Incorporated in 1906, the city sits upon land first established as a food-source prairie for Native Americans living in the area. The town grew around an economy of stone quarrying, with local sandstone being used in several government and university buildings in the Pacific Northwest. With a decrease in demand for stone, the town converted one abandoned quarry into a community pool. Its downtown district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[6]
Tenino gained notoriety during the Great Depression for the use of wooden money as public currency for its residents, a practice briefly revived during the COVID-19 Pandemic.[7][8] Research released in a 2019 book provided an answer regarding myths surrounding the name of Tenino; it was determined the name is borrowed from the moniker of a steamboat used during a railroad committee expedition.[9]
History
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 having been fully platted in 1873.[10] Initially, American settlers were attracted to the open prairies created and maintained by local natives through controlled burns to cultivate camas root, a staple food source. Records indicate the initial settlers' community centered on the prairie approximately 1⁄2 a mile (0.80 km) 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.[11] It was later renamed Tenino.
The quarries declined in the early 20th century when many builders switched to concrete. In addition to quarrying, logging, saw mills, and coal mining were also well established industries in the area. However, as the timber played out and railroads switched to diesel in the mid-20th century, these industries also declined.[citation needed]
In the years before the construction of Interstate 5, Tenino gained a reputation as a notorious stretch along U.S. Route 99. Many motorists considered it a speed trap because of the strict enforcement by police of the abruptly reduced speed limit through town.[12]
Since the mid-1970s, the US Army has used a geographical map of Tenino as a training aid in map reading, because of the variety of symbols represented on the map.[13]
21st century
Protests were held in the city in 2023 to voice opposition to the creation of a state contracted transitional facility for sex offenders that would have been located next to Tenino's City Park. The facility operator cancelled the project after a few weeks of objections from the community. Due to the dissent, several bills were proposed in the state legislature that would add stricter requirements and better communication policies regarding sex offender housing.[14][15]
A sesquicentennial jubilee celebrating Tenino's 150 years as a recognized community was held in July 2023. The day-long event hosted a parade and vendor markets, with the highlight of a "birthday card" written in chalk by artists on a closed intersection in the city. The city's U.S. House of Representative at the time, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, bestowed Tenino with a Congressional Record copy of a floor speech she gave honoring the community and its achievement.[16][17]
Tenino briefly achieved national notoriety during the Great Depression of the 1930s. After the local bank was closed, the town government temporarily issued wooden money scrip for use by Tenino's residents when cash was scarce.[7] However, most of this wooden money was never redeemed as it became a valuable collector's item.[18]
Tenino began printing the wooden currency again during the COVID-19 recession in 2020, to distribute to the local residents.[19] The revival of the program was approved by the Washington State Auditor and began in May 2020.[20][8]
Name origin
The origin of the name Tenino, used by the Northern Pacific Railroad for their station when they arrived in 1872, has been debated for over a century. The two main theories given for a century were that Tenino was a Chinook Jargon word for a fork or branch in the trail, or a form of T9o or 10-9-0 used by the railroad for numbering on a locomotive, survey stake, or train car. Both these theories have been disproven for decades, but keep resurfacing because definitive proof of the actual origin was lacking.
Recent research published in The Naming of Tenino by the Tenino City Historian, Richard A Edwards, chronicles the visit of the Pacific Coast Committee in early October 1872. This committee, including Northern Pacific Railroad President Cass, traveled up the Columbia River on steamboats of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. One of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company's steamboats operating on the upper Columbia and Snake rivers was named the "Tenino". Earlier that year, the Northern Pacific Railroad had purchased controlling interest in the OSN as part of their goal to connect their Kalama to Puget Sound line, then under construction, to their transcontinental railroad being built westward from Minnesota.[9]
On October 12, 1872, at a meeting in Portland, Oregon, shortly after their tour up the Columbia River, John Ainsworth and other officers of the OSN made a presentation about their common interests, President Cass proposed a resolution that also named the momentarily Northern terminus near Hodgden's station "Tenino". As reported the following month in an Olympia, Washington, newspaper, this connection allowed travel from the "old Tenino" (the OSN steamboat which held the record for traveling the farthest east up the Snake River), to "the new town" of Tenino which was the railroad's then current northwest terminus.[21]
In early 1873, the Northern Pacific Railroad and local homesteader Stephen Hodgden filed plats in Thurston county establishing the town of Tenino. By late 1873, the financial backing of the railroad was in financial crisis and their stock in the OSN was sold for debt, ending the railroad's direct connection to the steamboat Tenino. The steamboat Tenino was itself named after the Tenino native band who once lived near The Dalles in Oregon and whose descendants are now part of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
With the influx of people in Tenino in the 1890s, due to the opening of thriving sandstone quarries, the question of the origin of the name arose. With the steamboat on the distant river gone and long forgotten, locals created mythical stories about its origins. By the early twentieth century, the press were referring to the origin of the name as a mystery.
