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Smithfield, Woodland, and New Market

Submitted by stevenl on Fri, 04/21/2006 - 6:31pm.

I recently started thumbing through Shanna Stevenson's Olympia Area Place Names (1986). It is a fun read, although I noticed she left out the former name of Mud Bay, which was, according to legend, "Shitpoke Flats." I note in Shanna's book that bodies of water seem to be the most likely candidates for geographic name changes. Anyway, I'll share some of the former and current place names from her book for you OlyBloggerz:

FORMER NAME(S)=CURRENT NAME

Sa-chal = Sat-chall = Black Lake
Seatco = Bucoda
Russell Lake = Chambers Lake
Drake Lake = Deep Lake
Chambers Prairie = East Olympia
Harlowe Junction = Gate
Wepusic Inlet = Gull Harbor
Pollala Ilaheee = Tyrell Prairie = Hawks Prairie
Lowe's Lake = Hewitt Lake
Wood's Lake = Rutledge Lake = Hicks Lake
Cushman Point = Hunter Point
Point Moody = Johnson Point
Simmons Lake = Ken Lake (Shanna says here: "Named for Frank Kenney, secretary of Olympia Brewery and a local realtor." I prefer to believe it was really named after Barbie's boyfriend)
Woodland = Lacey
Fleetwood Lake = Lake Lois
Wildman Lake = Lake Susan
Logan Lake = Long Lake
Shononadaub = McAllister Creek
Clear Lake = McIntosh Lake
McAllister Road = Marvin Road
Marshville = Olympia's Westside
Squaquid = Medicine Creek
Dodge Prairie = Mima Prairie
Nez Quarres = Sherlock = Gardner = Maxfield = Nisqually
Cheetwoot = Smithfield = Smithster = Olympia
Lyons Lake = Pattison Lake
Key = Rochester
Scates Creek = Scatter Creek
Little Bigelow Lake = Setchfield Lake
Ruddell Lake = Southwick Lake
Pray's Lake = Crooked Lake = Summit Lake
Swantown = Olympia's eastside
Post lake = Tempo Lake
Coal Bank = Tenino
Jones Beach = Tolmie State Park
Drewry Lake = Trail's End Lake
Ferguson Lake = Trosper Lake
New Market = Falls River = Des Chutes = Tumwater
Brune's Lake = Wards Lake

stevenl's blog
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Thanks for the post. Where

Submitted by white feather on Sat, 04/22/2006 - 3:28am.

Thanks for the post. Where can you find the book??

The Washington State

Submitted by stevenl on Sat, 04/22/2006 - 5:29am.

The Washington State Library, a place I'm known to frequent now and then. If you look up Shanna's name in the WSL or Timberland Library catalog, you'll find a healthy list of works about Olympia area history. And yes, the State Library is very open to the general public and has a strong collection for Washington history and genealogy (on the corner of Capitol and Israel in New Market, er, Tumwater, next to the Post Office).

Marshville

Submitted by emmettoconnell on Sat, 04/22/2006 - 2:02pm.

I knew about Swantown, but Marshville for the Westside, what a kick. We should put a sign up near the Park and mall (I assume where the marsh was). B&N could be the townhall of Marshvill

Marshville

Submitted by stevenl on Sun, 04/23/2006 - 6:20am.

According to the book, Marshville was named after Westside property owner Edwin Marsh. Other misleading place names: Bush Prairie (after the pioneer George Bush family), French Loop Road (after three brothers with the surname "French"), Hawks Prairie (after John Melvin Hawk), Hazard Lake (after Hazard Stevens, son of the first territorial governor), Hicks Lake (not a comment on the residents' lifestyle, but after Gwin Hicks), Israel Road (after William Israel), Lemon Road (after Millard Lemon), Swantown (after John Swan), Woodland (later Lacey, after Isaac Wood).

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