Community Corner
City's History and Future are Bound to the Lakes
Lakewood's bodies of water have had several names over the years.
No discussion about Lakewood’s history would be complete without talking about the lakes.
Each one has its history and character, while collectively they provide a link that ties the community together. They currently provide access to water for recreation activity during the sunny summers. Here's the skinny on a few lakes within the city.
American Lake
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The largest of Lakewood’s lakes, it first bore the name Lake Tolmie. It was also called Richmond Lake, after a Methodist missionary who tried unsuccessfully to convert the local tribes in the 1830s.
It became American Lake informally after the first-ever Independence Day party, held north of the Columbia River and west of the Rocky Mountains. The date was 1841. Lt. Charles Wilkes and his crew of 433 sailors had been exploring the Pacific Coast. The ships cruised up the coast, naming the geographic features along the way. They reached Fort Nisqually on May 11, 1841.
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Lake Louise
The often-overlooked Lake Louise was once named Balch Lake after Lafayette Balch, the founder of Steilacoom. It was later named for Louise, after Louise Hopping whose husband, William P. Hopping, owned land on the lake in the l920s.
Another story about the naming of the lake suggest that Lakes District developer Jesse O. Thomas, Jr. named the lake after a resort spot in Canada. The truth has thus far been lost to history.
Gravelly Lake
Vacation homes and well-to-do estates of Tacoma’s elite circle Gravelly Lake. It was first called Cook‑al‑chy by the Native Americans in the area. The word meant "pond lily." It became Gravelly Lake when the lake residents observed its rock bottom and thought the name fit better.
Steilacoom Lake
August V. Kautz, the architect who oversaw the renovation and expansion of Fort Steilacoom in the 1850s, stated in his diary that what is now called Steilacoom Lake was known as Byrd Lake during his time in Lakewood. He called it that because the body of water was man-made when the Byrd Mill was created, having to do with the damming of Chambers Creek. Water built up behind the dam and filled in the lowland marshes. The Steilacoom name came decades after the mill closed.
Historian Herbert Hunt wrote the native tribes called the lake Wheatchee, meaning loosely "...underhanded or deceitful" because the area was known to be the site of odd occurrences.
Regardless of the names, then or now, Lakewood would not be what it is today without these lakes. They provide recreation, water for plants and faucets as well as some of the best views found inland of the South Puget Sound.