There are four historical pieces of art on the newsprint cover of this section (pictured above):

- An early rendering of Budd Inlet.

- A portrait of Samuel Royal Thurston, the Oregon Territory congressional delegate after whom Thurston County was named.

- A portrait of Michael T. Simmons, a leader of the first party of pioneers to settle in what is now Thurston County.

Both portraits are courtesy of the Thurston County Historical Preservation Office.

The backdrop is the written text of the legislation the Oregon Territory lawmakers signed to create Thurston County on Jan. 12, 1852. You can see where they were ready to create "Simmons County," then changed their minds and wrote in "Thurston County."

Courtesy of Lacey Museum
The Southwick family poses near their home around 1905.

Courtesy of Lacey Museum
Two members of the Hicks Family -- Hazel (left), 12, and Emily, 10, pose at the Hotel Olympian dancing school around 1904.

ABOUT THIS SECTION

Originally published Saturday, January 12, 2002

Thurston County marks its sesquicentennial on Jan. 12, 2002. This section was created to give readers a short course in the early years of the county. It contains articles on the politics of the county's creation, it explains where some of the places names come from, and it profiles some of the earliest pioneer families who settled this area when it was something beyond the Wild West.

Section editor: Dusti Demarest

Section designer: Chris Thomas

Cover design: Chris OBrion

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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