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Area History
Things to See & Do
Ocean Beaches
Transportation
More Visitor Info
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When
Peter Puget, a British Explorer, visited the Pacific
Northwest waterways in 1792, Native American's referred
to the area as "the black bear place". It was
a popular meeting place for neighboring tribes to share
in each other's wealth. |
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Then in 1846, Levi
Lathrop Smith and Edmond Sylvester were the first
Americans to take up residence in the southernmost point
of Puget Sound. Soon after, Sylvester plotted the town, later named Olympia, which included a
town square, land for schools, a Masonic hall and
Capitol grounds. In 1852, Olympia was named county seat
for the newly organized Thurston County.
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Washington was declared a territory in 1853
and Olympia, which had the only newspaper,
was named the capital. The area continued
growth throughout both World Wars and though
Olympia was often challenged in maintaining
its "capital" status, it was mandated in
1953 by the state Supreme Court to
officially locate all state agency
headquarters in Olympia.
Since then, Olympia, along with its neighbors, Lacey and
Tumwater, has experienced significant growth. It is now
home to over 240,000 residents with approximately half
living in the urban tri-city |
area, while others prefer
the smaller towns of Yelm, Tenino, Rainier, Bucoda and
the surrounding Thurston County area. Thurston County is
one of the fastest growing areas in Washington State.
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