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Exploring The Back Roads Of Washington State: Scenic, Historic Steilacoom
On the Way to Nowhere
If it is history you want then it is history you will get in Steilacoom, Washington. Tucked along the coastline of Puget Sound, the town itself is amazingly secluded considering it is ten minutes from the busy and always hectic I-5 corridor.
Steilacoom was incorporated in 1854 and founded by a sea captain from Maine, one Lafayette Balch. It is the oldest incorporated town in Washington State and has four buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the quintessential sleepy bedroom community, out of sight, out of mind, and a prettier town you will not find in the Evergreen State.
At one time prosperity gently kissed this town as it was a busy center of lumber manufacturing and export to San Francisco. In fact, it was the leading candidate for quite some time to become the territorial capital before Washington became a state, but narrowly lost its bid when the Northern Pacific Railroad chose Tacoma for its west coast terminus in 1873.
Today it is simply a place to live a quiet life, away from the madness of Tacoma five miles to the north.
Just the Facts
Steilacoom has a population of 6,070 and is located in Pierce Country. It is literally ten minutes to all the convenience you could ever ask for, but within the town limits you are comfortably ensconced in a time warp.
It has a per capita income that ranks it 61st of 522 areas in the state, it has a total land mass of 2.07 square miles, and it has breathtaking views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains to the west. The first jail in Washington was in this town as well as the first sawmill, and it has the oldest Catholic Church in the state.
All of those are just facts, though; what Steilacoom has in spades is charm.
Things to Do
This is not a tourist trap. If you choose to spend a few days in a B&B in Steilacoom then you are choosing for rest and relaxation. You can of course walk the beach. You can of course rent a kayak and enjoy the waters of the Puget Sound.
If you enjoy golf then the world famous Chambers Bay Golf Course, site of the 2015 U.S. Open golf tournament, is five minutes down the road. If it is shopping and entertainment you crave, then the city of Tacoma is close by.
Bring a camera and bring an attitude of gratitude, for you are surrounded by beauty and serenity when you visit Steilacoom.
My Favorite Reason to Visit Steilacoom
Having grown up in Tacoma, this writer is quite familiar with Steilacoom. In fact, Chambers Bay Golf Course is built on the site of the old Pioneer Sand & Gravel Company where my father worked for twenty years. As a child I would fish off the pier at Pioneer, and many a summer’s day my friends and I would drive to Steilacoom as teens and look for teenage girls on the beach.
My favorite reason to visit Steilacoom? History, folks, history!
I love Steilacoom for the history it provides. This is like stepping back in time, a simpler place and time where people greeted each other on the streets and life slowed up just enough to make it all palatable.
I love the preservation of history. I believe there is a great deal we can learn from the past if we are teachable, and I believe our heritage is vitally important.
In Steilacoom I find that history. In Steilacoom I find people who seem genuinely happy that I am visiting their town. In Steilacoom I can connect with my own history, rub shoulders with my own ancestors, and embrace a simpler lifestyle if only for a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon.
Sit on the park bench and gaze across the Puget Sound at the Olympic Mountains, snow-capped and inviting. Watch the gulls swoop in for their next meal. Listen to the little children as they giggle and frolic on the beach, searching for their next great treasure. If you listen very closely, and squint just right, you will see the settlers as they come to town for their provisions. You will see Chief Tail-a-Koom standing among his tribe, trading goods with the whites and preparing for the fishing expedition that will feed his people all winter long. You will see the massive Douglas Firs being prepared as finished lumber, heading for construction sites across this great, young country. The trappers and the traders, the homesteaders and the mercantilists, all will come into view if your mind is accepting and your heart is willing to learn.
Steilacoom Is Waiting for You
Yes, there are 6,070 permanent residents in Steilacoom, and they will be very happy to greet you should you decide to visit their quaint town. They are quite easy to find. Their town is on all the maps and easily accessible to the I-5 corridor, so getting there will be no problem.
You can pack for the trip but seriously, why bother? Everything you need for this journey is already inside of you. Just bring a willingness to relax. Just bring a desire to learn from the past. Just bring the present, and join with the past, and the heritage will continue to march forward.
