Editing Olympia, Washington (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Olympia, Washington}}
[[File:Old State Capitol Building, Olympia, Washington, ca 1906 (BAR 267).jpeg|thumb|left|The [[Old Capitol Building (Olympia, Washington)|Old Capitol Building]] in 1906]]

The site of Olympia had been home to [[Lushootseed]]-speaking peoples known as the Steh-Chass (or Stehchass, later part of the post-treaty Squaxin Island Tribe) for thousands of years. Other Native Americans regularly visited the head of Budd Inlet and the Steh-Chass, including the other ancestor tribes of the [[Squaxin Island Tribe|Squaxin]], as well as the [[Nisqually people|Nisqually]], [[Puyallup people|Puyallup]], [[Upper Chehalis people|Chehalis]], [[Suquamish]], and [[Duwamish people|Duwamish]]. The first recorded Europeans came to Olympia in 1792. [[Peter Puget]] and a crew from the British [[Vancouver Expedition]] are said to have explored the site, but neither recorded any encounters with the resident Indigenous population. In 1846, [[Edmund Sylvester]] and [[Levi Lathrop Smith]] jointly claimed the land that is now downtown Olympia. In 1851, the U.S. Congress established the Customs District of Puget Sound for Washington Territory and Olympia became the home of the customs house. Its population steadily expanded from [[Oregon Trail]] immigrants. In 1850, the town settled on the name Olympia, at local resident Colonel [[Isaac N. Ebey]]'s suggestion,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://olympiawa.gov/community/about-olympia/history-of-olympia-washington.aspx|title=History of Olympia, Washington|publisher=olympiawa.gov|date=July 27, 2012|access-date=September 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910081749/http://olympiawa.gov/community/about-olympia/history-of-olympia-washington.aspx|archive-date=September 10, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> because of its view of the [[Olympic Mountains]] to the northwest. The area began to be served by a small fleet of steamboats known as the [[Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet]]. It was declared the capital of the Washington Territories by Governor [[Isaac Stevens|Isaac I. Stevens]] in November 1853.<ref>{{cite web |title=Governor Isaac Stevens selects Olympia as capital of Washington Territory on November 28, 1853. |url=https://www.historylink.org/file/5054 |website=HistoryLink |accessdate=April 7, 2025}}</ref> Olympia was the first and only capital of Washington in its history as both a territory and a state.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/jan/29/we-the-people-many-states-have-had-multiple-capita/|title=We the People: Many states have had multiple capitals, but Washington's has always been Olympia|publisher=The Spokesman-Review}}</ref>

Over two days, December 24–26, 1854, Governor Stevens negotiated the [[Treaty of Medicine Creek]] with the representatives of the Nisqually, Puyallup, Squawksin, Steh'Chass, Noo-Seh-Chatl, Squi-Aitl, T'Peeksin, Sah-Heh-Wa-Mish, and S'Hotl-Ma-Mish tribes. Stevens's treaty included the preservation of Indigenous fishing, hunting, gathering and other rights. It also included a section which, at least as interpreted by United States officials, required the Native American signatories to move to one of three reservations. Doing so would effectively [[Puget Sound War#The War|force the Nisqually people to cede]] their prime farming and living space. An additional agreement between the state, city, and indigenous groups, known as the Treaty of Olympia or as the [[Quinault Treaty]], was completed during 1855.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nwifc.org/w/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/treaty-of-olympia.pdf|title=The Treaty of Olympia, Jan. 6, 1856|website=nwifc.org|access-date=August 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822113903/https://nwifc.org/w/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/treaty-of-olympia.pdf|archive-date=August 22, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> One of the leaders of the Nisqually, [[Leschi (Native American leader)|Chief Leschi]], outraged, refused to give up ownership of this land and instead fought for his people's right to their territory, sparking the beginning of the [[Puget Sound War]]. The war ended with Leschi's capture in 1856; he was executed two years later.

Olympia was incorporated as a town on January 28, 1859, and as a city in 1882.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://olympiawa.gov/community/about-olympia/history-of-olympia-washington/elected-officials-chronology.aspx|title=Olympia's Leadership|date=January 2, 2018|website=olympiawa.gov/|access-date=August 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822113518/http://olympiawa.gov/community/about-olympia/history-of-olympia-washington/elected-officials-chronology.aspx|archive-date=August 22, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[1949 Olympia earthquake]] damaged many historic buildings beyond repair, and they were demolished. Parts of the city also suffered damage from earthquakes in [[1965 Puget Sound earthquake|1965]] and [[2001 Nisqually earthquake|2001]].

[[Interstate 5 in Washington|Interstate 5]] was built through the south side of the city in the late 1950s as a replacement for earlier highways that traveled through downtown Olympia. The freeway was originally planned to cut through the city, but was moved farther out to save costs. It opened to traffic on December 12, 1958, and was later expanded in 1991.<ref>{{cite news |last=Batcheldor |first=Matt |date=December 7, 2008 |title=I-5 at 50: It's changed the face of the region |page=A1 |work=The Olympian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119394703/i-5-at-50-its-changed-the-face-of-the/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=February 23, 2023 |archive-date=February 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224074503/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119394703/i-5-at-50-its-changed-the-face-of-the/ |url-status=live }}</ref>