Early public water systems used wooden pipes to carry water underground to homes and businesses. One major manufacturer of wooden pipes was the National Wood Pipe company, located about where the Hands On Children’s Museum is today. This photograph shows a load of wooden pipes being transported along the Union Railroad tracks on Jefferson Street. Recent excavations on Legion Way unearthed one of these older wooden pipes. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information see olympiahistory.org.