On the banks of the Nisqually River is McKenna, started as a lumber company town about 1908. An irrigation project on the adjacent prairie was started by the company, and preference was given to laborers who purchased land. A school, a church, and a pool hall were the only institutions not controlled directly by the company. When the timber supply thinned out, and the lumber market sagged, the mill was dismantled, and even the land office was moved away. Only a quiet little village remains today where once a busy industrial town flourished.
McKenna
Points of Interest 
Salsich Lumber Company Superintendent’s House
Perhaps the best example of Colonial Revival architecture in Thurston County, this imposing house was built along the banks of the Nisqually River about 1910 for William Salsich’s lumber company. He sold to the McKenna Lumber Company in 1916. The house – situated across the river from worker housing – is the most significant remaining structure of what was once the thriving company town of McKenna.
Centralia Canal Crossing
This crossing is near the diversion point from the Nisqually River for the Centralia Canal. This is a 9 mile long canal that crosses prairie and delivers water diverted from the Nisqually River to a powerhouse. The water drops down through two 7-foot diameter penstocks to run through the turbines and generate power for the City of Centralia and then the water returns to the river.
Points of Interest
Salsich Lumber Company Superintendent’s House
Perhaps the best example of Colonial Revival architecture in Thurston County, this imposing house was built along the banks of the Nisqually River about 1910 for William Salsich’s lumber company. He sold to the McKenna Lumber Company in 1916. The house – situated across the river from worker housing – is the most significant remaining structure of what was once the thriving company town of McKenna.
Centralia Canal Crossing
This crossing is near the diversion point from the Nisqually River for the Centralia Canal. This is a 9 mile long canal that crosses prairie and delivers water diverted from the Nisqually River to a powerhouse. The water drops down through two 7-foot diameter penstocks to run through the turbines and generate power for the City of Centralia and then the water returns to the river.