The name also appears informally as "T-9-O," a shortened variation in use as early as 1873.[22]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.44 square miles (3.73 km2), all of it land.[23]
As of the census[25] of 2010, there were 1,695 people, 691 households, and 440 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,177.1 inhabitants per square mile (454.5/km2). There were 740 housing units at an average density of 513.9 per square mile (198.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 90.7% White, 0.2% African American, 0.9% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 2.1% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.4% of the population.
There were 691 households, of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.3% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.
The median age in the city was 36.8 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.1% were from 25 to 44; 26.8% were from 45 to 64; and 13% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.7% male and 53.3% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,447 people, 575 households, and 396 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,720.3 people per square mile (664.2 people/km2). There were 615 housing units at an average density of 731.1 per square mile (282.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 90.53% White, 0.83% African American, 1.17% Native American, 3.11% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.94% from other races, and 2.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.80% of the population.
There were 575 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 15.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 29.8% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,526, and the median income for a family was $41,208. Males had a median income of $31,058 versus $25,972 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,244. About 5.0% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.4% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
One of Tenino's main economic outputs is agriculture, particularly livestock for consumption. After the loss of a meat processing plant within the region, the city and county began plans to develop a more encompassing business park to help the local economy. Given the moniker, Southwest Washington Agricultural Business & Innovation Park, construction began in 2023 with plans to contain a slaughterhouse, food processing, an event center, and buildings to house small businesses. Funding of $1.25 million from the state legislature was secured for future phases of construction with an additional $4.4 million proposed at the federal level.[26]
Arts and Culture
Festivals and events
Inspired by a mayoral proclamation in 1968 for Tenino to honor pioneer history and culture, the city began holding an annual weekend "Oregon Trail Days" festival. Demonstrations of logging, blacksmithing, railroad work, and pioneer home life often highlight the event. "Black powder shoots", historical exhibits, live music, cuisine, vintage car shows, and a parade round out the celebration. Several other organizations, such as the local farmer's market and rock-and-gem shows, will often hold events concurrently throughout the city.[27][28]
The Tenino Farmers Market is held annually between early May and the end September. It is part of the Washington State Farmers Market Association and holds special market events for Mother's Day and Father's Day.[29]
Historic buildings and sites
In 2020, Tenino created the "Tenino Creative Arts District" by certification thru the Washington state Arts Commission. The area, designated as including the historic downtown, business district, and the entirety of Tenino City Park, is projected to include public art of various mediums, including murals and metal banners and signs depicting Tenino's history. A scavenger hunt is to be based on the artworks.[30]
De Beers heiress, Rebecca L. Oppenheimer, built a luxury home Merkaba near Tenino. In 2023, it was sold for $2.3M to former child actor, Scott Strader.[31]
The city contains 50 acres of parks. The largest, Tenino City Park, sits south of the center of town, with the Yelm–Rainier-Tenino Trail crossing through the area. The park contains the Tenino Stone Quarry community pool, the renovated Quarry House,[32] and the Tenino Depot Museum, along with various ballfields and picnic areas.
A supplemental appropriation of over $500,000 was awarded to the city in 2022 for the rebuild of the Tenino City Park's playground after damage from a winter storm the prior year.[33] The new play area, named Maytown Community Playground, was opened in 2023.[15] An additional improvement that year to the park was the installation of three pump tracks of various difficulty levels. The tracks were built using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[34]
The Tenino Depot, now a museum, was moved from its original site to the Tenino City Park near the Tenino Stone Company Quarry. At the time the Depot was moved, the area of relocation was examined to ensure that no archaeological remains significant to the operation of the quarry would be destroyed or altered.
Hercules Sandstone Company Office
Originally located near the Hercules Sandstone Company Quarry west of Tenino, In 1922, each stone of the building was numbered, moved separately, and reassembled at it current site at the corner of Sussex and Hodgen. It is currently Tenino's City Hall.
Located in the Tenino City Park, the quarry is now the Memorial Swimming Pool.
Ticknor School
3212 SE Skookumchuck Road now at 399 Park Avenue West
1934
May 10, 1990
Now located in the Tenino City Park, the school was moved from it original location in unincorporated Thurston County to the Tenino City Park next to the Tenino Depot in 2002.
Ticknor Barn
6710 Skookumchuck Road
1860
Colvin Farmstead (Colvin House)
16828 Old Highway 99
1877
June 23, 1988
Hercules#2/Eureka Quarry
4220 SE Old Military Road
1891
Taylor Farm
2400 SE 180th Avenue
1902
Morgan Davies Barn
S Skookumchuck Road of the junction with Johnson Creek
^Gluesenkamp Perez, Marie (June 14, 2023). "Celebrating Tenino's 150th Jubilee". Congressional Record (Vol. 169, No. 104): 11. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
^Arthur Dwelley, "Brief History of Tenino" Accessed online at "History by Dwelley". Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2010. January 20, 2010.
