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Tumwater, he had a seizure and died by drowning. His untimely death in 1848 left his partner and friend, Sylvester the sole owner of the land on which he platted the future townsite. Early names for the settlement included "Smithfield" and "Smithter" in honor of Levi Smith. In 1853 the town settled on the name
Olympia, at the suggestion of local resident Isaac N. Ebey, due to its view of the Olympic Mountains to the northwest.
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were the basis of much of the economy. By the twentieth century, sawmilling, fruit canning, and other industrial concerns comprised its economic base. Olympia also served as a shipping port for materials produced from the surrounding countryside, including sandstone, coal, and agricultural products.
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jointly claimed the land that now comprises downtown
Olympia. Smith built his cabin and enclosed two acres for a garden and livestock near the current intersection of Capitol Way and Olympia Avenue. In 1848 Smith was elected to the Oregon Provisional Legislature. In the same year, while canoeing to
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damaged many historic downtown buildings beyond repair, and they were demolished. Others were retrofit with new facades to replace the damaged
Nineteenth century wood and glass storefronts. Subsequently, much of Olympia's downtown reflects mid-twentieth-century architectural trends. Olympia also
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Meeker, Ezra, and Lowman & Hanford
Stationery & Printing Co. Pioneer Reminiscences of Puget Sound: The Tragedy of Leschi : An Account of the Coming of the First Americans and the Establishment of Their Institutions, Their Encounters with the Native Race, the First Treaties with the
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served as its first governor. Upon his arrival in 1853, Stevens designated
Olympia capital of the new territory. The first territorial legislature convened early in 1854 at the Parker and Colter store on Main Street (now Capital Way) between State Street and Olympia Ave. Olympia's
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Indians and the War That
Followed, Seven Years of the Life of Isaac I. Stevens in Washington Territory, Cruise of the Author on Puget Sound Fifty Years Ago, Nisqually House and the Hudson Bay Company .. Lowman & Hanford Stationery and Printing, 1905.
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Since the 1960s
Olympia has lost much of its earlier waterfront industry, including lumber and plywood mills, shipbuilding, power pole manufacture and other concerns. While the shipping port and log staging area remains, Olympia's waterfront area has
145:, charting by a famous English explorer, settlement of the town in the 1840s, the controversial siting of a state college in the 1960s and the ongoing development of arts and culture from a variety of influences.
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In 1851, the U.S. Congress established the
Customs District of Puget Sound and Olympia became the official customs port of entry requiring all ships to call at Olympia first. In 1854, the customs house moved to
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began in 1912, with the prominent
Legislative Building, one of the largest in the nation, completed in 1928. The building's dome is the fourth largest free-standing masonry dome in the world.
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in the tideflats and the many salmon-spawning streams entering Puget Sound at this point made it a productive food-gathering area. Many tribes shared access to these resources, including
435:, whose contribution of 80 acres of land was used by the committee to encourage like contributions. The corporation used both volunteer labor and contract Chinese workers to complete a
293:. In a time when water travel was the easiest form of transportation, Olympia's location on the north end of the main route through the area made it a crossroads for regional trade.
641:, a community arts-based festival and parade. Also popular is the Olympia farmer's market, the second largest in Washington State, as well as the locally based Olympia Food Co-op.
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The first known
European to reside at the future site of Olympia was Thomas K Otchin, an English Hudson Bay Company employee who took up a claim in 1841 but abandoned it by 1842.
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plywood mills after World War I. During World War I and World War II, there were also increased influxes of workers attracted by wartime industries including shipbuilding.
569:. Evans later served as president of the college, leaving Evergreen in 1983 when he was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by Senator
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as its west coast terminus. Alarmed by the loss of the railroad, Olympia residents set to work building their own rail connection to the main line at
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line by 1878. The little railroad served as Olympia's only railroad connection until the Northern Pacific built a spur to Olympia in 1891.
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431:. Citizens formed a private corporation to raise money and build a connection. One of the early contributors was black businesswoman,
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says that Olympia contained about 100 inhabitants; it had 3 stores, a hotel, a livery stable, a saloon, and a weekly newspaper called
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at the entrance to Puget Sound to better monitor shipping activity. In 1852, Olympia became the county seat of the newly organized
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Because of the college's presence, Olympia has become a hub for artists and musicians (many of whom have been influential in
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named Olympia one of the best college towns in the nation for its vibrant downtown and access to outdoor activities.
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674:"Portrait and Biographical Record of Portland and Vicinity, Oregon" Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co., 1903., 578.
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ended, a new brewery was erected just upstream from the original site. This brewery was eventually purchased by
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explored the Puget Sound region in 1841. They camped near Fort Nisqually while they charted the area and named
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Document of deputization to swear in citizens to quell an anti-Chinese riot in Olympia, Washington Territory
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represented Thurston County in the first three legislatures. His family home still stands, now known as
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achieved statehood in 1889, Olympia continued as the state's capital city. Construction of the current
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747:"'We have got to find a way.' Olympia's largest tiny home village needs money to stay open"
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285:. The site was the northern end of the "Cowlitz Portage," the overland trail between the
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By the early 1850s American settlers began agitating to separate the area north of the
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American settlers came to the area in the 1840s, drawn by the water-power potential of
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Knox, Esther R. A Diary of the Olympia School District, 1852-1976. Olympia, WA, 1979
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Aside from its role as the seat of state government, Olympia was a fairly typical
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and converted former trade posts including Fort Nisqually into working farms. The
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earthquakes. It was the closest major city to the epicenter of the 2001 event.
