Courtesy of Washington State Historical Museum
This marker was erected in 1922 to commemorate the Medicine Creek Indian Treaty of 1854.

Nisqually area

Originally published Saturday, January 12, 2002

Take a drive down Old Pacific Highway, and you'll reach McAllister Springs. It's named for the James McAllister family who settled the area. The springs, which had been a significant site for the Nisqually tribe, became a recreation site for settlers until 1947, when the city of Olympia acquired them to be the city's water source.

A tributary to McAllister Creek, Medicine Creek, is so named because it was considered to have supernatural attributes.

Nisqually is one of the earliest names in Thurston County. It comes from the Nisqually Indians and the region bordering the Nisqually River. Many interesting places can be found near the river.

Parsnip Swamp, south of the river, is named for the vegetation in the area, which resembles parsnips. Powell Creek passes through the swamp, flowing northwest to join the Nisqually River.

Frank's Landing is a six-acre site on the river, owned by the Willie Frank family. Frank, a Nisqually tribal member, purchased it in 1917 as "in lieu" land after the original Nisqually reservation land was transferred to Fort Lewis. It was the location of many confrontations between Indians and state officials over Indian fishing rights.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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