I recently read through Thurston County Place Names : A Heritage Guide / edited by Gayle Palmer, Shanna Stevenson. Olympia, Wash. : Thurston County Historic Commission, [1992]

This is a well documented encyclopedia that if read cover to cover is like viewing a fun collage of local history. A very nice resource compiled by real pros.

Some of the more interesting selections of this work have been extracted, with OlyBlog enhancements. Historians, grab your silverware and get ready to eat!

Athens Beach Section 22, T19N, R2W, W.M. The beach is at the north end of Cooper Point on the west shore of Budd Inlet. Athens was a name given by J.R. Chaplin to a utopian community he envisioned at Athens Beach in 1900 where he platted the site for a college to be called the People's University. The college operated for a few years, 1902-1904. The community of Athens Beach now consists of a housing area on Cooper Point in northwest Thurston County.
The Third Time's a Charm

Black Hills Sections 19, 31, 34, T18N, R2W, W.M. This series of hills begins three miles southwest of Olympia. The highest peak, Big Larch Mountain rises 2,659 feet. The hills comprise all of the Capitol State Forest. The hills are named for the Black River.

These hills are mentioned in the Treaty with the S'klallam Indians, January 26, 1855, and they are shown on the Map of the Surveyor General of Washington Territory, 1857. (Meany, Origin of Washington Geographic Names, page 20.)

J.C. Rathbun notes, "In May, 1857 a party of four men started out with a pack horse to explore the Black Hills in the western part of the county." (Rathbun, History of Thurston County, page 37.)
Not Unattended With Danger

Here's a follow up to Sarah's earlier post. Thanks for bringing the story to an Olympia readership, Sarah.

Lindsey is still missing. The main intersection in downtown McCleary, as of this hour, has three people stopping traffic and handing out information related to the case. I've been around McCleary for a long time and this is unique in my experience here.

Also present are many law enforcement and search and rescue vehicles, some coming from Pierce County.

TV news is all over the place too. I watched one reporter mention something about investigating registered sex offenders in the region.

Lindsey's route from Maple to Mommsen St. is practically a straight shot on roads that are, by McCleary standards, pretty well traveled.

Hopefully, all of this will come to a happy conclusion soon. 

[See attachment for poster]

A caiman!

They were around in Oly even back then! Here's the proof!

You historians can now make of this what you will. I am merely the messenger. 

Closer ... Closer ...

Closer ...

I'm getting a funny feeling about this ...

It's amazing what technology can do these days. DNA analysis, electron microscopes, etc. really make a difference in re-examining valuable historical documents like this one.

Ah, here we are. But I think we need a closer look.

See it? See it there near the Percival House?

I'm zooming in, although it will be at the price of losing graphic detail.

With more detail we can see another Cascade peak back there, perhaps Mt. St. Helens. A streetcar in the lower right hand corner graces the Westside.

As you can see, the 1890s vision of the center of government looked much different.

I notice when I enlarge these things, some odd tidbits turn up that I didn't see at first. So if you'll indulge me ...

1. Masonic Temple, SE corner of Main (Cap Way) and 8th. The site served as the Capitol during the 1855-1856 Session.

2. Odd Fellows Hall, built in 1888, burned in 1936. 

3. The original St. Pete's Hospital, stood where the current totem pole is now on display in front of the General Administration building. 

4. The Percival House, built in 1874. This was roughly where the 5th Ave. Bridge connects to the Westside today.

5. The Old State Capitol, still standing in 2009.

6. The Olympia Hotel, a grand structure built in 1890 and destroyed by fire in 1904, almost taking Ungovernor Turner with it.

7. The Uncapitol Building. Lange was drawing this structure from imagination. There was an earlier legislative building planned-- in fact some foundation work had even been done, but it was scrapped when the economy tanked in the mid 1890s. Lange was projecting what the building would look like.

8. McKenny Building, SW corner of Main and 4th, 1889-1949. 

Now let's zoom in a bit more on the Capitol Building that never was.

Click image for larger version.

The attached image is part of a "bird's eye" of Olympia in the 1890s. This was a very popular art form across the country in the 1800s. In this area, one of the masters was a fellow named Edward Lange (1846-1912).

As you can see, the view is Oly as seen from the northwest, from the hills of the Westside. Budd Inlet and the 4th Ave. Bridge are in the foreground. Mt. Rainier is in the background.

I apologize for the poor reproduction. Even so, I'll zoom in and attempt to identify some historic buildings.