Written by: Tammy Guill, Bravo Tours
Lakewood’s history began in the early 1800’s with courageous settlers, daring pioneers, hardworking farmers and diligent military. Today the bustling city of Lakewood still honors its historic and military roots with sites that bring history to life. Immerse yourself in a rich, colorful, ingenious, explosive and sometimes tragic journey back in time.
Highlights to Visit:
- Fort Steilacoom / Western State Hospital
- Fort Steilacoom Park / Heath Farm
- Steilacoom History Museum
- Dupont Historical Museum
- Lewis Army Museum
- Lakewold Gardens
- Lakewood History Museum
- LeMay Collection at Marymount
Just 41 miles south of Seattle, these exciting gems beg to be discovered. Voices from the past reach into the present through historic sites, museum displays and discovery trails. Pack your spirit of adventure and travel through time in Lakewood and vicinity.
Day One:
Arrive in Lakewood, WA., and visit historic Fort Steilacoom. First manned by soldiers of Company M, 1st Artillery Regiment – beginning in August 1849, the fort’s first buildings were built on land leased from the Hudson’s Bay Company. Exhibits include: Commanding Officer’s Quarters, Laundress Quarters, Enlisted Barracks, Sutler Store and Junior Officers Quarters.
Also on the grounds of Fort Steilacoom, is the imposing Western State Hospital. First named the “Insane Asylum of Washington,” it opened in 1871, for the mentally ill, with 15 men and 6 women patients. As time progressed treatments ranged from insulin therapy and electric shock therapy to frontal lobotomies. Now psychotropic drugs, counseling and behavior modification therapies are in use today.
Just across the street lies the 340 acre, Fort Steilacoom Park which began as a farm in 1844. In 1871, as part of the hospital patient’s occupational therapy, men worked the orchards and fields, while women did the canning and tended livestock. Today the park offers walking trails, dog parks, sports fields and Western State Hospital Cemetery. Over 3,200 patients are buried here, some in mass graves, while others have headstones, but the most destitute people without families, were marked with just identification numbers. Grave Concerns, a non-profit organization, has been raising funds to research and replace deteriorating numbered markers with names etched in granite.
Lunch:
Since 1952, Burs Restaurant has been Lakewood’s destination restaurant for generations. Almost 70 years later, they continue the tradition of serving great food in a friendly diner atmosphere. Just 15 minutes down Steilacoom Boulevard is the quaint township of Steilacoom. The town’s name from an Indian word “little pink flower.” Next visit the Steilacoom History Museum. Open on weekends, it depicts the history of Steilacoom and its role in territorial Washington. Visit the 1857 Nathaniel Orr Home and marvel at the wagon shops’ antique tool collection. Just a short walk away is the Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center and Museum, home to the Steilacoom Tribe. Visit this museum for a detailed history and cultural outline about the Steilacoom People, an Original Treaty Tribe. A great dessert stop is the Bair Bistro, a living history museum, located in the Bair Drug and Hardware Building, built in 1895. Amidst relics and photos from the early 1900’s, the shelves hold remedies from the early drugstore. The original 1908 soda fountain still serves up yummy treats.
Within 20 minutes drive is the Dupont Historical Museum. Exhibits from early Native Americans, the Hudson Bay Company and the DuPont Dynamite Company. The Museum features archival photographs, tools used to manufacture dynamite, and displays of “Life in a Company Town, 1906 to Today“. In 1909, the first explosives, a 2350-pound batch of 40% straight nitroglycerine dynamite was completed. Plant capacity was a total of 18,000,000 pounds of dynamite per year. Workers had to wear wooden pegs in their shoes, and horses used in camp had their hooves wrapped in leather, as the metal pegs and horseshoes could create sparks and ignite the explosives!
The Lewis Army Museum, on JBLM, occupies one of a few existing historic buildings that date back to the establishment of Camp Lewis, during the WWI era in 1918. The original 150-room Red Shield Inn, was built at a cost of $107,000, to accommodate the needs of Soldiers and their families serving at Camp Lewis. Now the Inn is home to the museum, the only certified Army museum on the West Coast.
