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.

In the 1890s, a drawbridge was constructed was constructed across Henderson Bay at Purdy and get produce to Tacoma. In 1919, another bridge was provided. The present bridge was constructed in 1938. In the early 1900s, most settlers in the area were in farming, including fruit, dairy, and poultry farming. Oysters and clams were also important products from Purdy from the early settlement period.

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