All About Steilacoom, WA
- by Jodie Vinson
Washington state's oldest town is located just south of Tacoma with a stunning backdrop of Mt. Rainier and a waterfront with ferry service to the nearby islands of Ketron and Anderson.
Steilacoom takes its name from some of its earliest inhabitants, the Steilacoom tribe. The Native Americans utilized the rich resources of the woods and prairies of the Tacoma Basin to build longhouses, canoes and other implements necessary to sustain their existence. In 1834 the Hudson Bay Company established a trading post on Steilacoom territory, bringing with it European and American settlers who would begin to farm the land with the help of workers from the tribe. Port Steilacoom was soon established with the building of a store and wharf by Captain Lafayette Balch. In 1854 the Port merged with the nearby town to become Steliacoom City, Washington's first incorporated town. Business boomed with lumber exports and the Fraser Gold Rush brought miners to the town's growing population, served by a frequent Olympia-Tacoma ferry. The establishment of the railroad along the waterfront deterred tourism for a time, but the town has worked to restore its waterfront as a place of pleasure and recreation with trails, parks and viewing areas. The town has a sense of rootedness unique in the Northwest and proudly preserves its heritage as the first recognized community in the state.
Community Links:
Steilacoom Directory & Community Info
Town of Steilacoom
