Brewer Leopold F. Schmidt started the Capital Brewery on the southeastern shores of Capitol Lake in 1896. In 1902 Capital Brewing Company became the Olympia Brewing Co. and used the slogan “It’s the Water” for their flagship brand, Olympia Beer. In 1906, a six-story, Italianate-style brew house, made with Chehalis brick and Tenino sandstone, replaced the original wooden frame structure. Today, although it is in a sad state of neglect, the building remains one of Tumwater’s best-known landmarks.

Tumwater Falls Park, one of the last privately-owned parks in the state of Washington, a 15-acre park situated along the banks of the Deschutes River, has hiking/walking trails, views of the several natural falls along the river, and historic markers that describe this area’s rich historic past. This park also contains the Pioneers Monument, a huge, rough-hewn granite block marking the spot where Colonel Michael T. Simmons and his travel-worn company ended their journey in 1845. A bronze plate on the monument bears the names of the 32 founders of the town.

The Crosby family were early pioneers, who emigrated from Maine to “New Market” as Tumwater was then called. Nathaniel Crosby III built this modest Classic Revival cottage in 1858. The Gothic carpenter eaves and raking trim were added at a later time. One of the last pioneer homes remaining in one of Washington first settlements, it was gifted to the Daughters of the Pioneers in 1947 and spared from the construction of Interstate 5 through the middle of Tumwater in the 1950’s. Today it stands in Tumwater Historical Park and continues to be managed by the Daughters of the Pioneers.

This and the Crosby are all that remains of the original New Market settlement at Deschutes Falls. This austere Queen Anne home was built in 1905 for William Naumann, a German brewmaster employed at the nearby Olympia Brewing Company. It was acquired by the City of Tumwater in 1974 as a museum. Restoration work continues on its exterior.

This bridge was built in 1956 and passes through the Tumwater Historic District. When built, its concrete open spandrel rib arch span was considered a significant engineering feat. The main concrete arch span and I-beam span at the east is all that remains of the original bridge. It was constructed as part of Primary State Highway 1 (now Interstate 5) and was meant to connect east and west Tumwater, which had been riven by the road construction.

The lower crossing is a three-span Luten arch bridge built in 1915. Luten arches were an engineering innovation from Germany involving bar-reinforcing concrete.

One of the earliest churches built by American settlers when the area was part of the Territory of Washington, this small wood frame building overlooks the original site of New Market. It was built in 1872 as a “union” church, meaning it was shared by other faiths. Alterations occurred in the 1930’s, but it remains remarkably as it was. It is still an operating church.