Bezango: Rutherford B. Hayes Slept Here, Oct. 1880

Olympia Power & Light, sometime in October, 2010

It's a big deal whenever a President visits the Oly area. The last sitting President to come to these parts was Harry Truman, although Gerald Ford visited Lacey when he was Vice-President in 1974.

The only President to visit McCleary was Franklin Roosevelt. He drove slowly through here waving at citizens in an open car while passing through to visit the Coast. All the schoolchildren lined up to cheer, but anti-union Henry McCleary ordered his workers to stay away.

Phone photo 407

Originally known as the Barnes Bank Building when it was built in 1869, this is possibly the oldest commercial structure in downtown Olympia, Washington. It was constructed with bricks produced by the factory of colorful local pioneer William Billings. This is probably the only remaining business building in Oly that was around when President Hayes paid a visit here in 1880. In fact, the President and his crew (including General Sherman) lodged a stone's throw from this spot in what is now an ugly parking lot.

To the left of the photo is the Joseph Wohleb designed HQ for the Daily Olympian in 1930. That paper moved to the Eastside ca. 1970. At about that same time, the furniture store that stood on the right of the photo (now a parking lot) burned in a spectacular fire. I remember watching it from the vantage point of my Grandmother's home on the Eastside ridge.