http://www.olytumfoundation.org/

Olympia Tumwater Foundation, 110 Deschutes Way SW, Tumwater, WA (2026)

05/31/2022

Hello everyone! We are consolidating our pages to streamline our communication with the public. We won't be posting here anymore, and encourage you to follow this Olympia Tumwater Foundation page if you aren't already! We will continue to post history tidbits and stories from our archive. 🙂

05/23/2022

Tumwater Treasures #21 - Our heritage in bite-sized portions.

"Ice Skating on Barnes Lake"

For those familiar with Tumwater's Barnes Lake, just to the west of 2nd Avenue and south of Linwood Avenue, you may be surprised to hear that at least once in our history the lake froze over enough that people could ice skate on it. In my nearly 70 years living here I can only remember once when it got cold enough for a long enough time to actually allow walking on an ice-covered lake. It was in the early 1960s as I recall.
Looking back in history there are accounts of rare extended freezes. Daisy Ackley, in her memoirs titled "Wagon Wheels A'Rollin" related some childhood memories from the late 1800s:
"Located near-by was a small lake, which was at that time called Barnes Lake. There had been a slaughter yard at the lake, and an icehouse with walls filled with sawdust. Quantities of sawdust were inside the building also which had been used for packing ice and for the preservation of meat. The ice being garnered from the lake during freezing weather (when, and if there chanced to be freezing weather)."
I came across an old newspaper article from December 30, 1891. Under the headline "Skaters Out in Force" which stated,,
"The recent cold weather has covered the neighboring lakes with ice and boys and girls are having great sport. Barnes' lake, which is readily reached by the cars to Tumwater, was crowded with skaters, and last night an immense bon fire burned cheerfully on the banks. It is thought that by today or tomorrow the ice on all the lakes nearby will be thick enough for skaters."
The reference to cars relates to the streetcar line that ran south on Main Street (today's Capitol Way) from Olympia, ending at Tumwater at the east end of the Boston Street Bridge. We can plainly see that the climate is always changing, but overall our local winter seasons tend to be wet and mild. Perhaps the most common word found in local weather forecasts is the word "partly."

05/16/2022

Tumwater Treasures #20 - Our heritage in bite-sized portions.
"Summer Jobs at the Brewery"

I understand that there are many people who can share stories and memories of the Olympia Brewing Company. I thought that this week's "Tumwater Treasures" should be short and sweet, in hopes that you might want to share some of those memories with the Schmidt House archives of the Olympia Tumwater Foundation and the City of Tumwater.
The photo included here of the tour guides reminds me of stories I heard from teachers I had in Junior High and Tumwater High School who often referred to their summer employment at the brewery. Some of them worked for the Guide Department, leading the popular tours around the facility for tourists and residents alike. Those memories always included the closing visit to the visitor center where the adults could get a free sample of draft beer or join with their children for a free soda pop.
Other summer jobs included working in the bottling plant, cleaning at various parts of the facility, truck driving, yard and garden work, and other duties as needed. Those teachers greatly appreciated the opportunity to work during their summer "time off" from their school duties. Financially it made a good supplement to their family income, and they nearly always spoke well of how the Schmidt family treated their employees. There was a real sense of community pride working there.
We'd love to hear your stories and memories. You may make short comments on the Facebook posting or by emailing the Olympia Tumwater Foundation's local history program at: [email protected]. Thank you. Your memories are truly "Tumwater Treasures."

05/09/2022

Tumwater Treasures #19 - Our heritage in bite-sized portions

"Pioneer B. F. Shaw"

One of Tumwater's pioneers did not arrive with the Simmon/Bush party in 1845 but did arrive in New Market in 1846. His name was Benjamin F. Shaw.
A newspaper account of his passing in February 1908 began with a headline: "Pioneer of Tumwater. B. F. Shaw, One of the Founders, Dies Suddenly in Portland." The article stated that Shaw was born in Clay County, Missouri on May 8, 1829. The 1850 Census of Lewis County, Oregon Territory, listed him as a 22-year-old farmer from Missouri whose land was valued at $1,000.
He joined a group headed by Michael T. Simmons in 1847, to build a sawmill at the lower falls of the Deschutes River. It was called the Puget Sound Milling Company. The group included Simmons, Shaw, Edmund Sylvester, Jesse Ferguson, A. B. Rabbeson, Gabriel Jones, A. D. Carnefix, and John R. Kindred.
In the fall of 1848 Shaw went to California to the gold mines. He ended up buying the brig "Orbit", the first American vessel sailing from California to Puget Sound. The first public position he held in Washington Territory was that of Indian interpreter under Governor Isaac Stevens. He also served in the House of Representatives from Thurston County in 1858.
B F. Shaw did not remain long in Tumwater. He served three terms in the legislature representing Whatcom, Island, and Snohomish Counties from 1862 to 1864, then settled in Clark County in 1871 where he remained for the rest of his life.

