1850 - Olympia Dedicated

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1850: Olympia Dedicated

The California Gold Rush of 1849 pulled Edmund Sylvester, owner of 640 acres of land that is now Olympia, and other settlers away for a short time. In early 1950, Sylvester returned with enough gold dust to start buying land and goods and to establish a town.

By that time, Smithfield was at the Puget Sound end of the Cowlitz Trail that funneled settlers from the Columbia River to Puget Sound.

In the spring of 1850, Sylvester hosted a dedication ceremony for his new town and he invited Whidbey Island pioneer and fellow gold seeker Isaac Ebey to speak. Ebey is said to have offered these lines:

"Afar their crystal summits rise
Like gems against the sunset skies,
While far below, the shadowy mist
In waves of pearl and amethyst,
‘Round somber fir and stately pine,
Its dew, jeweled fingers twine;
Olympia’s gods might view with grace,
Nor scorn so fair a dwelling place".

Sylvester chose the name Olympia for his new town.