Totem art at Tumwater Falls Park. ~Deborah Morris photograph.

George Washington Bush drawing. ~The Olympian files.

Founding father Edmund Sylvester. ~The Olympian files.

Crowell Hatch Sylvester's 1875 tax receipt. Crowell was Edmund Sylvester's brother and homesteaded 320 acres in South Bay in 1853. ~Courtesy of E. Sylvester's descendants Gail Kelcher, Shirely Charleston and Sharon Cuffel.

Our People

Passionate about life and presevation of beauty. . .Olympians

Path makers founding fathers

It was Oregon Territory's restrictions on black settlement that helped drive the first settlers into South Sound. George Washington Bush, a member of the pioneering Simmons party was considered mulatto. "Bush was a mulatto, but had means," fellow pioneer John Minto recorded in a Sept. 3, 1844, entry in his journal. "Not many men of color left a slave state so well-to-do, and so generally respected." Bush was respected for his accomplishments as well as his generosity. It is said that Bush helped outfit wagons for the Kindred and Jones families for the trip from Missouri, where Bush left behind a prosperous cattle farm. When the Simmons party arrived in Oregon Territory, it found harsh laws preventing men of color from settling in the area. Out of respect for Bush the group moved north of the Columbia River, where provisional laws did not apply. And so it was that a man of color paved the way for South Sound's diversity. The year was 1845; the community was New Market.

In 1846, two Americans, Edmund Sylvester and Levi Lathrop Smith, settled to the north. While Sylvester staked a claim inland on the edge of Chamber's Prairie, Smith selected the area that later became Olympia, but drowned in 1848 when his canoe capsized. As his partner, Sylvester inherited Smith's claim and moved to the waterfront. But in 1849, Sylvester, like many other pioneers, caught the gold fever and headed for the Californian mines, leaving his claim on Budd Inlet temporarily abandoned.

Sylvester failed to find his fortune in California and returned on the brig "Orbit" in January 1850. Many of the passengers and crewmembers were disappointed miners recovering from medical problems caused by harsh living conditions. When Sylvester returned, things were just as he'd left them. Sylvester and several other settlers were dissatisfied with the scattered land claims and decided to create a new Euro-American community on the shores of Budd Inlet. They planned to make use of the abundant natural resources of the area, especially timber.

Pioneer John M. Swan described this event in his history of early Olympia: "At a mutual consultation held by [Michael T.] Simmons, [Isaac N.] Ebey, [John M.] Swan, [Benjamin F.] Shaw, [Edmund] Sylvester, [Charles H.] Smith, and [Henry] Murray on January 12 [1850], it was decided to locate the future town on that certain point of land at the head of navigation on Budd's Inlet. On this point Edmund Sylvester had a land claim and therefore became town-proprietor."

At this time, according to Edmund Sylvester, "We layed (sic) off the town and had a map made. A man by the name of Dr. Fraser from Oregon City surveyed it first." One street (Main Street, later named Capitol Way) and eight or 10 blocks were charted in this initial survey. Dr. Fraser and his settler assistants used a line, a right angle triangle and a 10-foot pole in their work.

The street was established at 60 feet wide and blocks were 250 feet square.

The founding fathers then faced an important decision: what to name the town. After several proposed names, Olympia was chosen. There are various stories of how it was named. Some say Isaac N. Ebey was sitting on Sylvester's porch looking out at the Olympics and suggested the area was fit for the gods of Olympus and therefore should be named Olympia. Others say Charles Hart Smith proposed the name. However the name originated, decision was probably inspired by the magnificent Olympics.

Building started at once in Olympia, encouraged by Sylvester's offer of free town lots to residents who would construct housing. Shipwrights John M. Swan and Henry Murray built the first residences and other houses followed. Michael Simmons erected a store at what is now Thurston Avenue and Capitol Way.

Economic activity focused on shipping timber to the San Francisco market. More settlers moved to Olympia, and by 1852 the town was designated the county seat of Thurston County.

By 1853 Olympia had grown to several hundred residents. There werenumerous businesses and a weekly newspaper, The Columbian, now known as The Olympian. It was not surprising to the pioneers on Puget Sound that Governor Isaac Stevens in 1853 selected Olympia to be the capital of the newly created Washington Territory.

But what happened to the original seven founders of Olympia?

John M. Swan (1823-1904) took a donation land claim that later evolved into Olympia's east side. He helped establish the Washington Odd Fellows Home in Walla Walla for orphans and seniors, and served as the institution's first superintendent. Isaac N. Ebey (1818-1857) soon moved to Whidbey Island and became heavily involved in politics. Northern Indians killed Ebey at his island home as revenge for the death of their chief at Port Gamble.

Henry Murray (1825-1908) settled a claim on Muck Creek east of Steilacoom, and successfully raised sheep and cattle on the local prairies. Benjamin F. Shaw (1829-1908) fought in the 1850 Indian wars, served in the Washington Territorial government and farmed in Clark County. Charles H. Smith (dates unknown) became the trusted business partner of Michael T. Simmons. In 1851 Smith disappeared during a California business trip with $60,000 in cash and credit from Simmons and other settlers of Puget Sound.

Michael Simmons (1814-1867) was economically devastated by both Smith's desertion and troubles with selling his land claim in Tumwater. He served in several governmental positions, including Indian Agent, before dying in Lewis County. Edmund Sylvester (1821-1887) remained loyal to his community. During his lifetime he gave away land in the town for the Capitol, a school, a church, a Masonic Temple, and the public square known as Sylvester Park.

Another notable man who helped shape Olympia is Leopold Schmidt, a German immigrant who came to America when he was 20. He led a varied and successful life with a simple philosophy: "At all times you must be above reproach." Schmidt contributed substantially to Olympia's prosperity and economic success, including providing countless jobs when he established Olympia Brewery (now Miller Brewing Company).

Perhaps no other person did so much to preserve the beauty of Priest Point Park as Schmidt. He loved the park and had a Swiss chalet placed on the highest point to crown the park's waterfront. The chalet no longer exists except in our memories. Schmidt's grandson, Philip Henry "Skip" Schmidt, carried on the giving nature of his grandfather by donating the Tumwater Falls park with its salmon run, rose garden, hiking trails, wildlife and cascading waterfall.

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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