This page has been created in response to calls to make it easier for researchers and others to access existing information on our website and elsewhere about ethnic, ancestral, and other communities that may have been marginalized in mainstream histories of our community. This page is a work in progress: we welcome your input and suggestions! Each community’s section may include categories such as people, places, and external links that may be able to provide more historical resources. Note: links in the people categories will take you to the letter of the alphabet in our Who Are We? feature where the person is found.
It is difficult in a task such as this to decide what communities to include and what to exclude. For the time being, and for various reasons, we are not including resources on northern European communities (for example, Scandinavians), women, and specific religious communities other than Jewish, which is considered both a religion and ethnicity. As an historical society, we are also choosing to omit references to living people, but links to associations and organizations may be helpful for those wishing to contact our living leaders.
Some of the historical materials linked on this page may stem from a period or culture in which different standards and norms were dominating public opinion – and some of this historical material is discriminatory. People from a great range of identities, whether due to gender, religion, ethnicity, race, sexuality, disability or class are presented in derogatory ways – both in word and image. The inclusion of any such historical documents does not represent the views of the Society and Museum. We request that you alert us to any contemporary documents that contain racist or discriminatory language and links to these documents will be removed from this page and our website. We apologize in advance for any unintended insensitivity, and encourage you to contact us with additions, corrections, and suggestions for more inclusive or accurate language.
General Sources
Toggle the Diversity theme in our Where Are We? map feature to access locations associated with diverse communities in Olympia.
City of Olympia STQRY map and stories, many of which describe some of the sites and stories associated with the themes on this page
The Cultural History of the Olympia Oyster by Ed Echtle, formerly on the City of Olympia’s website and captured via the Wayback Machine, references Indigenous, Chinese, and Japanese contributions to the development and decline of our local delicacy.
The Historylink.org resource has thousands of articles about Washington history, many of which refer to our community and our people.
Hidden Histories was a project of students at The Evergreen State College, in collaboration with the Society and Museum, creating an interactive walking tour to highlight some natural and social features of downtown Olympia.
Black/African American
General Sources
City of Olympia, Black Pioneers Walking Tour
People
George Bush, very early Thurston County settler, and family
Festus Campbell, horticulturalist (see bio and image in Black Pioneers Walking Tour linked above)
Rebecca Groundage Howard and son Frank Howard, restaurateurs
James Mars, owner of Our House restaurant; son Jesse first African-American firefighter in Olympia
Charles Mitchell, slave of James Tilton, escaped to British Columbia
Thomas Park, servant of Robert Frost family
Cora Pinson, first African-American elected to a city council in Washington State, see Black Pioneers Walking Tour linked above
Barbara O’Neil, restaurateur and founder of Barb O’Neill’s family and friends community meals, profiled in Women of Olympia page
Places
Site of Tilton House, home of Charles Mitchell
Stratford Place, platted with racial covenants (link to Fox House for background on Stratford Place)
Pacific House site, operated by Rebecca Howard
Site of Festus Campbell and Mary Quincy home (currently Temple of Justice site)
Site of Bill Williams’s Boot Blacking stand (Odd Fellows Hall)
Site of Our House restaurant (Rex Building)
Bush Prairie (Tumwater)
Howard Point, home of Howard family
Links/Bibliography
Bush Family resources
Blackpast website (covers African-American and worldwide Black/African-American history)
Kilgannon, Anne “Free Boy, a story about slavery and freedom in Washington Territory,” Olympia Historical Society book review, undated
McConaghy, Lorraine, Free Boy, A True Story of Slave and Master
Now Where Were We? The Tilton-Mitchell Episode, Youtube video
Munro, Ralph, “Olympia’s African American Trailblazers,” Olympia Historical Society Newsletter Summer 2012. https://olympiahistory.org/olympias-20th-century-pioneers/
Olympian article, Building a Black Community in Olympia During the Civil Rights Era, Feb. 16, 2020
Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum presentation, Thelma Jackson: Blacks in Thurston County, 1950-1975 (Youtube link)
Point on East Bay to be Named after Howards, Thurstontalk article
George and Isabella Bush Butternut Tree on Capitol Campus, Thurstontalk article
Rebecca Howard: An African-American Businesswoman, Thurstontalk article
Cambodian
Despite a robust presence in our community, we have not found many resources about the history of Cambodians in the Olympia area. Please contact us if you have resources to share.
Links
Olympia: Where My Parents Realized their American Dream, Traveling Thy blog
Chinese
General Sources
Olympia’s History Chinese Community, series by Ed Echtle
People
Nettie Chiang, married Toone James
James family, Toone patriarch
Kay family, restauranteurs
Hoy Lock, restauranteur
Locke family, prominent merchants and civic leaders, Sam Fun patriarch
Sun Wo, merchant
Places
Chinatown
Site of Kay’s Chop Suey (Olympia Hardware Building)
Site of Nankin Cafe
Site of Pekin Cafe
China Clipper cafe (now Clipper Club)
Links/Bibliography
James, Walter; “Walter James: Reminiscences of My Younger Days” (Hom, Marlon K., ed.; Lai, Him Mark, Lai, Laura, and Choy, Philip P., interviewers.) Chinese America: History and Perspectives 1995: 75-86.
