"Bringing the past to life in Washington State's oldest town"

History of Steilacoom

In April 2004 the Town of Steilacoom celebrated its 150^th birthday as the first incorporated town in Washington Territory.  This 1854 formal recognition came a mere thirteen years after the first recorded visit to the area by an American, Lt. Charles Wilkes.   Wilke’s mapping expedition paved the way for settlement of what was to become the town.  In January of 1851 Captain Lafayette Balch founded the town of Port Steilacoom.  In June of the same year John B. Chapman established the town of Steilacoom City, adjacent to and just south of Balch’s new town.  Later that same year the town of Seattle was founded.  These two Steilacooms were merged in 1854 and were incorporated as one town.  The dual origins of Steilacoom can be recognized even today by noticing the layout of streets east and west of Union  Avenue, once the border between them.

There are several versions of the original naming of our town.  Some say it was named after the small pink flower which grew on the hillsides and the prairie and which the Indian people called "tchil-ac-cum"; others say it was named after the Indian people who lived on the shore, Tailakoom"; still others credit Layafette Balch who spelled it "Chilcoom".

Steilacoom is a town of firsts.   The first Post Office in Washington Territory was established in 1852; The first Protestant Church (Methodist Episcopal Church) in the Territory was built in 1853; the incorporation of Steilacoom as the first territorial town came in 1854; the first public library in Washington Territory was incorporated in 1858; Both the first brewery (located near Sunnyside Beach on Lafayette Streeet) and the first Territorial Jail  (on Starling Street between Main and Puyallup)  were constructed in Steilacoom in 1858; and, for a time, Steilacoom was the first “county seat” in Pierce County.  Steilacoom also had the first court, the first post office, the first gas station and garage, the first newspaper, and the first port.

The Steilacoom waterfront was comprised of all of the business on the waterside of Commercial street, such as the blacksmith, livery stable, Masonic Hall, saloons/taverns and the two piers at the end of Main and Balch Streets.

This “bad luck” was probably what saved Steilacoom to be the quaint historical town it is today.  First, the decline of commercial development probably saved several old structures from demolition; the decline of Steilacoom as a summer vacation destination may have discouraged the replacement of old Steilacoom with modern structures.  Although some residential growth did occur, and many historic structures were demolished, the oldest section of the town was saved from becoming just another suburb of Tacoma by the official recognition of parts of Steilacoom as a Washington State and a National Historic District.  The Town of Steilacoom appointed a Preservation and Review Board to focus upon maintaining the historical atmosphere of the District, and the Steilacoom Historical Museum Association, a non-profit non-governmental volunteer organization) was formed in the 1970’s.  SHMA has saved the Nathaniel Orr Home and the Bair Drug and Hardware Store, established an historical museum (attractive new Museum is now complete), refurbished an old wagon and blacksmith shop, and preserved thousands of artifacts that might otherwise have been lost forever.

Steilacoom "Firsts"

First Incorporated Town    1854  ~ First Protestant Church North of the Columbia River    1853 

First Territorial Jail     1858  ~   First Territorial Court    1849

First Public Library     1858  ~  First Post Office began     June 14, 1852 

First Soap Factory in Northwest     1864   ~  First Gas Station and Garage    1925 

First Newspaper began publication      May 11, 1855  ~  First Brewery     1864 

First Port of Washington     1849