Editing Tenino, Washington (section)

==History==

===19th-century beginnings===
The city was officially incorporated on July 24, 1906, but Tenino existed as a rural community since the mid-19th century, the area containing a population of approximately 170 people by 1870<ref name="FSATT">{{cite news |last1=Hoss |first1=Ronald |title=Favorite story about Tenino: take your pick |url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/washington/centralia/centralia-chronicle/2002/04-06/page-40 |access-date=February 11, 2025 |work=The Chronicle |date=April 6, 2002 |pages=4, 5}}</ref> and the site fully platted in 1873.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vander Stoep |first1=Isabel |title=New Book, Upcoming Festival Celebrate Tenino's 150th Birthday |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/new-book-upcoming-festival-celebrate-teninos-150th-birthday,319722 |access-date=June 14, 2023 |work=The Chronicle |date=May 22, 2023}}</ref> Initially, American settlers were attracted to the open prairies created and maintained by local natives through controlled burns to cultivate [[camassia|camas]] root, a staple food source. Records indicate the initial settlers' community centered on the prairie approximately {{convert|1/2|mi|km|adj=pre|a}} south of the present town. Early residents named their first post office and school "Coal Bank", in the 1860s, a reference to a nearby coal outcropping.<ref>Guy Ramsey, ''Postmarked Washington: Thurston County'' Thurston Co Historic Commission, n.d. 44.</ref>  It was later [[Tenino, Washington#Name origin|renamed]] Tenino.

The railroad ended at Tenino for a time after Northern Pacific underwent financial difficulties, making the town the final passenger and freight stop on the line to [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]]. Timber production and manufacturing, as well as agriculture and mining, were early economic factors in Tenino, contributing to the community's growth. The largest part of the local economy was the quarrying of sandstone. Numerous buildings in Tenino's early days of formation were built of sandstone.<ref name="FSATT"/>

The area was rich in sandstone and part of a geologic layer known as the McIntosh Formation. By the late 19th century, a number of [[sandstone]] quarrying companies began shipping the stone as a construction material for large buildings on the West Coast. Buildings that used Tenino sandstone withstood two catastrophic events, the [[Great Seattle Fire|Great Seattle Fire of 1889]] and the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]], leading to the increase and popularity of the material.<ref name="RPAPL">{{cite news |last1=Roland |first1=Mitchell |title=Rep. Peter Abbarno proposes legislation to declare Tenino sandstone as state rock |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/rep-peter-abbarno-proposes-legislation-to-declare-tenino-sandstone-as-state-rock,331394 |access-date=February 5, 2024 |work=[[The Chronicle (Centralia, Washington)|The Chronicle]] |date=December 21, 2023}}</ref> Eventually, Tenio sandstone was used in the construction of the [[Old Capitol Building (Olympia, Washington)|Old Capitol Building]] and the old Thurston County Courthouse in Olympia, the rebuilt [[Seattle Public Library#Late 19th century: founding|Seattle public library]],<ref name="RPAPL"/> the [[Mason County, Washington|Mason County]] Courthouse in [[Shelton, Washington|Shelton]], the First Congregational Church, developed by Cameron Stone, in [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]], [[University of Washington|Denny Hall]] and the [[Theodore Jacobson Observatory]] at the [[University of Washington]], the [[Pittock Mansion]] and the [[Pioneer Courthouse]] in [[Portland, Oregon]], the [[Calvary Presbyterian Church (San Francisco)|Calvary Presbyterian Church]] of San Francisco<ref name="RPAPL"/> and several US post office buildings, including at [[The Dalles, Oregon]].{{Citation needed|reason=Citations needed for the following buildings: Mason County Courthouse, Fist Congretional Church, Pittock Mansion, Pioneer Courthouse, Calvary Church, and post office mention.|date=February 2025}} Additional buildings constructed with Tenio sandstone include the [[Portland Public Library (Oregon)|Portland Public Library]] and the Science Hall at [[Washington State University]].<ref name="FSATT"/> The US Government also used stone from these quarries to construct [[jetty|jetties]] at [[Westport, Washington]] and elsewhere.

===20th century===
The quarries declined in the early 20th century when many builders switched to [[concrete]].<ref name="ASSOS">{{cite news |last1=Pucci |first1=Carol |title=A sweet slice of small-town Western Washington in Tenino |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/a-sweet-slice-of-small-town-western-washington-in-tenino/ |access-date=June 13, 2024 |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=August 23, 2018}}</ref> Logging, saw mills, and coal mining remained as well established industries in the area.<ref name="FSATT"/> However, as the timber played out and railroads switched to [[Diesel locomotive|diesel]] in the mid-20th century, these industries also declined.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, before the construction of [[Interstate 5 in Washington|Interstate 5]], a notorious stretch along [[U.S. Route 99]] through Tenino gained a reputation as the "Speed Trap of the West".<ref name="FSATT"/> Many motorists considered it a [[speed trap]] because of the strict enforcement by police of the abruptly reduced speed limit through town.<ref>Guy Reed Ramsey, ''Postmarked Washington: Thurston County''. Thurston Co Historic Commission, 1988, 53.</ref>

Since the mid-1970s, the US Army has used a geographical map of Tenino as a training aid in map reading, because of the variety of symbols represented on the map.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thurstontalk.com/2020/01/25/teninos-global-place-on-the-map-thanks-to-the-u-s-army/ | title=Tenino's Global Place on the Map Thanks to the U.S. Army | date=January 25, 2020 }}</ref>

