.org/1899-2/

Bertha Eugley – 6/27/21