Tumwater is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. The city is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the state capital of Olympia to the north. Tumwater is the oldest permanent Anglo-American settlement on Puget Sound. The city is the southern gateway to the wider Seattle/Tacoma urban area, which stretches from Tumwater to Marysville along the Interstate 5 corridor.
Etymology
Tumwater was originally called "Newmarket" by American settlers, and under the latter name was platted in 1845. The present name is derived from the Chinook Jargon word tumwata, which means "waterfall".
History
The site of Tumwater and Tumwater Falls has been home to Southern Lushootseed-speaking peoples known as the Steh-Chass / Stehchass or Statca'sabsh (a subtribe of the Sahewamish (Sahe'wabsh), a subgroup of the Nisqually people; who became part of the post-treaty Squaxin Island Tribe) for thousands of years. "Steh-Chass" is the Lushootseed name for Budd Inlet, Deschutes River and the Tumwater Falls area, and for an important village of the Statca'sabsh.
A post office called Tumwater was established in 1863.
Tumwater was incorporated as a town on November 25, 1869, and as a city in 1875.
The construction of Interstate 5, which was completed in 1958, required the demolition of 100 buildings in downtown Tumwater. Major businesses had already relocated northeast to Tumwater Square, which remains a local shopping center. The Tumwater Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 to preserve remnants of downtown amid plans to widen Interstate 5.
Geography
Tumwater is located two miles south of the neighboring state capital of Olympia.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.
Climate
This region experiences warm and dry summers, with average monthly temperatures between 71.6 °F (22 °C) and 98.1 °F (36.7 °C). According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Tumwater has a very warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.
Demographics
Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Tumwater ranks 89th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked. It is also the highest rank in Thurston County.