The South Sound Heritage Association, a non-profit consortium of museums in the South Puget Sound region, was formed in 1998 for the purpose of promoting its member organizations and their efforts in the areas of heritage education, preservation and interpretation.

Friendly Grove Park is located in northeast Olympia and includes 15 acres. This future park is an example of how neighborhood parks will serve as a common area at the heart of Olympia's future neighborhoods. Neighborhood parks will be accessible by walking and are places where families can enjoy time together. Plans call for a basketball and tennis court. ~Olympia Planning and Design Services.

Our Vision; continued

Neighborhood Parks

Neighborhood Parks

A balanced, healthy community needs more than just streets and places to work, live and shop. Olympia's health as a community also depends upon maximizing people's ability to enjoy Olympia's beautiful natural settings and providing for the recreational needs of citizens.

As Olympia experiences continued growth and development, preservation and enhancement of our natural environment to meet aesthetic and recreational needs will continue to be an important component of our vision for the future.

Parks and open space are part of the infrastructure and urban design that leads to a high quality of life for this and future generations of Olympians. Forethought couples the goals and principles of parks and open space with urban design, sustainability and transportation into a new city vision. Forethought leads to great cities.

Part of that forethought is a comprehensive plan that clearly defines goals, policies and other information to guide the City of Olympia's governmental actions over the next 20 years. This plan incorporates a vision to have pedestrian-oriented streetscapes, livable and affordable neighborhoods, safe and meaningful street life, and high-quality civic architecture.

The plan includes allowing trees of all kinds and sizes to grow in all parts of town, and urban trails for use by pedestrians and bicycles.

People will be able to travel safely throughout the city without relying on the automobile, as well as to find a bit of the 'country' at their doorstep. These trails will provide a variety of experiences in wooded areas, along shorelines, and in flat and hilly areas. They will link the neighborhoods with key destinations such as schools, parks, commercial areas and centers of employment. This will contribute to reducing our dependence on the auto.

The most important wildlife habitat areas will be preserved to maintain a biologically healthy diversity of species. Children will still find quiet places to hear the chorus of frogs around a pond at dusk, the rustle of the leaves of spring and the humming of insects' wings.

Providing parks in every neighborhood will help to awaken a new neighborhood spirit in Olympia. These parks will provide for both active and passive recreation, with playground equipment, basketball hoops, tennis courts, play areas, horseshoe pits, picnic tables and shelters.

Community parks will also be enhanced. Our centerpiece will be Heritage Park, envisioned in 1911 by the designers of the original Capitol Campus. Stretching from Budd Inlet to the Temple of Justice, it will be a unique memorial to the lands, waters and people of our great state. Percival Landing will be extended and other sites will be developed as well.

The Growth Management Act requires that communities identify and include greenbelt and open space areas within their urban growth area for recreation, wildlife habitat and trails.

Along with that, the cities must devise a realistic strategy to pay for the standards -- that is, to build new parks at a rate which keeps pace with population growth.

The vision will not be achieved easily. It is an ambitious one. But, if we work together -- the public sector, neighborhood groups, businesses, individuals -- with effort and dedication, we can achieve it. In fact, our vision is already emerging in the steps being taken by creative, farsighted people in our community.

Information for this article was drawn from the Olympia Comprehensive Plan and from City Planning and Design Services Manager David Hanna.

Perpetually in Trust

State Capital Museum: Caretaker of community and state history

By Derek Valley

Museum Curator

The Washington State Capital Historical Association was originally organized by the Legislature in 1941. The Clarence and Elizabeth Lord residence was designated as the location for the purpose of housing the Museum. The duties of the Washington State Capitol Historical Association were "to collect books, maps, charts, papers, relics and other material illustrative of the history of the state. In particular, of the progress and development of the territorial capitol and the state capitol at Olympia" and to "shelf, store and safely keep" these historical materials "perpetually in trust for the use and benefit of the people of the State of Washington."

Over the past 50-plus years the Association has evolved and transformed in many positive ways and still maintains the focus on preserving the legacies of our history.

From 1941 to 1993 the Washington State Capitol Historical Association evolved, curiously, in name. The "Capitol" became the "Capital" Historical Association. It is clear in the original documents that the founders of the Association meant to be more inclusive "capital" but the legislation was written "Capitol" and for many years that spelling held. In about 1976 the spelling was changed to "Capital" reflecting the proper spelling for the word. To this day we get questions about the spelling.

As celebration for Olympia's 150th anniversary as a settlement, the museum is proud to present two exhibits, "Olympia Through Artists' Eyes" and "Olympia Through Children's Eyes."

"Through Artists' Eyes" explores the environs of Olympia as seen by Olympia area artists. Twenty-six artists reflect what they see when they look at their community.

"Through Children's Eyes" interprets the development of the capital through the eyes of children living at the turn of the last century, 1900. The Olympia School District will be using this exhibit to supplement their curriculum for community and state history.

