These aids to early shopping are now but a memory and have been replaced by the Port of Olympia, with adequate equipment, and there are channels dredged deep enough to accommodate the largest ocean going vessels. In the absence of deep water channels the dock was eventually replaced by a mile long dock to reach deep water. The waterfront improvement started with Browns wharf, where the Buchanan mill is now situated, and later what was known as Giddings wharf, at the foot of old Main street was built to accommodate the few steamers that plied the waters of Puget Sound, notably the old Eliza Anderson that ran from Olympia to Victoria and way ports, making a weekly round trip. These landmarks were not built for permanency and there is a far cry from the era of strict frugality, the home woven attire of the men and the checked gingham apron and sunbonnet of the women to this day of lipsticked, cigarette and painted toe nails of the ladies of today. The Biblical injunction “destroy not the old landmarks” has been set at defiance, and time, the devastator, as well as the spirit of those who followed the pioneers in that period between the first settlement on Puget Sound in 1845 and the beginning of the twentieth century have all but obliterated the early landmarks that characterized the little town of Olympia. Link here for an interactive map of Olympia locating the various landmarks described in the manuscript. The date for the original manuscript can be narrowed down to around 1927: the current Legislative Building had been completed or was nearly complete (finished in 1927), and 6 th Avenue had not yet been renamed Legion Way (1928). In 1914 she published Early History of Thurston County, which contains a history of the county as well as interviews with early pioneers and their descendants (see Bibliography for link to transcript/reproduction of this work). She married George Blankenship, another long-time resident, after divorcing her first husband. Georgiana Blankenship, nee Mitchell, 1839-1936, was an early historian and long-time resident of Olympia. Hyperlinks are to locations with Where Are We? and Residents pages in the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum website, or to external webpages that provide additional information/images. On a few occasions I added identifying brackets, to provide additional clarity to the text. Where the original wording was crossed out, the word will be crossed out with annotation in italics. Transcriptions show updates/annotations in italics.
It has been marked up by an unknown annotator with corrections and updates (e.g., when a building existed at the time of the original typing, but no longer exists). Transcriber’s Note: Double spaced, typed article, undated but probably around 1927 or 1928. From Washington State Library manuscript collection MS0037
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