Steilacoom

Pioneer Orchard Park

Steilacoom is a small town of 6,400 people (2018) in Puget Sound region of Washington state. It is the oldest incorporated town in Washington. It has 4 individual buildings and sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the oldest Catholic Church in the state and the first Protestant Church north of the Columbia River. The Steilacoom Historic District has 68 contributing properties.

Understand

Steilacoom was founded by Lafayette Balch, a sea captain from Maine, and incorporated as a town in 1854.

Steilacoom's main source of early prosperity was the manufacture and export of lumber to San Francisco. When the United States Congress established the Washington Territory on March 2, 1853, Governor Isaac Stevens chose Steilacoom to be the seat of Pierce County.

Get in

former rail station & ferry terminal

By ferry

• 1 Steilacoom, Ketron, and Anderson Island Ferry, 56 Union Ave (Very end of Union Ave), ☏ +1 (253) 588-1950. A county-operated ferry system serving Steilacoom, Anderson Island, and Ketron Island. (updated Oct 2019)

By bus

• Connections with Amtrak, Greyhound and Flixbus are at the Tacoma Dome station
• Connections with Sound Transit bus route 594 bus to downtown Seattle and Intercity Transit #620 bus to Olympia (via Lacey) are at the SR 512 Park and Ride (different location from Lakewood Towne Center). Passengers transfer to the #3, 4 or 574 to get to the SR-512 Park and Ride from Lakewood Town Center.

Get around

• Pierce Transit, ☏ +1 253-581-8000. Operates local and regional public transit bus routes in Pierce County. Communities within the county served by this operator's routes include Fife, Gig Harbor, Lakewood, Puyallup, Steilacoom, Tacoma. (updated Jun 2023)
  • Bus route 212 operates between the Steilacoom-Anderson Island Ferry Terminal (at the intersection of Commercial St and Union Ave) and Lakewood Towne Center.

See

Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center

1 Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center, 1515 Lafayette St, ☏ +1 253 584-6308. Sa 10AM-4PM. Museum and gift shop of the Steilacoom Tribe. (updated Oct 2019)

Do

1 Sunnyside Beach, 2509 Chambers Creek Rd. ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset. $5 parking fee for non-residents. (updated Oct 2019)

Eat and Drink

1 Topside Bar & Grill, 215 Wilkes St, ☏ +1 (253) 212-3690, topsidebarandgrill@gmail.com. Su 9AM-9PM, M-Th 11AM-9PM, F Sa 11AM-10PM. (updated Oct 2019)

2 Steilacoom Pub & Grill, 1202 Rainier St, ☏ +1 (253) 584-7693. Su-Th 8AM-midnight, F Sa 8AM-2AM. (updated Oct 2019)