2013 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
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Related
Comments
- AUTHOR
It is my pleasure, Ann! I hope you do another Back Roads. I always find that sort of article interesting.
Be safe, and Happy Sunday!
bill
- AUTHOR
Thanks for joining us on this journey, Peggy. I appreciate you reciprocating so often.
Just come back to look at this as I noticed there was another comment.
I was thinking of doing another 'Exploring the Back Roads...' hub and noticed that you've linked a couple of mine - thank you very much, bill!
Hope you're still keeping safe and well.
Ann
Thanks for telling us about this charming town that is only a bit over 2 square acres. The setting is stunning! It is interesting that some of the buildings appear to be haunted.
- AUTHOR
tireless, it just might be time....hope to see you soon, and thank you!
It is time for another trip north and a stop at Steilacoom
- AUTHOR
Oh Dianna, this is the warmest of the northern states. We haven't even had snow yet....but coming from Florida, you would still have problems with the fifty degrees and dampness.....stay where you are; you are better off. :) Thank you!
I love your personal touch to the tour of this historic place. It all sounds so inviting. If it weren't for the cold, I would consider moving there some day.
- AUTHOR
Michael my friend, if you come and visit I promise to be your tour guide. That is the best deal I can offer you.
blessings always
bill
Hello again Bill.
Thanks for another wonderful tour. After this visit to Steilacoon, Washington if anyone will mention the name of it in my presence, I'll dare to say ' I've been there ,' do you recall the oldest Catholic Church ( building?) in the state ?- and how about quite brutal gulf course which is going to host the U.S. Open in 2015 ?!. Well...
Up, beautiful and interesting.
Blessings to you , my friend
- AUTHOR
Gail, Happy New Year to you as well. Hopefully 2014 will be the year you can visit our state. I will be your personal tour guide if you make it to Olympia.
Bill, Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, too. I enjoyed your tour of Washington State. I have always wanted to go, but I have yet to actually get there. Maybe in the new year.
- AUTHOR
I appreciate it, Anna; thank you!
I have been AWOL with Christmas so I have to catch up with your thoughts. :)
- AUTHOR
Anna, what a pleasure having you visit three times today. Thank you! That view from Main St. is definitely beautiful.
Have a great week as we say goodbye to 2013.
You deftly mixed the history, current attractions and your personal past to make an informative article. I love paranormal stuff so with the history of this town it would surely have many past tales to be told!
Your view from the Main Street picture is beautiful.
- AUTHOR
vkwok, if you like peace and quiet then it's a good place to visit. :) Thanks buddy!
Looks like a good place to visit! Awesome hub, Bill!
- AUTHOR
DJ, I think every city should have a Bair Drug and Hardware Store. We all need a trip to the past now and then.
Thank you as always my friend. Have a great Friday.
bill
What a nice day trip to Steilacoom. There are a lot of vowels in that name for it to be pronounced so rapidly.
We had a little store on the main strip of town. It became a candy store. Or, maybe I referred to it as the candy store. It looked so much like Bair Drug and Hardware Store.
Enjoyed the rendition of the "haunted BB&B". It is such a lovely old
home.
Love the view of the snow capped Olympic Mountains.
Thanks for the little get-a-way.
DJ.
- AUTHOR
Thank you Alicia and I agree with you....I need more time to visit more of them.
- AUTHOR
My pleasure Flourish and thanks for the visit. I wish I had grown up in a small town; the values you find there are greatly underrated.
This looks like a lovely place, Bill. Small towns with an interesting history are great places to visit. Thank you for the information.
What a cute town, and I love that little drug store. I grew up in a small town and have lived in many others throughout the US. They are interesting microcosms of the world. Maybe one day I will see Steilacoom. Thanks for the introduction.
- AUTHOR
Well, Sha, I never thought of it that way but I suppose you are right. I'll have to wander the streets in the dark sometime and find out if you are right. :) Thanks for being here, Sha; you are greatly appreciated.
What a beautiful, quaint little town. I love that the buildings from the 1800's are still standing and in use. It does seem though, that many mishaps occurred back in the day, leaving haunted souls behind. Interesting. It seems Steilacoom has a history that could prove to be very spooky!
- AUTHOR
It was my pleasure Joelle. Thank you for the visit and have a great Thursday.
