Historic Tenino
Walking Tour Brochure, Pics, History,
http://www.ci.tenino.wa.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Walking-Tour-of-Tenino-Sandstone-Buildings.pdf
National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington state
Buildings in Tenino, Washington
National Register of Historic Places listings in Thurston County, Washington
Short History of Tenino
Notes:
Stephen Hodgdon -
His land was located directly on the old Oregon Trail at the point where it turned north to Tumwater and the Hudson’s Bay Company trail continued eastward to Yelm Prairie and Fort Nisqually.
It wasn’t long before the Hodgdon Farm was referred to as “Hodgdon’s Station” and became a regular stop on the stagecoach road from the Columbia to Olympia. Soon Samuel Davenport took up an adjoining land claim to the west, and B. J. Henness settled on the east side of the present townsite.
In 1872, the railroad from the Columbia reached Hodgdon’s farm and a station was built and named “Tenino”.
Fred Brown -
Brown had moved along with the railroad construction crews in a tent store until reaching Tenino, and apparently decided this was a good place to settle down. Joining the depot and the store to form the nucleus of a town was a hotel owned and operated by William Huston. “Uncle Billy”
sandstone quarry. S. W. Fenton and George VanTine located a good grade of building stone on the hill south of Tenino and began an industry that changed Tenino from a sleepy little whistle stop to a bustling town.
Sandstone Quarry -
S. W. Fenton and George VanTine located a good grade of building stone on the hill south of Tenino and began an industry that changed Tenino from a sleepy little whistle stop to a bustling town.
VanTine and Fenton’s Tenino Stone Company was located on the site of the present city park and pool, and began shipping out stone in 1889.
A second quarry soon followed east on the Military Road. It was called the Eureka Sandstone Company.
A third quarry was located on Lemon Hill, west of Tenino in the early 1900’s by H. P. Scheel and William McArthur under the name Hercules Stone Company.
Mentzer Brothers’ Mill -
Jonis Spar Company -
Skookumchuck Mill -
By 1905, Tenino had four grocery stores, two meat markets, a half-dozen saloons, three hotels, two dry goods stores with jewelry stores, cigar stores, confectioners, and even a stationer.
thermal-electric generating plant -
In 1967 announcement was made of the proposed building of a thermal-electric generating plant in the Hanaford Valley south of Tenino, and the re-opening of the once active Tono coal fields. The plant went into operation in the fall of 1971.
Links:
Thurston County Pioneers Before 1870 - Pioneer Location Info & More
http://digitalwa.statelib.wa.gov/pioneer/index.htm
Source:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~washingtonparish/blog/tenino.txt
Tenino Liberty Theater
Address: 285 - 287 Southeast Sussex
Built in 1914, the eastern fa?ade of the building was the Liberty Theater for many years. It is currently the Veterans of Foreign Wars George Pendarvis Post No. 5878. The post was formed in February 1946 by recently discharged veterans of World War n and veterans of World War I in Tenino. It is named for George Pendarvis, a sailor from Tenino killed in action aboard the battleship California at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The Ladies' Auxiliary to the VFW was formed shortly after the post was started. The post owns this part of the building where they have meetings and social events. The taxable portion of the building is the barbershop. The main building was occupied by a saloon during the teens and 1920s, and later a dry goods store and retail offices were located here. It has been for many years the location of The Tenino (Thurston County) Independent newspaper. The rear section facing Howard was used for many years as the switching office for the Tenino Telephone Company, which is a local telephone service. Source: Orth, Joy, "Tenino Independent Building has been through a lot since it was built in 1914." The Independent Sun News. January 14,1998. Information from VFW Post No. 5878
KenLaytonKenLayton on August 3, 2011 at 9:57 am
More history I have discovered about this theater. It had opened and closed several times over the years as well as had several name changes.
Opened in 1915 as the Circuit Theater and closed in 1916. Mr. T.J. McClellan was the manager at that time.
Reopened in 1917 as the Lotus Theater and closed again in 1921. Managers during this time were R.J. Charles, Wren Scott, and R.S. Bowen.
Reopened in 1923 as the Liberty Theater. Manager was R. L. Bowen at the time.
In 1936 the theater was remodeled and the name was changed to the Tenino Theater. In closed around 1961
original glass block and awning of the theater is still there. Go to the side street where the theater ’s original entrance was and you’ll see it. My late friend, Tex Taylor, got his first projectionist job from the projection union at this theater when he worked there in 1952