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near Olympia, mostly due to the efforts of progressive Republican Governor
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building a line toward Puget Sound unexpectedly bypassed Olympia, choosing
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and school in the 1848 at Priest Point near the future townsite for the
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villages as temporary or permanent housing solutions, such as
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town. Early on, extraction industries such as logging and
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The Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum
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In 1967, the state legislature approved the creation of
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The first recorded visit by Europeans was in 1792 when
179:-speaking peoples for thousands of years. The abundant
532:Periodic earthquakes affect the Olympia area. The
308:At the request of the Hudson's Bay Company, French
57:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
498:, even though the brewery was actually located in
277:and established nearby "New Market," now known as
506:began producing beer in 1896 at a site along the
399:. The agitation resulted in Congress creating
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419:The city grew steadily until 1873, when the
167:is situated at the extreme southern tip of
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730:22 arrested at protest over Iraq shipments
633:Olympia hosts the state's largest annual
117:Learn how and when to remove this message
831:State Capital Museum and Outreach Center
614:. Olympia was the hometown of activist
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133:Old Capitol building and Sylvester Park
537:suffered significant damage from the
490:Olympia is often associated with the
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745:Bilbao, Martín (10 September 2023).
525:Scandinavian immigrants founded two
373:which at the time was still part of
318:conversion of natives to Catholicism
55:adding citations to reliable sources
622:. The city has constructed several
416:, Olympia's oldest surviving home.
281:, the first American settlement on
175:. The site of Olympia was home to
141:, includes long-term habitation by
704:"Outside Magazine, September 2003"
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603:Olympia is a regional center for
388:, which was in its 30th publish.
244:Pugets Sound Agricultural Company
66:"History of Olympia, Washington"
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314:Mission St. Joseph of Newmarket
226:charted the site. In 1833, the
42:needs additional citations for
916:History of Olympia, Washington
494:, which from 1896–2003 brewed
139:history of Olympia, Washington
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826:The Olympia Genealogy Society
592:and other music trends (see
522:and closed on July 1, 2003.
563:The Evergreen State College
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836:Billings, William (1886).
571:Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson's
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639:Procession of the Species
421:Northern Pacific Railroad
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248:U.S. Exploring Expedition
448:Washington State Capitol
358:Washington State Capitol
258:after expedition member
504:Olympia Brewing Company
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651:History of Washington
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797:www.olympiafood.coop
793:"Olympia Food Co-op"
510:and continued until
414:Bigelow House Museum
401:Washington Territory
356:looking towards the
234:, a trading post at
228:Hudson's Bay Company
224:Vancouver Expedition
219:and a crew from the
149:Pre-European history
51:improve this article
594:Olympia music scene
656:Captain Hale House
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327:Olympia, with the
302:Levi Lathrop Smith
240:DuPont, Washington
236:Sequalitchew Creek
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18:History of Olympia
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772:"Farmer's Market"
735:Retrieved 5/3/07.
558:since the 1980s.
455:Pacific Northwest
433:Rebecca G. Howard
337:Olympic Mountains
238:near present-day
160:of the Nisqually.
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598:Outside Magazine
539:1965 Puget Sound
405:Isaac I. Stevens
397:Oregon Territory
375:Oregon Territory
354:Percival Landing
339:in the distance.
333:Percival Landing
298:Edmund Sylvester
211:European contact
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800:. Retrieved
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751:The Olympian
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352:A view from
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49:Please help
44:verification
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527:cooperative
516:Prohibition
512:Prohibition
478:sitting on
382:Ezra Meeker
291:Puget Sound
283:Puget Sound
217:Peter Puget
177:Lushootseed
169:Puget Sound
662:References
556:gentrified
444:Washington
266:Settlement
256:Budd Inlet
250:under Lt.
173:Budd Inlet
107:March 2024
77:newspapers
635:Earth Day
624:tiny home
586:anti-folk
582:post-punk
520:SABMiller
466:1890–1950
459:oystering
344:1850–1890
201:Suquamish
189:Nisqually
181:shellfish
910:Category
756:7 August
645:See also
620:Iraq War
612:activism
514:. After
500:Tumwater
484:Tumwater
310:Catholic
296:In 1846
279:Tumwater
205:Duwamish
197:Chehalis
193:Puyallup
890:History
878:Olympia
573:death.
221:British
185:Squaxin
165:Olympia
91:scholar
895:People
880:topics
802:31 May
777:31 May
728:(2006)
714:31 May
502:. The
442:After
429:Tenino
425:Tacoma
335:, and
203:, and
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395:from
98:JSTOR
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758:2024
716:2017
607:and
578:punk
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