Steilacoom seems to be an ideal place to relax! What an impressive background with the mountains! Thank you for sharing this treasure with us on Hubpages!
Enjoy your day!
- AUTHOR
Dora, a metaphor for sure and well done thinking of that. Blessings to you always my friend, and thank you!
- AUTHOR
Thanks mr-veg; unfortunately my camera broke down in the middle of this trip. :) I agree with you, it needs more pictures.
Thank you for the tour through the backroads of Washington State. Steilacoom seems to offer so much despite the fact that it is not the most prosperous--a metaphor for life, I'd say.
Nice tour down Steilacoom Bill !! beautifully written as always !! But I would have loved to see some more pics :)
- AUTHOR
Carb, I had no idea you lived in Steilacoom. Well good for you. I have always loved that town and I have fond memories of it. Thanks for visiting my site on this Christmas. Merry Christmas to you.
Bill, thank you for writing such a wonderful story about my town. My family and I have lived here for more than 20 years and love the peace, calm, friendliness, and feeling of safety and security. However, now you have shared our little secret with the world. Will the population go over 6,070 as a result?
- AUTHOR
Faith, we have quite a few towns in this state named after Indian names....I hope one day you can come visit us. We will have a lovely time meeting as old friends.
blessings always
bill
- AUTHOR
lambservant, a Northwest native would indeed know about this town. I love it every time I spend time there.
Thank you for the visit and Merry Christmas.
bill
- AUTHOR
Jo, maybe one day for sure. That's how I feel about seeing England...one day.
blessings on this day and always
bill
Dear Bill, thank you for taking us along to Steilacoom. What a name for a town. Love it, as it reminds me of where I live now. I hope it never changes, and I am sure that it will not, if it has not yet!
Merry Christmas,
Faith Reaper
Greetings Bill. How wonderful you wrote about this quaint little town. I have visited there many times. I have a dear pastor friend who pastors the congregational church right there on I think Rainier. Anyway, nice work.
Bill, the view from main street is simply awesome!! So many incredible places to see, maybe one day. :)
My best as always.
- AUTHOR
Thank you Maria. Merry Christmas to you my friend and love always.
bill
- AUTHOR
Ahh, Eric, that is the joy of places like this. They transport us back to another time....perhaps a simpler life? Anyway, thanks for spending part of your Christmas with me. Merry Christmas my friend.
- AUTHOR
Valley, thank you Sir! I love old places like this one; that's one of the reasons I just have to make it to England one day.
Merry Christmas to you!
- AUTHOR
Jackie, this town hasn't changed since I was a kid, so I'm fairly confident it will remain as a reminder of years gone by. Thanks for visiting on Christmas. Merry Christmas my friend.
- AUTHOR
Ann, no, that was another house I used, but it sure looks similar. Good memory.
I'll be looking for you to visit and you will have a personal tour of the area. Let me know when you are coming.
Merry Christmas my friend and thank you.
bill
- AUTHOR
Mark, thank you. We'll leave the light on for you. :) Merry Christmas!
What a peaceful, wonderful picture you have painted of Steilacoom, Bill.
Merry Christmas to you, Bev and family. Love, Maria
He was an old no good bastard and his wife had kicked him out. 3 kids left behind along with a career. He pulled his 10 year old caddy to the side, got out and breathed in the air of his long lost youth. Something good happened inside for he was finally home again in his little town.
You bring me home Bill. Muchas Gracias y Felice Navidad.
Bill, your personal connection with the community made this hub all the more interesting. There are so many fascinating historical facts included too...a great read, I have linked this to mine. A very Merry Christmas to you Bill:-))
There are not too many places like this left Bill; yes there will always be the history but not with the people. That is getting harder and harder to find, so let's savor it while we can! Very interesting. ^
I love places like this that take you back in time. Is that green house (b&b) the one you used as one of the short story photos? Looks similar.
Thanks for the link too. Will add this to my long list!
Maybe I'll get to your neck of the woods sometime.
Hope you're enjoying your day! Ann
Awesome Bill, I will have to explore there some time. Merry Christmas!
Mark
It looks like a place I'd love to visit! Merry Christmas Bill! :)
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