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This is the place to
live
Gig Harbor, the very
name conjures upromantic
thoughts of the sea,
a picturesque fishing
village, the safety
and security of a harbor,
a little seclusion,
even offering a slower
pace. Be it a pioneer
descendant, a resident
of the past 50 years,
or a newcomer, a resident
would describe Gig Harbor
as a
lifestyle.
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Gig Harbor
Gig Harbor was
named during
the 1841 Wilkes
expedition after
a crewmember
in a small boat,
called the captains
gig, sighted
a harbor and
led other boats
exploring in
the area to
take refuge
in the harbor
during a storm.
When the first
European-American
settlers came
to the harbor
in 1867 there
was a Native
American village,
with longhouse,
located at the
head of the
harbor near
a small creek.
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Horsehead
Bay/Arletta/Warren
The first European-American
settlement began
in Arletta in
the late 1870s
and the post
office was established
in 1893. The
first postmistress
coined the name
Arletta by combining
her daughters
name Arla with
her friends
name Lucetta.
Most early settlers
farmed. Other
activities in
the area included
logging, fishing,
and trapping.
When a permanent
dock was constructed,
a business district
developed around
the waterfront
and included
a store, fish
fertilizer factory
and warehouse.
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Artondale/Cromwell
Artondale extends
north and west
of the head
of Wollochet
Bay. Settlement
started here
in 1877, serving
as a banking
and shipping
point. The community
had two brickyards.
Approximately
150 people lived
in the community
in the 1880s
with early settlers
establishing
orchards and
farms after
clearing the
forests.
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Fox Island
Native Americans
called the island
Bu-ta-u for
a daughter of
a Nisqually
Indian chief.
The present
name of the
island was established
during the 1841
Wilkes Expedition
after an assistant
surgeon on the
crew named Fox.
Native Americans
used the island
for seasonal
gatherings and
fishing and
Tanglewood Island
was used as
a Native American
burial ground.
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Purdy/Wauna
The area was
named Purdy
in the 1880s
when Joseph
Purdy, a grocery
store owner
from Tacoma,
offered to provide
lumber for a
school if the
area were named
after him. Purdy
and three others
constructed
a mill in the
area in 1885.
The mill complex
included a post
office, grocery
story, and workers
housing. Mr.
Ouellette, the
Frenchman, opened
the first Oyster
Company in the
area around
1900, processing
and canning
the oysters
from the land
on the spit
he owned.
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Rosedale/Raft
Island/Kopachuck
Rosedale was
named for the
wild roses growing
in the area.
In the early
1880s, the first
school district
and post office
were established
in the area.
Logging and
farming were
the most prevalent
activities engaged
by early settlers.
By the early
1910s, a small
business district
developed in
the community,
which included
two stores,
two docks, a
church, a public
library, and
schools.
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Vaughn/Home/Lakebay/Longbranch/GlenCove/Key
Center
The remoteness
and inherent
beauty are what
drew pioneers
to the Key Peninsula
and are what
draw new residents
even now. This
area, called
the Key Peninsula,
was designated
in Wilkes exploration
as Indian Peninsula
South End. It
is nearly twenty
fives miles
in length by
the highway
that runs from
Purdy to Devils
Head in the
south.
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So Key Peninsula
Photo Tour Of
No Key Peninsula
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Wollochet/Pt
Fosdick/Midway
It is likely
that Wollochet
may be connected
to a Native
American word,
which means
squirting clams
of which plenty
were found on
the beach in
the area. The
Native Americans
fished and sold
the fish to
the European-American
settlers and
traded woven
baskets. Early
European-American
settlers engaged
in logging and
farming. Orchards
were common
and there were
numerous chicken
farms in the
area. Dogfish
were fished
and used as
fertilizer.
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Gig Harbor lifestylewhat
makes it?
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A community of people
who call it home
by choicenot by
chance.
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A community with
history from diverse
areas of Scandinavia
and Croatia.
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A community of people
who work hard to
integrate the needs
of the community
with nature.
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A semi-rural community
ideally located
close to urbanized
Tacoma, Seattle,
Bremerton and Olympia.
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A community with
picture-postcard
views everywhereof
the majestic Olympics
to the west and
the omnipresent
snowy Mt Rainier
to the southeast.
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Yesthe people, the
maritime history,
the location, the
schools, churches,
the recreational
resourcesmake the
Gig Harbor lifestyle!
Discovery of Gig
Harbor
Native Americans settled
the Gig Harbor Peninsula
and Fox Island for thousands
of years before Europeans
arrived. The groups
that inhabited the area
were mainly Puyallup,
Nisqually, and Steilacoom.
Native Americans had
permanent settlements
in villages along Donkey
and Crescent Creeks
in Gig Harbor and in
Wollochet Bay and Burley
Lagoon for fishing and
food gathering. Some
Native Americans continued
to live in the area
selling or trading fish
and woven baskets to
European settlers well
into the 1900s.
In 1792, British Captain
George Vancouver led
the first European exploration
of the Puget Sound and,
in 1841; American Navy
Lieutenant Charles Wilkes
explored the entire
Puget Sound.
The first European and
American settlers came
to the Gig Harbor Bay
area in 1867 for fishing.
With the arrival of
the transcontinental
railroad to Tacoma in
1887, more people began
to settle in the area.
In the early days homesteaders
settled along the shoreline
since much of the inland
areas did not have adequate
roads and most transportation
was through the waterways
on boats. Later, inland
locations became valuable
for farms, ranches,
and orchards. The harbor
area was developed with
docks and wharves to
serve the Mosquito Fleet,
a group of steamers
that transported freight,
mail and people across
the Sound to Tacoma,
Logging activity preceded
farming that included
fruit orchards in the
area. Shipbuilding for
commercial fishing,
car ferries and other
craft became an important
industry in Gig Harbor.
In the late 19th and
early 20th centuries,
passengers, horses,
wagons, mail, supplies,
logs, timber, fish.
crops and bricks were
transported in boats
and steamers across
Puget Sound from the
Peninsula to Tacoma.
Steamers stopped at
major pick-up locations
and bays along the shoreline
in the Narrows, Wollochet
Bay, Hale Passage, Carr
Inlet and Henderson
Bay. By the 1930s the
steamer transport declined
largely due to the convenience
of larger ferries and
appearance of automobiles
on the Peninsula starting
in the 1910s.
The first Narrows Bridge
collapsed in 1940, just
four months after completion.
The second Narrows Bridge
was not completed until
after World War II1950.
During the intervening
years, ferries again
transported people and
goods between the Peninsula
and Tacoma. With the
completion of the second
Narrows Bridge, the
Peninsula began to evolve
into a suburban residential
community. This growth
accelerated from the
1950s through the mid-1990s,
due to the growth in
the Tacoma, mainland
Pierce County and Central
Puget Sound economy
and the convenient access
to Interstate 5 that
the bridge and State
Route 16 provided.
Today, the area is a
mix of small town and
suburban neighborhoods
interspersed with rural
forest and pasturelands.
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