05/02/2022

Tumwater Treasures #18 - Our heritage in bite-sized portions.
"Western Metalcraft"

Just ask people who have lived in Tumwater for many years. They are likely to say that a friend or someone in their family once worked for the Olympia Brewing Company. It was, after all, the largest employer in the area for many years.
Did you know that there was an employer in Tumwater besides the brewery that hired many skilled laborers? The business was located in the old brick brewery complex for a number of years. It was called Western Metalcraft, Inc., and specialized in metal fabrication with steel and aluminum kitchen and bathroom cabinets, metal lockers, and other items popular in the postwar years.
An article in the "Daily Olympian" from May 8, 1947, with the headline "Olympia Firm Gets Contract,", reported on a meeting of the Olympia Chamber of Commerce. It announced that Western Metalcraft, Inc. of Tumwater confirmed orders for 100,000 kitchen cabinets annually for the Hotpoint Appliance Company. Western Metalcraft's promotional materials at the time claimed the company was the largest producer of aluminum cabinets in the U. S. It was good news for the local economy.
In a history talk March 9, 2022, our curator Karen Johnson included Wester Metalcraft in her presentation "The Old Olympia Brewery: The Non-Beer Years" in which she dispelled a popular myth that the business produced parts for Boeing at the old brewery site. The predecessor to Western Metalcraft, the B. B. Jensvold Company, did produce several components for Boeing planes, plus various items for the Navy at their downtown Olympia location on South Jefferson Street, but never at the brewery facility.
Western Metalcraft and its successor General Metalcraft operated in Tumwater from 1947 until 1962. The business began to struggle when the Korean War led the government to focus on aluminum rather than steel, making it difficult to find the needed metal. The business closed in 1962. The December 1, 1961, issue of the "Daily Olympian" reported that the company was pulling up stakes and moving to Inglewood, California. The 65 current employees either moved with them or sought other employment.

04/25/2022

Tumwater Treasures #17 - Our heritage in bite-sized portions.
"Tumwater's Outreach - Littlerock"

In our "Tumwater Treasures" series this year we occasionally focus on nearby communities that have a historical connection to Tumwater. We touched upon East Olympia in January. This week we turn to the south and highlight our mutual history with Littlerock.
The attached photo shows the late Dale Rutledge standing in front of his pioneer home that was built by his grandfather in 1861. In the foreground is the famous little rock for which the town is named. It was used by ladies as a mounting stone to help them get up onto a horse with a side saddle. There was at one time a brief effort to change the name of the town to Viora, a name that combined the names of early area settlers: "Vi" for Vincent, "o" for Young, "R" for Rutledge and "A" for Marcy. That name didn't stick.
The Rutledge house you see in the photo still exists. Dale's grandfather Thomas was the son of local Tumwater pioneers William and Sarah Rutledge. The home housed the first post office in 1879. Thomas's pay for being postmaster was free stamps.
The Rutledge connection to Tumwater wasn't only the Rutledge family. It was also the school. Since 1974 they have been a part of the Tumwater School District with an elementary school located near the site of the first Littlerock school built in 1861. Over the years of growth in that thriving timber mill community, the school grew. By 1912 a two-story school building replaced it with a combined grade school and for a few years, a high school. The last graduating senior class was in 1932. After that high school students had the choice of attending Rochester or Olympia High Schools and later Tumwater High.
The Littlerock school had a very active PTA through the years. Their annual turkey dinner and bazaar drew attendees each November or December from both Thurston and Lewis counties, becoming a major community event. In 1952 the event featured a potluck with ham and oysters and a Swiss-themed show that included a famous Swiss Opera star from San Francisco who "wowed the crowd." Littlerock was the last district to join the Tumwater School District.
One more Tumwater connection for me personally was that my first-grade teacher at Michael T. Simmons Elementary was Vera Rutledge. In 1947/48 she had been the elected secretary for the Littlerock PTA (Parent Teacher Association.)

