Throughout 2023 the Sunday Olympian’s Looking Back theme was origins of area place names. Hicks Lake in Lacey is named for the Hicks family. Urban E. Hicks arrived in Thurston County in the 1850s. He served as Territorial Auditor, librarian, schoolteacher, and publisher. His son, Gallatin Gwin Hicks, established a resort, Gwinwood, on Hicks Lake, that still exists.
Secretary of State website, Territorial Librarians page
Text © Deborah Ross and The Olympian 2023