Dinner:
This is not fine dining – but comfort food, great service and exceptional value with four-star ratings on Trip Advisor! Galloping Gerties Grill, will have your taste buds watering from the moment you arrive. Gerties was originally founded July 4th, 1952, and the Troops have always been very important to Gerties. Serving soldiers starting with the Vietnam War and every War since. Many soldiers eat here – and a kind “thank you for your service” goes a long way.
Overnight in a Castle!
Thornewood Castle is a 500-year-old Tudor Gothic historic site known as “the house that love built.” Although the castle has only been in its’ current location for over 100 years, Mr. Thorne purchased a 400-year-old manor in England and had it shipped piece by piece to be included in the main house. You may recognize it from the feature horror thriller film “The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer and the Stephen King mini-series “Rose Red.”
Day Two:
On the shores of Gravelly Lake, walk the paths of Lakewold Gardens. Stroll through a period in garden history when classic European design came face to face with America’s emerging landscape masters. Eulalie Wagner made this garden her personal life project.
Lakewood History Museum showcases a wealth of info, displays and docents passionate about sharing their community’s history. View the Lakewood Theater!
Stop at LeMay Collections at Marymount.See over 1,500 vintage vehicles, a wide variety of Americana and memorabilia (dolls, toys, antiques, farm equipment, vintage radios, etc.), a Rodin Sculpture Garden and much more.
Have a lovely afternoon tea at Steeped in Comfort, with fresh hand-made scones, cookies, tarts, quiches, and many other seasonal confections to delight the taste buds. Stay longer with an added overnight at the Best Western Lakewood.
Resources:
Lakewood Chamber of Commerce
6310 Mt Tacoma Dr SW, Lakewood, WA 98499
(253) 582-9400
Historic Fort Steilacoom
9601 Steilacoom Blvd. SW, Lakewood, WA
(253) 272-7468
http://historicfortsteilacoom.org/
Fort Steilacoom Park
8714 87th Ave SW, Lakewood, WA 98498
(253) 983-7887
https://cityoflakewood.us/fort-steilacoom-park/
Burs Restaurant
6151 Steilacoom Blvd SW, Lakewood, WA 98499
(253) 588-4844
http://bursrestaurant.com/
Steilacoom Historical Museum
1801 Rainier St, Steilacoom, WA 98388
(253) 588-9668
http://www.steilacoomhistorical.org/
Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center
1515 Lafayette St, Steilacoom, WA 98388
(253) 584-6308
https://steilacoomtribe.business.site/
The Bair Bistro
1617 Lafayette St, Steilacoom, WA 98388
(253) 584-4133
https://www.thebairbistro.com/
Dupont Historical Museum
207 Barksdale Avenue, DuPont Washington 98327
(253) 964-2399
https://www.dupontmuseum.com/
Lewis Army Museum
4320 Main St, JBLM, WA 98433
(253) 967-4523
https://lewisarmymuseum.com/
Galloping Gerties Grill
15417 Union, Lakewood, WA 98498
(253) 584-4848
https://www.facebook.com/Galloping-Gerties-Grill-140063552691684/
Thornewood Castle
8601 N Thorne Ln SW, Lakewood, WA 98498
(253) 584-4393
https://www.thornewoodcastle.com/
Lakewold Gardens
12317 Gravelly Lake Drive SW, Lakewood, WA 98499
(253) 584.4106
http://lakewoldgardens.org/
Lakewood Historical Museum
6114 Motor Ave SW, Lakewood, WA 98499
(253) 682-3480
https://www.lakewoodhistorical.org/exhibits/index.php
LeMay Collection at Marymount
325 152nd St E, Tacoma, WA 98445
(253) 272-2336
https://www.lemaymarymount.org/
Steeped in Comfort
11016 Gravelly Lake Dr SW, Lakewood, WA 98499
(253) 582-1336
http://www.steepedincomfort.com/
Best Western Lakewood
6125 Motor Ave SW, Lakewood, WA 98499
(253) 584-2212
https://www.bestwestern.com/content/best-western/en_US/booking-path/hotel-details.48021.html