The State Draws a Street Grid Across Olympia's Tide Flats
The tide land appraisers lay out 150-foot avenues over the Olympia waterfront, naming them for Isaac Stevens, Governor Ferry and Columbia Lancaster, and reserving 300 feet of harbor for wharves, slips and commerce.
The local board of tide land appraisers made a short inspection of the water front yesterday and met again this morning. Considerable time was consumed in considering the suggestions made by the several citizens yesterday regarding streets and other matters.
The most important piece of tide land is that between the east waterway and the channel proper. This tract is north of the Sylvester addition, and extends at First street, from Columbia to Cherry street, a distance of 2,000 feet. The west line of the tract runs northwesterly, parallel with the long wharf and as far as the end of that structure, reaching the end of the long wharf at a point intersecting the continuation of Franklin street.
The harbor line on the west side of this tract of tide land is 300 feet wide, and is reserved by the state for wharves, slips and other conveniences of commerce. Just inside of this, and bordering upon it, a street has been laid out 150 feet wide. In reality it is a continuation of Columbia street, although much wider. The local board has named this thoroughfare Stevens avenue, in honor of Isaac Stevens, the first governor of the territory.
A like avenue, 100 feet wide, running from the intersection of Cherry and First street to a point at the intersection of Franklin street as far north as the end of the long wharf, has been named Ferry avenue, in honor of Governor Ferry. These two avenues are connected at the north end by an avenue running east and west, 120 feet wide and 1,000 feet long, named Lancaster avenue in honor of Columbia Lancaster, the first territorial delegate to congress.
Main, Washington, Franklin, Adams and Jefferson are continued across said tract, retaining their present names. Streets running east and west north of First commence with the letter A and end with O, omitting the letter J. These streets are 250 feet apart, making blocks 250 feet square. The fractional blocks bordering on Stevens, Ferry and Lancaster avenues are divided into lots 50 by 125 feet each.
“The harbor line on the west side of this tract of tide land is 300 feet wide, and is reserved by the state for wharves, slips and other conveniences of commerce.”
Olympia's entire downtown waterfront — the shore the farmers' market and the port now sit on — was carved out of state tide land and appraised lot by lot in the 1890s. Who got to own the filled shore, and how much of it had to stay public, was the fight then and is still the fight every time the city re-plats, dredges or sells a piece of the shoreline. The 300-foot harbor reserve set aside here for wharves and slips is the ancestor of today's arguments over public access to the water.
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