The collective efforts of the Washington State Capital Historical Association have been based on a strong foundation of dedicated, energetic and savvy volunteers working in tandem with a professional staff to accomplish a wide variety of exhibits, programs and activities for the community. From the mid-1960s when Jean Richards and Joyce Dunn, followed by Jerrilyn Wright, set the standard for community arts and cultural classes. The initial curator, Ida Burford, followed by others including Ken Hopkins and Del McBride, provided the direction in leadership which brought on an evolutionary role as a cultural leader. The legacy of leadership continues in the merging of the State Capital Historical Association with the Washington State Historical Society in 1993. Today, the Washington State Capital Museum is a museum of the Washington State Historical Society.

As the new millennium begins, great expectations about the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition appear on the horizon. Further evolution of the mission of the State Capital Museum includes developing interpretative space in the renovated Washington State Capitol building.

The future is bright for the State Capital Museum. With dedicated staff and volunteers the Museum will continue to serve the visitors and citizens of Washington State.

Derek Valley is curator of the Washington State Capital Museum. He can be reached at 360.753.2580 for more information.

South Sound Heritage Association

Olympia

Bigelow House Museum 1

918 East Glass 360 753-1215

The Bigelow House Museum overlooks Budd Inlet near Olympia's downtown and was built circa 1860 by Oregon Trail pioneers Daniel R. and Ann Elizabeth White Bigelow. The house has been continuously occupied by the same family and features original furnishings and Victorian-era artifacts.

Washington State Capital Museum 2

211 West 21st Avenue 360 753-2580

The elegant Lord mansion, built in 1923, is home to the Washington State Historical Society's State Capital Museum. The museum tells the story of the political and cultural life of Olympia and Washington state including stories about the lives of traditional people native to the South Puget Sound region.

Lacey

Lacey Museum 4

829-1/2 Lacey Street SE 360 438-0209

Located in the historic Lacey Villas neighborhood, the Museum interprets Lacey history from the days of the Oregon Trail pioneers to the present. The Museum building, formerly the 1926 Fred Russell home, served as Lacey's first City Hall at its former location on Pacific Ave.

Tenino

Tenino Depot Museum 7

399 Park Avenue West 360 264-4321

A railroad depot built in 1914 of Tenino sandstone is now home to a museum which tells the story of Tenino's colorful railroad and stone quarry history. Displays are placed throughout the building's original interior of waiting rooms, ticket counter, baggage check area, and the railroad's safe vault. The Museum and the nearby Quarry House are located in a stone quarry site that is now a public park.

Chehalis

Lewis County Historical Museum 8

599 NW Front Way 360 748-0831

Chehalis Indian culture, pioneer settlement of Lewis County, and the stories of agriculture and logging industries are told through exhibits in a historic 1912 railroad depot. The Museum also features a hands-on children's area for exploration by young visitors.

Shelton

Mason County Historical Museum 6

5th and Railroad Avenue 360 426-1020

Shelton's original 1914 town hall and library are home to the Museum which offers exhibits and photograph displays of early Mason County life that feature the prominent logging industry and the wooden sternwheeler ships that reached nearly every port on Puget Sound.

Tumwater

Henderson House Museum 3

602 Deschutes Way SW 360 754-4163

A German-immigrant brewmaster for the Olympia Brewing Company built this Queen-Anne style home in 1905. One of the City of Tumwater's two historic house museums located in Tumwater's Historic District, the Museum showcases local history and art exhibits. In the near future, the Museum will tell the story of Tumwater as a furnished

Historic Crosby House 3

703 Deschutes Way SW 360 943-9884

Pioneer Nathaniel Crosby III sailed from New England to Tumwater and built this home for his bride, Cordelia Jane Smith, in 1858. The house, owned by the City of Tumwater and hosted by the Daughters of the Pioneers, is furnished as it might been in the 1860's and is on of Tumwater's oldest houses.

Oympic Flight Museum 5

7637 Old Highway 99 360 705-3925

The Museum is housed in a large facility at the Olympia Airport and showcases a collection of fifteen vintage World War II, Viet Nam, and Korean War aircraft. Aviation history comes to life through exhibits and actual flights of the Museum's collection of warbirds.

Centralia

Borst Home and One-Room School House9

2500 West Bryden 360 330-7688

Pioneer Joseph Borst built a home for his family in the 1860's that today is the City of Centralia's Museum furnished with Borst family and early Centralia history. The Borst name also lends itself to an adjoining arboretum, an authentic wooden blockhouse, a replica of one-room schoolhouse, gardens, and many other park facilities.

Veteran Memorial Museum 10

712 West Main 360 330-7913

The personal military lives of local and out of state veterans are featured in this unique museum through displays of uniforms, photographs, weapons, and battlefield artifacts that date back to the Revolutionary War. A reference library and video room is open for research during Museum hours.

Morton

Old Settlers Museum 11

710 Main Ave Morton

Located in Morton's Gus Backstrom Park, the museum has a collection of artifacts related to local Native Americans, logging, farming, mining, and pioneer family history. The Cowlitz River Historical Society owns the old 1912 Railroad Depot in Morton. The Society is in the planning stage to get the Depot moved and developed into a new for the museum. Follow I-5 south from Chehalis to Hwy 12 East.

For information about SSHA or to request the free brochure "South Sound Heritage Attractions" contact any of the member organizations listed above or email: attractions@olywa.net or write to the Lacey Museum, 829 1/2, Lacey, WA 98503

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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