Throughout 2023 we’ll be exploring the origins of area place names. Crosby Boulevard in Tumwater is named for the Crosby family. The Crosbys were early American settlers, arriving in Tumwater in 1851. Pictured here, third from left, is Nathaniel Crosby III, Tumwater merchant. The Crosby House in Tumwater, now a museum, was originally built by Nathaniel and his wife Cordelia Smith Crosby. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, olympiahistory.org.
Photo mid 1800s, Courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society