“Captain” Woodbury J Doane was a well-known figure in early Olympia. He owned Doane’s Oyster House near the corner of 5th Avenue and Washington Street. Here he served up his famous pan-roasted oysters. Some say the allure of Doane’s oysters contributed to Olympia’s remaining the capital after Washington became a state in 1889.
Charcoal portrait, around 1880, based on a photograph by Ida B. Smith, courtesy Washington State Historical Society, State Capital Museum collection, PHOTO-B/C1943.148.2
Text © Deborah Ross and The Olympian 2016