Hartsuck/Tilley Road area

Originally published Saturday, January 12, 2002

In 1852, Mark Evans Hartsuck made his way to Thurston County. His brother, Benjamin Franklin Hartsuck, followed him in 1887. Mark Evans owned property all over Olympia, such as the lot where the present-day Les Schwab on Fourth Avenue is. In 1884, he bought the deed for 160 acres where 93rd Avenue Southeast and Heart Road intersect. In 1905, family members requested a road that would connect their farm with present-day Tilley Road, as Tilley was the main route into Olympia.

Drive by, and you'll see a sign noting the historic name of 93rd is "Hartsuck Road." Hart Road also is named for the family.

Nearby on South Tilley Road is the South Union School/Grange. The grange was organized in 1927, first meeting in the school until the schoolhouse was purchased from the Tumwater School District in 1930 for $100. Many organizations have met there over the years, and the grange still sponsors a monthly dance.

Also on South Tilley Road is Camp Millersylvania, now Millersylvania Park.

Frederick Miller left the parkland to the state in 1921, with the proviso that his sisters, Christina and Sophia, were to reside there for the rest of their lives. He also left funds for maintenance of the park, and specified that shrubbery and trees should be conserved and only dead or fallen ones used.

The Miller family history is shrouded in mystery. There are many stories, including those about John Miller, Frederick's father, being an Austrian general who was banished for retreating in battle.

It also was rumored that he married a member of the royal family without permission and barely escaped execution.

Miller moved to Thurston County in 1881 and bought a land patent from Squire B. Lathan, who had homesteaded it. Frederick was educated at Stanford, and taught at the Rocky Prairie School nearby when returning. His mother and father died around 1900.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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