Photo courtesy of Lacey Museum
Saint Martin's College, seen here around 1895, sits on land purchased by the Benedictine Catholic Order.

Courtesy of Lacey Museum
The Woodland Driving Park, seen here around 1892, was organized by Isaac C. Ellis and later became the site of the Lacey Hotel.

Courtesy of Washington State Historical Museum
Chambers Lake and Chambers Prairie bear the name of Thomas M. Chambers, who settled in the area in 1847. His son, David, lived in this house around 1850.

O.C. Lacey changed the name of Woodland to Lacey in 1892.

Courtesy of Lacey Museum
Union Mills, seen here around 1910, was one of the first electric sawmills in the Northwest.

Lacey

Originally published Saturday, January 12, 2002

Lacey originally was named Woodland after Isaac and Catherine Wood, who claimed land there in 1853. Developer and attorney O.C. Lacey changed the name in 1892. He planned to develop the area, and there already was a Woodland in Cowlitz County. However, the name Woodland lingered.

At the intersection of Clearbrook Drive and Yonkers Road, the Lacey Racetrack Marker commemorates the former Woodland Driving Park.

Isaac C. Ellis, who cleared several acres in Lacey for a clubhouse, stables and a grandstand, organized it. It opened in 1891, and drew large crowds for many years. It also was the site of the Lacey Hotel, which was torn down in 1939.

Later, a shopping center was built at the site, and the marker was put up by the developer of adjacent housing in cooperation with the Lacey Historical Commission.

Other landmarks are manmade.

Saint Martin's College, at Sixth Avenue and College Street, has been part of the community since before the turn of the 20th century. The Benedictine Catholic Order purchased the land for the college in 1894, and a dozen scholars were in residence by 1895. The college had its own milking barn, one of two agricultural buildings where food was produced to feed staff and students at the college.

Also on campus, the Lynch Development Center enjoys the historic name of St. Placid Hall or Scholasticate Hall. It was constructed in 1923 to house young men in a new department, the "scholasticate," where they could prepare to enter the Benedictine Order. It had separate sleeping rooms, a study hall and recreation facilities. In later years, the hall was used as a Sisters residence, an infirmary, a workman's building and a guest residence. It's now an administrative center.

Also of interest on the campus are the Stations of the Cross.

The 14 stone monuments, which served as a footpath between the campus monastery and the old Lacey neighborhood, depict the crucifixion of Christ and are a Benedictine tradition.

The adjacent Lacey Historic District still bears many of the names of the homes' original owners.

The Falkner/Kolze house on Holmes Island Road is so named because William Falkner, an Army captain, constructed it. The home was built on Holmes Island on Long Lake in the colonial style using a set of house plans called "The Benson." The house was sold to William and Margaret Kolze in 1955, who have owned it ever since. The couple has maintained the house's historical integrity, moving it to its current location in 1956.

The Bowker House sits along the street that bears its name. It represents an early settlement of Lacey, being one of the few houses built in the early 1890s. George and Lucinda Hayes Bowker came to the area from Maine. George was a lawyer and a logger, and is listed in the 1902-03 city directory as a farmer and a laborer.

Nearby on Bowker Street is the Herman Reinhardt House. Herman Reinhardt was born in Germany in 1863, came to the United States at age 21, and migrated to Lacey in 1905. He worked as a shoemaker at Saint Martin's College, and also ran its laundry. The property boasts the only remaining farm that's still operating in the area, maintaining the flavor of earlier decades.

The Union Mills Superintendent's House, on Union Mills Road, is another feature in Lacey. It's one of few remnants of a once-thriving company town built in conjunction with Union Mills, one of the first electric sawmills in the Northwest.

People living in the area needed to have fun, so two miles southeast of Lacey, the Long Lake Recreation Hall can be found. Located on Carpenter Road Southeast, it's more commonly known as Heritage Hall. It was built on land donated by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The structure, which has hosted many social gatherings, auctions and other events, is now used as an administration building for the Thurston County Fair. The hall is immediately left of Long Lake.

Hicks Lake, also in Lacey, is named for Urban East Hicks, who came to the area in the early 1850s. He was a territorial official and a captain in the Washington Territorial Volunteers during the Indian War of 1855-56. He was a printer by trade.

The oft-debated Hawk's Prairie is not named for the birds that often can be seen there. It bears James M. Hawk's name. Hawk crossed the plains in the early 1850s and claimed 320 acres. The area once supported several hops fields known for their high yields.

Bordering Lacey is another body of water, Chambers Lake. It and the Chambers Prairie are named after Thomas M. Chambers, who settled there in 1847. He crossed the plains from Missouri with his six sons and two daughters.

Thomas M., David and Andrew J. Chambers all had donation land claims in the area.

Connors Prairie is next to Chambers Prairie. It's named for Joseph H. and Phoebe M. Connor, who came to the area in 1852 and claimed 315 acres.

Local roads bear pioneer family names as well.

One of the best known is Sleater-Kinney Road, which honors two families of early settlers. George and Ella Sleater homesteaded property north of North Thurston High School in 1880. Ivan J. Kinney's homestead was nearby. The men, both farmers, helped clear the original road.

Draham Street Northeast, in northern Lacey, is named for Mark Draham. He came from Michigan and was a logger and operator of the Mud Bay Logging Company. This was one of his logging roads.

Marvin Road is named for settler Edward Marvin, who lived in the area in 1918.

In southern Lacey, Pattison Lake is named for William and Mary Pattison, who arrived in the area Nov. 3, 1849. They settled on a donation land claim of about 642 acres. Some maps carry the alternate, unofficial spelling, Patterson Lake.

South of the lake is Kelly's Corner. It's named for George and William Kelly. William developed Kelly's Resort in 1915, which boasted 50 boats, bathhouses, a high dive and a slide. The Kellys made their own boats from cedar on the property. William and George built a house in 1924 that adjoined the resort.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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