Olympia City Map Poster

About Olympia

The state capital of Olympia is also the city's seat of government. The site was first settled by Paleo-Indians, then Chinook and Klickitat peoples, followed by European Americans who formed a small community that closely tied to Port Townsend. The area grew rapidly in the late 19th century as a result of timber harvesting and its position as an important junction for railroads connecting to Seattle and Tacoma on Puget Sound (via Lacey), Spokane further east via the Northern Pacific Railway (later BNSF), Portland via the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company (OR&N) line through Kelso along with steamships from San Francisco on Willapa Bay—the Columbia River connected all these transportation routes which aided in development. Logging remained Olympia's largest industry into the 20th century; it is commemorated at Heritage Park . By 1884, there were four steam sawmills operating in Thurston County; within 25 years over 400 mills dotted both sides of Grays Harbor.