Watershed Park is a 153-acre temperate rain forest public park located in Olympia, Washington that supplied almost all the city's water supply from privately established wells in the late 1800s. The city acquired and operated the wells starting in 1917 until the 1950s when the municipal water source was replaced. In 1955 the forest was to be logged and the land sold but strong local opposition resulted in an ordinance preserving the area as a city park. Throughout, remnants of the waterworks are visible from the park trails.
History
The park takes its name from the
drainage basin of
Moxlie Creek.
for the city of Olympia were first created in the area now comprising Watershed Park in the late 19th century. Influential Western Washington businessman Henry Clay Heermans bought the entire waterworks in 1909, and sold it to the City of Olympia in 1917.
[Hunt, H. and Kaylor, F.C. (1917) "Henry Clay Heermans", Washington, West of the Cascades. S.J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 10.] After operating the wells into the 1950s, the city planned to log the area and sell the property, leading to a Washington Supreme Court battle that led to the area's preservation, with a city ordinance protecting the area presently.
[ "Watershed Park", City of Olympia. Retrieved 3/28/11.] Local environmental activist
Margaret McKenny is recognized as the impetus for establishing the park as a protected place.
Features
The
Moxlie Creek Springs Basin, one of the largest spring basins in the region, is situated in the center of the park, which is completely forested by a temperate rain forest. Skunk cabbage and
salmon berry grow alongside Moxlie Creek, which weaves throughout the area. The creek is fed by
groundwater and surface water runoff.
Chinook salmon,
coho salmon and coastal cutthroat trout live in the creek. There are big leaf maple,
douglas fir,
red alder and
incense cedar throughout the park, along with
huckleberry,
Oregon grape,
licorice fern and sword ferns, and devil's club. The one and a half-mile long, G. Eldon Marshall trail encircles much of the park. Evidence of the former waterworks in the form of pipes is scattered throughout the park, as well.
[ "South Sound's Best Places to Birdwatch: Watershed Park", Black Hills Audubon Society. Retrieved 8/2/08.]
A future expansion of the paved Karen Fraser Woodland Trail will extend the trail to run along the northwestern edge of the park, creating a connection with Tumwater Falls Park. This expansion will connect with Watershed's hiking trails.
Environmental Concerns
The park has suffered from
gypsy moth infestations.
[Dodge, J. "Traps set around South Sound for gypsy moth infestations", The Olympian. July 8, 2008. Retrieved 8/2/08.]
See also
-
History of Olympia, Washington