===21st century===
While Tenino retains [[Tenino Downtown Historic District|its historic downtown]], now a [[historic district (United States)|historic district]] listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]], the town serves largely as a "bedroom community", many of its citizens commuting by car to larger cities such as [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]] and [[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] for work.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

Protests were held in the city in 2023 to voice opposition to the creation of a state contracted transitional facility for sex offenders that would have been located next to Tenino's City Park. The facility operator cancelled the project after a few weeks of objections from the community. Due to the dissent, several bills were proposed in the state legislature that would add stricter requirements and better communication policies regarding sex offender housing.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Emily |title='Huge Sense of Relief': Supreme Living Backs Off Plans for Sex Offender Housing Near Tenino |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/huge-sense-of-relief-supreme-living-backs-off-plans-for-sex-offender-housing-near-tenino,314817 |access-date=June 15, 2023 |work=The Chronicle |date=March 1, 2023}}</ref><ref name="TPHR">{{cite news |last1=Rivera |first1=Paul |title=Tenino park holds ribbon cutting, opens next door to transitional home for sex offenders |url=https://komonews.com/news/local/tenino-park-childhood-playground-transitional-home-sex-offender-ribbon-cutting-facility-thurson-county-community-department-of-corrections-social-health-services-state-washington-cme-mayor-wayne-fournier# |access-date=June 15, 2023 |publisher=KOMO News |date=February 4, 2023}}</ref>

A sesquicentennial jubilee celebrating Tenino's 150 years as a recognized community was held in July 2023. The day-long event hosted a parade and vendor markets, with the highlight of a "birthday card" written in chalk by artists on a closed intersection in the city. The city's U.S. House of Representative at the time, [[Marie Gluesenkamp Perez]], bestowed Tenino with a [[Congressional Record]] copy of a floor speech she gave honoring the community and its achievement.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Emily |title=Tenino Jubilee Celebrates Stone City's 150th Birthday |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/tenino-jubilee-celebrates-stone-citys-150th-birthday,322001 |access-date=July 13, 2023 |work=The Chronicle |date=July 10, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gluesenkamp Perez |first1=Marie |title=Celebrating Tenino's 150th Jubilee |journal=Congressional Record |date=June 14, 2023 |volume=169 |issue=104 |page=11 |url=https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-169/issue-104/house-section/article/H2892-2?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22tenino%22%5D%7D&s=2&r=1 |access-date=July 13, 2023}}</ref> In December, a bill was introduced at the state legislature that would declare Tenino sandstone as the state rock.<ref name="RPAPL"/>

===Wooden money===
[[File:Tenino wooden money 02A.jpg|thumb|right|Tenino wooden money]]
Tenino briefly achieved national notoriety during the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s. After the local bank failed in 1931, the town government temporarily issued wooden money [[scrip]], made of thin-cut cedar and spruce, and was used by Tenino's residents when cash was scarce.<ref name="ASSOS"/><ref name="TWM">{{cite web |date=September 16, 2015 |title=Archives Treasure #2: Tenino wooden money |url=https://blogs.sos.wa.gov/fromourcorner/index.php/2015/09/archives-treasure-2-tenino-wooden-money/ |publisher=[[Washington Secretary of State]] |access-date=June 20, 2020}}</ref> However, most of this wooden currency was never redeemed as it became a valuable collector's item.<ref>Arthur Dwelley, "Brief History of Tenino" Accessed online at {{cite web |url=http://www.ci.tenino.wa.us/history_by_dwelley.htm |title=History by Dwelley |access-date=January 21, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123164828/http://www.ci.tenino.wa.us/history_by_dwelley.htm |archive-date=January 23, 2010 }} January 20, 2010.</ref> The Tenino Depot Museum continues to use the original printing machinery, creating new wooden tender for souvenir purposes, but the dollars can still be used at some Tenino businesses.<ref name="ASSOS"/>  

The city began printing the wooden currency again during the [[COVID-19 recession]] in 2020, to distribute to the local residents.<ref>{{cite news |last=Greuener |first=Posey |date=May 7, 2020 |title=Washington town plans to use wooden money to boost its economy amid the pandemic |url=https://www.knkx.org/post/washington-town-plans-use-wooden-money-boost-its-economy-amid-pandemic |publisher=[[KNKX]] |access-date=June 14, 2020}}</ref> The revival of the program was approved by the [[Washington State Auditor]] and began in May 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Franque |date=May 5, 2020 |title=Tenino plans to recreate famed Depression-era wooden currency during COVID-19 pandemic |url=https://q13fox.com/2020/05/05/tenino-plans-to-recreate-famed-depression-era-wooden-currency-during-covid-19-pandemic/ |publisher=Q13 Fox News |access-date=June 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="AWCT">{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Gene |date=June 17, 2020 |title=A Washington City Turns To Wooden Money To Get Through The Pandemic |url=https://www.opb.org/news/article/tenino-washington-economic-crisis-coronavirus-pandemic-wooden-money/ |publisher=[[Oregon Public Broadcasting]] |agency=Associated Press |access-date=June 20, 2020}}</ref>

Wooden scrip from both the Great Depression and Covid periods were added to a [[Smithsonian National Museum of American History]] exhibit, titled "The Value of Money", in 2025.<ref>{{cite news |author1=The Chronicle staff |title=Tenino’s wooden COVID currency now on display at Smithsonian National Museum of American History in D.C. |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/teninos-wooden-covid-currency-now-on-display-at-smithsonian-national-museum-of-american-history,376336 |access-date=March 4, 2025 |work=The Chronicle |date=March 3, 2025}}</ref>