Tumwater, Washington

== Etymology == Tumwater was originally called "Newmarket" by American settlers, and under the latter name was platted in 1845.

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 totems were added as part of an overall project on Capitol Boulevard in 1937.

They remained without color until 1951, painted with some hues regarded to be non-traditional in indigenous works, but repainted after 1990.

The construction of Interstate 5, which was completed in 1958, required the demolition of 100 buildings in downtown Tumwater.

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.

The tree is a marker on the Cowlitz Trail and was named after Ezra Meeker and Jack Davis, an environmentalist who helped save the oak in 1984 during a highway improvement project.

=== 2000 census === As of the 2000 census, there were 12,698 people, 5,659 households, and 3,253 families living in the city.

=== 2010 census === As of the 2010 census, there were 17,371 people, 7,566 households, and 4,460 families living in the city.

In 2023, the City had 241 employees and a 2023–2024 biennium general fund budget of $84.9 million, an increase from a 2021–2022 biennium expense budget of $63.9 million and 235 ...

Attempts to remove the tree in began in 2024 after concerns over safety for passing motorists.

Due to public protests, coupled with a citizen lawsuit and discrepancies in reports on the oak's health, the tree was permanently protected from alterations or removal in Decemb...