04/18/2022

Tumwater Treasures #16 - Our Heritage in bite-sized portions.

"Tumwater During the Depression - 1930s"

Sometimes while researching history, I am surprised at how different situations really were from our previous perceptions. For example, I always assumed that Tumwater must have had struggles and hardships during the Great Depression of the 1930s similar to what the rest of the world was facing. I was imagining soup kitchens, hobos seeking employment, and both economic and emotional stress. What I've discovered is that even though the economic downturn had an impact, Tumwater was doing remarkably well compared to other areas of the nation.
One of the "positives" is represented by the photo we included here. It shows part of the 1934 rebirth and growth of the Olympia Brewing Company upstream from the old Pre-Prohibition site and the 1938 construction of the Carlyon Bridge, which greatly improved the traffic bottleneck on the Pacific Coast Highway 99 through Tumwater. This improvement prompted the move of the commercial heart of Tumwater to what became known as Tumwater Square.
The community saw new or revived business activity such as the new Chicken Coop Restaurant which later became the Oregon Trail, Heath's Flower Home, a Tumwater Texaco station owned by the Vandeman brothers, and a new Mobilgas service station opened by the Dickison brothers. The Mobilgas station ads included the promotional phrase, "Up goes another red horse sign." Also, in 1930 a new Chambers Packing Company building was erected overlooking Tumwater Valley off Cleveland Avenue.
Another example of Tumwater's upbeat attitude and progress was the construction of the new Town Hall/Fire Station at 2nd Avenue and Custer Way. Mayor Eke and the council members were dealing with concerns about how the WPA (Works Progress Administration) was progressing much too slowly to suit them.
A further source of pride was the 1937 dedication of the new Tumwater School on Linwood Avenue replacing the old wooden schoolhouse on Tumwater Hill. The brick building was the most modern school building in the county. Governor Clarence D. Martin gave the keynote address at the dedication on September 24, 1937.
I am both impressed and proud of the positive character traits of the Tumwater community exhibited during the 1930s. It is difficult for me to label that time as depression years. Rather, it was a time of transcending the negatives by working hard to pursue positive goals and visions.

04/11/2022

Tumwater Treasures #15 - Our Heritage in bite-sized portions.

"Tumwater First Baptist Church"

Churches play an integral role in the character of a community. We've covered some of Tumwater's church history by highlighting the Tumwater Mthodist Church on 2nd Avenue overlooking Tumwater Valley and the freeway. The structure still stands on 2nd Avenue and has been the home of many congregations over the years.
This photo shows another historic church building as it looked when the interstate highway was being constructed in the 1950s. Tumwater First Baptist at the time was located next to Tumwater City Hall and Fire Station on 2nd Avenue, across from the new Custer Way overpass. The congregation, like many churches of today, had humble beginnings, inspired by a few key people with a vision. In this case we can look at William Turner, who arrived in Tumwater in 1902. He first attended Tumwater Methodist Church, which was the only established church at the time. He was faithful to that church, and even though he was a Baptist he was occasionally given opportunities to preach. Pastor Turner naturally desired to have a pulpit of his own, so he began holding meetings in a vacant flour mill and conducted water baptism services on the banks of the Deschutes River.
In 1907, H. B. and Sarah Lozier came to Tumwater. With Pastor Turner's leading they began hosting meetings in their home. In July of that year an organizational council was convened, formalizing themselves as a New Testament Baptist Church. It was located in an old vacant drug store, but as the congregation grew, they moved into a building that had been used as a prune dryer. Around the year 1912 the congregation built a new building on the 2nd Avenue site that would later become Tumwater City Hall, which is today the Tumwater Town Center.
The congregation continued to grow and by the 1950s they needed to expand, not only due to the increased attendance, but also because the construction of Interstate 5 completely changed downtown Tumwater, making it practically impossible to maintain services in the old church. They took a "leap of faith," purchasing property at the current church location on X and Elm Streets. They first built Sunday School rooms on the site and continued to meet in the old location by City Hall until September of 1961, when their new auditorium was completed. Their vision of growth was showing fruit and in 1969 another extension was added to the church building. By February 1978 the loan was completely paid, making them debt-free.

