Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and most populous city of Thurston County.[5][6]
Olympia, Washington
United States
January 28, 1859
Council/City Manager
Dontae Payne (D)
20.09 sq mi (52.02 km2)
18.23 sq mi (47.20 km2)
1.87 sq mi (4.82 km2)
95 ft (29 m)
55,605
55,669
US: 718th
WA: 24th
2,902.26/sq mi (1,120.58/km2)
208,157 (US: 182nd)
1,960.0/sq mi (756.8/km2)
298,758 (US: 172nd)
Olympian
UTC-7 (PDT)
53-51300
1533353[2]
The Squaxin and other Coast Salish peoples inhabited the southern Puget Sound region prior to the arrival of European and American settlers in the 19th century. The Treaty of Medicine Creek was signed in 1854 and followed by the Treaty of Olympia in 1856; these two treaties forced the Squaxin to relocate to an Indian reservation. Olympia was incorporated as a town on January 28, 1859, and as a city in 1882.[7] It had a population of 55,605 at the time of the 2020 census,[3] making it the state of Washington's 23rd most populous city. Olympia borders Lacey to the east and Tumwater to the south.
Sports[edit]
In 1984, Olympia hosted the U.S. Olympic women's marathon trial. The winner of the event was Joan Benoit, who won a gold medal at the first women's Olympic marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympic games in Los Angeles.
Olympia is the home of the Oly Rollers, the local women's flat track roller derby league whose travel team, the Cosa Nostra Donnas, were the 2009 national champions of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), winning the national Declaration of Derby tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[30]
Oly Town FC (also known as Oly Town Artesians) is a soccer club that was founded in 2014 and primarily plays at Black Hill High School. They field an amateur men's team in USL League Two and the Evergreen Premier League, as well as a women's team in the Northwest Premier League.[31]
Education[edit]
The majority of Olympia is located in the Olympia School District.[32] It enrolled 9,782 students in K-12 in the 2021–22 school year.[33] The district has a total of 18 schools: 11 elementary schools, four middle schools and three high schools. Its high schools are Olympia High School (formally known as William Winlock Miller High School), Capital High School, and Avanti High School.
Portions of Olympia are in the North Thurston Public Schools district and the Tumwater School District.[32]
In the 2007–08 school year, Olympia began the Parent Partnership Program, which provides more opportunities to homeschooling families. Olympia's online high school, Olympia Regional Learning Academy (ORLA), is part of the same program. Private elementary schools include Olympia Waldorf School, Olympia Community School, St. Michael School, Holy Family, and Evergreen Christian. Private middle schools include Olympia Waldorf School and NOVA School. Pope John Paul II High School is a private high school.
In addition to primary and secondary schools, Olympia has a number of institutions of higher learning, including The Evergreen State College and South Puget Sound Community College. The Evergreen State College (TESC) offers bachelor's degrees in liberal arts and science, and master's degrees in environmental studies, public administration, education, and teaching. South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) offers associate degrees in arts, science, biology, elementary education, pre-nursing, applied science, general studies, and business.
Media[edit]
Robust journalism in Olympia dates to before Washington Territory's incorporation in 1853.[34]
The Olympian is the local daily newspaper. The Tacoma-based Weekly Volcano has covered Olympia entertainment since 2001. Progressive newspaper Works in Progress is published monthly.[35] The statewide government channel TVW is based in Olympia. Online outlet NorthAmericaTalk, an aggregate for local community news and marketing, was established with headquarters in Olympia.
Olympia and Thurston County are included in the Seattle-Tacoma designated market area (DMA), and therefore are chiefly served by Seattle's network-affiliated television stations and some radio stations. Since 1983, Olympia has had a public, educational and government access television station, which was rebranded in 2016 as Thurston Community Media.[36] Olympia sits on the southern fringe of the FM signal of National Public Radio member station KUOW. An AM simulcast is transmitted from a tower in nearby Tumwater.[37] Evergreen State College's KAOS broadcasts a mix of educational and political programming, with student-driven music shows.[38]
Transportation[edit]
Rail[edit]
Amtrak provides service to Olympia-Lacey at Centennial Station. Amtrak train 11, the southbound Coast Starlight, departs Olympia at 11:19am with service to Centralia; Portland; Sacramento; Emeryville, California (with bus connection to San Francisco); and Los Angeles. Amtrak train 14, the northbound Coast Starlight, departs Olympia at 6:01pm daily with service to Tacoma and Seattle. Amtrak Cascades trains, operating as far north as Vancouver and as far south as Eugene, Oregon, serve Olympia-Lacey several times daily in both directions.
