All About Olympia, WA
- by Jodie Vinson
The city of Olympia celebrates its 150th birthday in 2009, an anniversary marking a past century that saw much growth and change along the waters of the South Puget Sound. The area was once populated by the Coastal Salish, who thrived on the shellfish and salmon gathered at the base of the Budd Inlet. Tribes such as the Duwamish, Squarin and Nisqually met with their neighbors here to share in the wealth of resources. When the town was established by American settlers its primary location on the water continued to make it an ideal place for a community to develop, and today, as Washingtons state capitol, Olympia maintains its original communal identity as a meeting place.
The town was founded by American settlers Levi Lathrop Smith and Edmund Sylvester in 1846, and named Olympia by Isaac Ebey for its impressive views of the Olympic Mountains. Located on the southernmost tip of the Puget Sound, Olympia was the first community to greet those traveling from the Columbia River to the Sound. The importance of Olympia's geographical position at the tail of the Sound was emphasized when it became the capitol with the establishment of the Washington Territory in 1853. Around this time settlers Daniel and Ann Bigelow, essential contributors to the growing community, built a house on prime property overlooking the Budd Inlet. The impressive Carpenter Gothic structure still stands as one of the oldest frame houses in the state and now houses a museum. The Bigelow House was representative of the building going on along all points of the Olympia Waterfront in the 1850's. The area was quickly developing into an important site for maritime activity and industry, which would thrive over the next century.
The town continued to win contested rights to the title of state capitol, as evidenced in its impressive legislative structures such as the Capitol Building, Governers Mansion, Capitol Museum and State Library. In the 1960s the climate of the town shifted from one of commerce to culture, with the establishment of Evergreen State College. The recent addition of the Olympia-Yashiro Friendship Bridge linking downtown with east and west Olympia is symbolic of the towns cultural development and relation to its natural surroundings. The bridge is decorated with art and provides the community with convenient foot and car transportation as visitors, state legislators and local residents continue to travel to Olympia as a primary place of meeting on the waters of the South Sound.
Community Links:
City of Olympia
Thurston County Chamber of Commerce
Downtown Olympia Association
The Olympian Community News Paper
Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater Visitors Guide
Olympia Wooden Boat Association
Olympia Singles Events & Activities
Oly Blog
Port of Olympia
