Steilacoom City Hall
Pronounced "Still-a-cum," this historic municipality has the distinction of being the oldest incorporated town in Washington (1854). The entire town is on the National Register of Historic Places; it's quiet streets are lined with historic homes, most of them bearing construction dates. Steilacoom also gave Washington it's first Protestant church (1853), first library (1858), and first jail (also 1858) and is the site of the oldest standing church in the state. Steilacoom still seems a step back in time. Visitors encounter living history at the Bair Drug & Hardware Museum, founded in 1895. There the early town post office and a fascinating variety of pharmacy and hardware relics are on display. Today the store also operates as a casual restaurant; milkshakes are still made the old fashioned way at the 1906-vintage soda fountain. Visitors can also view an extensive collection of pioneer artifacts in the Town Hall Museum, documenting 1860-1900. Nearby, the Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center and Museum focuses on the area's Native American legacy and includes a cafe serving traditional Northwest native food such as smoked salmon. From Steilacoom, visitors can ride a passenger/car ferry across Puget Sound to Anderson and Ketron Islands.

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