Editing Tenino, Washington (section)

===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.