04/04/2022

Tumwater Treasures #14 - Our Heritage in bite-sized portions

"1965 - Tumwater Shopping Center"

The attached article from the March 17, 1965 "Olympian" brought back some forgotten memories. I would have been 12 years old and three months away from becoming a teenager. I remember it was a time of growth in Tumwater. In this case it was on property next to the Tumwater Safeway. Al Bailey was one of the best-known Olympia area druggists and quite successful. This was his third store.
I had nearly forgotten the other big store mentioned in this article. This was the first venture for this regional chain to venture into the Tumwater/Olympia area. The chain of variety stores covered eleven western states and was called Sprouse-Reitz.
I didn't spend much time at the Tumwater Shopping Center. For me, being from the Trosper Road area, I spent much more time at the new, locally owned Southgate Shopping Center with its new manager in 1964, Dave Gubbe. That complex was growing too. In 1965 Southgate Builder's Supply opened in a building on the freeway side of the Rexall Drug Store. It was operated by Bud Paulson. Next to that business was a laundromat and the new Tumwater Library led by librarian Joyce Nichols.
As I look back at that era in Tumwater history, I can more clearly see the growth that spurred the competition between the two shopping centers. Both of them remain a big part of Tumwater's heritage.

03/28/2022

Tumwater Treasures #13 - Our heritage in bite-sized portions.

"Former Tumwater Mayors: Thomas Miller"

Our Tumwater Treasures series in 2022 occasionally highlights former Tumwater mayors. Today it is a mayor that held the office from 1905 to 1907. He was one of the more unique personalities in our history: Thomas J. Miller.
He was born in Pennsylvania in 1857 and came to Washington in 1889. Thomas apprenticed to a cigar maker at an early age and was in that business for a number of years. When he moved to Olympia from Aberdeen and Tacoma in 1891, he became proprietor of the Olympia Cigar Factory, which featured 10 cent ci**rs with brand names such as "Olympia Girl" and "Grand Eagle."
In the late 1800s Miller was elected to the state legislature. He was a populist senator from Olympia. some people considered him to be radical in his views on social and economic issues. After that he purchased a prune orchard in Tumwater and was elected Tumwater's mayor. The newspaper accounts of the time show that Mayor Miller had a rather contentious reign with his council. One of the main conflicts centered upon the appointment of a city marshal. Miller seemed to get his was in the tussle. He wanted to re-appoint the present marshal, William Lovell. The council informed the mayor that they would not confirm that appointment, creating a deadlock. Mayor Miller's strategy was to make no appointment at all, which meant that for the present at least, Lovell remained on the job. The "Morning Olympian" quoted Miller as saying, "The A.G. opinion was that old officers hold over until their successors are confirmed, but if an officer is appointed and not confirmed, he is down and out. For that reason there will be no appointment for the present."
Political strife has a way of getting rather ugly. Tumwater is no exception. There were a series of articles in the paper highlighting a lawsuit against Thomas Miller from a woman back east who claimed to be his legal wife. Thomas, who was married for many years, disputed the claim. The scandal was followed in the press, perhaps to the delight of his political opponents.
Thomas Miller vacated the office to move to the country. Councilman Turner was chosen mayor pro tem by the council until a permanent mayor could be chosen.

03/21/2022

Tumwater Treasures #12 - Our heritage in bite-sized portions.

"The Markets for Olympia Beer: 1909"