Now Where Were We? Chinese in Olympia (Youtube video)
Olympia Area Chinese Association
Kay, Toy, An American Picture Bride, available from Gorham Publishing and Timberland Regional Library
Indigenous/Native American/Indian
People
Jish-Jish, Nisqually (probably), known by Americans as Old Betsey
Blind Sam, son of Jish-Jish
Leschi, leader of Nisqually tribe during Medicine Creek negotiations
McLeod, Nisqually family
Quiemuth, Leschi’s brother, murdered
Joyce Cheeka, Squaxin member and author, profiled in City of Olympia’s Women of Olympia page
Places
Squaxin Park (formerly Priest Point Park) traditional meeting place of local tribes
Community Well site (4th and Capitol)
Thurston County Courthouse (Capitol Way), site of Fishing Wars trials
Links/Bibliography
Bancroft, Hubert Howe, and T. T. Waterman. “Geography of the Puget Sound Tribes.” Essay. In The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America. New York: D. Appleton, 1875.
Bond, Gabrielle, Bibliography compiled for Diversity in Local History grant for Squaxin Park interpretation
Dougherty, Phil. “Boldt Decision: United States v. State of Washington.” Boldt Decision: United States v. State of Washington, August 24, 2020. https://www.historylink.org/file/21084.
Emmons, Della Gould, Leschi of the Nisquallies. T.S. Dennison & Co., 1965
Heffernan, Trova. Where the Salmon Run: The Life and Legacy of Billy Frank Jr. Olympia, Wash: Washington State Heritage Center Legacy Project, 2012.
Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs, “Treaty of Medicine Creek, 1854.” Accessed June 15, 2023. https://goia.wa.gov/tribal-government/treaty-medicine-creek-1854.
Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs.“Treaty of Medicine Creek, 1854.” Accessed June 15, 2023. https://goia.wa.gov/tribal-government/treaty-medicine-creek-1854.
Nicandri, David. Olympia’s Forgotten Pioneers: The Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Olympia, WA: State Capitol Historical Association, 1976.
River Ridge Native Studies Program, Indigenous Food Sovereignty & Land-Based Learning Resources: compilatoin by students and faculty pursuant to a grant under the Roger Easton Grant administered by the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum
Reddick, SuAnn M. and Cary C. Collins. “Medicine Creek to Fox Island: Cadastral Scams and Contested Domains” Oregon Historical Quarterly 106:3 (Fall, 2005)
Nisqually Indian Tribe home page
Squaxin Island Tribe home page
Squaxin Island Museum website
Chehalis Tribe home page
Who Killed Quiemuth? Thurstontalk article
Videos:
Charlene Krise, “Washington Tribes: Squaxin Island Tribe | Preserving History and Culture.” YouTube, December 11, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i15qcb0utRk.
Charlene Krise, Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team, “What’s Up With The Steh-Chass Forum: Charlene Krise.” YouTube, July 3, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svvLIin SRw.
Jeremiah George, Schmidt House History Talks, Squaxion Island Ancestral Heritage, https://archive.org/details/Schmidt_House_History_Talks_-_Squaxin_Island_Ancestral_Heritage
Puget Sound Estuarium, “Discovery Speaker Series: Steh-Chass The People.” YouTube, January 6, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXEcBWX2_pU.
Japanese
Places
Site of JJ Brenner Oyster Co
Olympia Oyster Company building
Links/Bibliography
Japanese-American Citizens League, Olympia chapter Facebook page
Jewish
People
Jacob, Mollie, and Earl Bean, owners of Olympia Junk/Supply
Morris Berkowitz, original founder of Olympia Junk
Bettman family (Louis, Morris, Amelia, Belle, Gustav, Moses, Sigmund, William), merchants
Harris family, merchants
Kaufman family, merchants
Gustav Rosenthal, early merchant
Edward Salomon, Washington’s first (and only) Jewish governor
Places
Bettman Store (first site)
Bettman Store (second site)
Bettman-Oppenheimer House
Temple Beth Hatfiloh (current site), Site of Rosenthal home
Olympia Junk Building, owned by Berkowitz and Bean families
Harris Dry Goods Building, owned by Harris family
Site of Cohen’s Confectionary (Red Top Taxi Building)
Temple Beth Hatfiloh building (original)
Site of Rosenthal Store
Toklas and Kaufman Store (Mottman Building)
Goldberg House
Links/Bibliography
Kilgannon, Anne “Temple Beth Hatfiloh is 75!” Olympia Historical Society Newsletter Summer 2013. https://olympiahistory.org/temple-beth-hatfiloh-is-75/
Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington
Latinx/Latino/Latina/Hispanic
Despite a robust presence in our community, we have not found many resources about the history of Latinx community in the Olympia area. Please contact us if you have resources to share.
Links
Hispanic Roundtable
CIELO, community hub for Latinx community
Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender-Transexual-Queer+ (LGBTQ+)
General Sources
Gay and Lesbian History Walking Tour
Places
Rainbow Restaurant, Angelus Hotel Building
Hard Rain Cooperative site, Boardman Building
Capitol Lake Restrooms, site of raid
Eagles Club, Olympia chapter Stonewall Youth founding site
Sherwood Press, founded by Jocelyn Dohm
Woodruff Park, site of Gay Men’s Social Justice gatherings
Site of Cafe Intermezzo (Olympia News Building)
Links/other resources
PFLAG
Pizza Klatch
Pacific Islanders
People
“Kanaka Jack”, Hawaiian native, and wife Kiki, lived at Johnson Point
Links/Bibliography
Asian-Pacific Islander Coalition of Washington, Facebook page (please contact us if you have contact information for Thurston County chapter)
Filipino-American Community of South Sound
Vietnamese
Despite a robust presence in our community, we have not found many resources about the history of the Vietnamese community in the Olympia area. Please contact us if you have resources to share.
Links
NW Vietnamese News
Ralph Munro and Trang Tu, Voices of the Vietnamese Refugee Experience, on PBS American Voices series
Vietnamese Couple Recall Harrowing Escape, Seattle Times article