"Promoting personal & professional growth within the transportation & local community since 1926"
WELCOME TO TACOMA
Puget Sound Indian
tribes, such as the Puyallup and Nisqually, called the Pierce County
area home for centuries before the first European explorers arrived.
Primarily a hunting-gathering culture, these indigenous people called
Mount Rainier "Tacobet," meaning "Mother of Waters." However, "Tacobet"
was interpreted by the white man as "Tahoma," which later became the
name of a pioneer city, Tacoma.
Captain George Vancouver was the first white man to sail into Puget
Sound in 1792; he named the peak Mount Rainier after one of his friends.
He also named the Sound for one of his officers, Peter Puget.
In 1833 the Hudson Bay's Company arrived to build Fort Nisqually, a fur trading post, three miles north of the Nisqually River (a few miles south of present-day Tacoma).
The first settlers, mainly lumbermen, began arriving in the early 1850s. Nicholas
Newsletter
Calendar of Events
Upcoming Events
6/9/2008
Scholarship Luncheon
Speaker: Chris Lytle
Deputy Executive Officer
Port of Long Beach
Recent News
$14,500 AWARDED TO 16 STUDENTS
$7000 RAISED AT THE 2008 SPRING OPEN
OVER 500 BAND-AID
BOXES DONATED TO
MARY BRIDGE IN
MARCH
Charities
Delin built the
first cabin and sawmill in 1852 on the waterfront near what is now
downtown Tacoma. In 1864 Job Carr claimed land along Commencement Bay,
hoping it would become the western terminus for a transcontinental
railroad. Carr didn't realize that dream, but went on to become Tacoma's
first mayor, postmaster and election officer. "Old Tacoma" (the area now
called "Old Town") was settled in 1865.
Morton M. McCarver arrived in 1868 and purchased most of Carr's real
estate. He then led a successful campaign to convince officials of the
Northern Pacific Railroad to designate Tacoma as its western terminus --
over the competing towns of Seattle and Olympia.
In September 1873,
Tacoma was indeed selected, and building of the railroad began - but
with the terminus at the end of Commence Bay, thereby creating "New
Tacoma." Rapid development ensued when Tacoma was linked by rail to the
rest of the nation in 1883, and "City of Destiny" became the town's
popular moniker. Lumber and coal from the nearby Cascade foothills were
the major rail exports.
The 1880s saw major growth. The population had soared to approximately
5,000 in 1884 when Old Tacoma and New Tacoma agreed to merge and
incorporate. By 1890 there were 36,000 people living in Tacoma. Two
years later, the population had swelled to 50,000.
Come see what Tacoma brings today by clicking on one of the links below.
CITY OF TACOMA
THINGS TO SEE
Tacoma Art Museum http://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/
Museum of Glass http://www.museumofglass.org/
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium http://www.pdza.org/
Fort Nisqually http://www.fortnisqually.org/
Washington State History Museum http://www.wshs.org/wshm/
TRANSPORTATION CLUB OF TACOMA
15008 88th Street E, Puyallup, Washington 98372
Phone: 253-445-3933 Fax: 253-799-8518 E-mail: tctacoma@comcast.net