Throughout 2023 the Sunday Olympian’s Looking Back theme was origins of area place names. Offut Lake was named for three brothers, James, Levi, and Milford Offutt (spelled with two ts), who settled near present-day Tenino in the 1850s. James is shown here with a bundle of hops. Hop cultivation existed from the earliest days of Washington Territorial settlement. Offut lake is now the site of a popular resort.
L. Wilson Clark photo, around 1860-1870, Courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society, catalog C1943.1008.1
Text © Deborah Ross and The Olympian 2023