As you can see from the attached Olympia Beer ad from the early 1900s, the company always knew that good product needed good promotional efforts. Who could have predicted that the little town based on the water-powered industry on the Deschutes River at the southern tip of Puget Sound would have become famous, not only along the west coast, but also all around the Pacific Rim? The brewery would eventually become one of the top ten breweries in the nation. The impact of the Schmidt family was huge in Tumwater and Olympia: the area's largest employer.
The quality of the beer, the commitment to their employees and community, their strong work ethic and their promotional creativity were special. The "branding" caused such business growth that the company facilities were under continual construction and innovation just to keep up with the high demand.
Olympia Beer became the top selling brand for the Yukon Gold Rush and was the best seller in Hawaii (known as the Sandwich Islands at the time.) That's not all. It was gaining a great market all along the west coast and various cities inland. A brief article in the June 1906 "Morning Olympian" titled "Beer for Vladivostok" said, "The Russian's have developed a liking for Olympia Beer, judging from an order received by the Olympia Brewing Company for 500 bottles of bottled beer to be shipped to Vladivostok, Siberia. This is the second shipment to be sent to that port, one of 100 barrels sent about ten days ago."
A July 1909 edition of the "Olympia Daily Recorder" added to the list of market for the Schmidt product. An excerpt from the article stated, "A large percentage of the beer consumed in Alaska is shipped from the Olympia Brewing Company's plant, and large shipments are also made to Siberia, China, Japan, Australia, the Samoa Islands, and British Columbia."
Tumwater was not founded on beer. Tumwater was 50 years old when the Schmidts arrived. But it could certainly be said that Olympia Beer gave this little village on the Sound great fame and sustained the people of the Tumwater/Olympia area through economic hard times, World War II, and positively influenced our community heritage for generations.

03/14/2022

Tumwater Treasures #11 - Our heritage in bite-sized portions.

"Lesser-Known Tumwater Founders"

In this week's "Tumwater Treasures" we take you back to 1845 and the beginning of American settlement north of the Columbia in what would become Tumwater. The original Simmons/Bush party traveled the Oregon Trail, moved north of the Columbia into British-controlled territory, and settled at the falls of the Deschutes River. We've given pretty good coverage to the leaders, the Michael T. and Elizabeth Simmons family as well as the George and Isabella Bush family. We've also talked about the two younger single men that came along. Sam Crockett ended up moving to Whidbey Island to be near his family who arrived later. Jesse Ferguson had various adventures while based on his claim south of Tumwater and eventually married Sarah Rutledge. He lived out his life on his homestead. Jim and Martha McAllister did not settle here in Tumwater, but rather moved to the Nisqually River Valley not far from Fort Nisqually.
There are two other families that we have not covered as well. Those are the Gabriel and Keziah Jones family and the David and Talitha Kindred family. The attached map shows the early land claims of the settlers overlaid onto a more current map of Tumwater. You'll see that Gabriel and Keziah Jones claimed land next to the Bush farm and David and Talitha Kindred's claim was a bit closer to Tumwater that today includes Capitol Boulevard and Lee Street. There remains much room for further research into these two special families. For now, let's touch on some basic information.
David and Talitha Kindred were Michael T. Simmons' parents-in-law. Elizabeth Simmons was their daughter. She married Michael in 1835 when they both lived in Kentucky. She was 15, he was 21. The Kindred family joined the rest of the Tumwater founders and pushed their way on to the southern tip of Puget Sound. Their son Bartholemew and his wife Rachael did not come north to Tumwater, but rather lived near Astoria so Bart could work as a "bar pilot," guiding ships through the treacherous area where the Columbia River empties into the Pacific Ocean.
David Kindred was born in 1788 at Boonesborough, Kentucky and died in 1873 at the homestead south of Tumwater. Their home and farm were centered at what became the Washington State Highways Department on Capitol Boulevard. In fact, when the state highways crew was blasting stumps and clearing land for their new transportation office at the site in 1966, they un-earthed the remains of the pioneers who were interred on their claim. Their bodies were moved to the Masonic Memorial Park.
Gabriel and Keziah Jones settled on Bush Prairie next to the Bush claim. Gabriel was born in 1802 in Henry County, Kentucky and married Keziah Bishop in 1828. he was known by friends and neighbors as "Uncle Gabriel." He was one of the original stockholders in the sawmill built at the lower falls of the Deschutes River. We have found an article highlighting the wedding of their daughter Elizabeth to Joseph Broshears in 1852. The ceremony was performed by Thomas Chambers.
The family eventually moved to Grand Prairie near what would become the town of Winlock in Lewis County. Gabriel suffered a serious injury in a hunting accident, which blinded him. He died in 1885. His grave site has never been found. Some thought he was buried in Winlock, but other sources say he owned grave sites at the Bush Prairie pioneer cemetery and could have been buried there.
Further research will hopefully provide more stories about these special people.

Olympia Tumwater Foundation

05/31/2022

05/23/2022

05/16/2022

05/09/2022

05/02/2022

04/25/2022

04/18/2022

04/11/2022

04/04/2022

03/28/2022

03/21/2022

03/14/2022

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Olympia Tumwater Foundation