First United Methodist Church is among Olympia’s earliest congregations. Here we see the original church structure, built 1856, at the corner of Fourth and Adams. The congregation outgrew this structure and acquired an adjacent lot on Fifth Avenue. The newer building, erected in 1894, can be seen in the background of this image. This allows us to date the photograph to between 1894 and 1896, when the Cunningham’s Building now at this site was erected. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. 

Unknown photographer, 1894-1896, Susan Parish collection, Washington State Archives