History
The Olympic Peninsula is believed to have had the potential for human occupation as early as the last glacial retreat, over 12,500 years ago. Actual proof of human life suggests that man inhabited Sequim's Manis Mastadon site approximately 12,000 years ago. This group of people hunted mastodon, bison and caribou.
Olcutt hunters and gatherers are believed to have occupied the peninsula's lower rivers and lakes, such as Lake Ozette and the Hoko River, 10,000 - 3,000 years ago. Spearheads and scrapers found on the area's ridges and peaks are remnants of these populations. Archeological sites along the Pacific coast indicate that 3,000 - 200 years ago, man hunted numerous maritime creatures, including seals and whales.
In 1592, Juan de Fuca, a Greek explorer sailing for Spain, is said to have been the first European explorer to discover that there was a northwest passage across North America to the Pacific. De Fuca located this passage at 47 degrees north latitude.
In 1778, Captain James Cook and his crew arrived at the Olympic Peninsula's northwestern tip. Captain Cook named this piece of land Cape Flattery because he and his crew were "flattered" by the idea of finding a passageway leading to an inland harbor. The following entry was written in the Captain's logbook: "In this very latitude geographers have placed the pretended Strait of Juan de Fuca, but nothing of that kind presented itself to our view, nor is it probable that any such thing ever existed."
Captain Charles William Barkley of England encountered the passage between the Olympic Peninsula and Vancouver Island in 1787. He entered the passage on his charts and named it the Straight of Juan de Fuca. The following year, the mountain we currently call Mount Olympus was sighted and given its name by British Captain John Meares. Captain Meares felt that because it was the highest peak, it deserved to be named after the home of the Greek gods, so he named the mountain Mount Olympus.
In 1792, Captain George Vancouver explored the Straight of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound. On his journey, Captain Vancouver named many geographical features of the Pacific Northwest, such as Dungeness, Discovery Bay, the Olympic Mountains, Hood Canal and Mount Rainier.
During the mid-1800s, settlers could be found on the northern Olympic Peninsula and along the coasts. During the summer of 1885, Army Lieutenant Joseph P. O'Neil and his small crew became the first to document their exploration of the Olympic Mountains.
Beginning at Port Angeles, Lieutenant O'Neil and his party ventured up Hurricane Ridge. This portion of their trek was a one-month climb. At that point, the crew split up in order to cover more ground. Half of them were sent to explore Elwha Valley, while the others, including Lieutenant O'Neil, headed toward Mount Anderson. The expedition was cut short when a messenger found them and delivered orders that they were to report to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
In 1889, the Seattle Press published an offer for "hardy citizens...to acquire fame by unveiling the mystery which wraps the land encircled by the snow-capped Olympic range." James Christie answered this plea and agreed to organize an expedition, provided that the Seattle Press financed the journey. The Press Party, consisting of six men, four dogs, two mules and 1,500 pounds of supplies, began to tackle the Olympics in December of 1889. This was one of the most brutal winters in the Peninsula's history. Christie and his men encountered several setbacks along the way. They spent nearly six months battling the forces of nature as they explored the unknown terrain. On May 20, 1890, the Press Party completed their expedition wearing tattered clothes and almost completely out of supplies.
As a result of the Press Expedition, many mountains of the Olympic Peninsula were named after prominent newspaper publishers and editors of the late 19th Century.
While leading an army expedition during the summer of 1890, Lieutenant Joseph O'Neil encountered a small group of hikers led by Judge James Wickersham. When their expeditions came to an end, both Lieutenant O'Neil and Judge Wickersham advocated that the Olympic Mountains should be established as a national park.
Much of the forest land on the Olympic Peninsula was protected when President Grover Cleveland named it the Olympic Forest Reserve in 1897. The area later became the Olympic National Forest. In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed that Mount Olympus National Monument was within the national forest. This protected the range and breeding grounds of the Olympic Plants & Animals. President Roosevelt was particularly interested in protecting the region's elk population. Subsequently, the elk were named Roosevelt elk.
Mount Olympus and all other national monuments were transferred to National Park Service Administration as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's governmental reorganization in 1933. With the support of national conservation organizations, Washington Congressman Monrad C. Wallgren sponsored a bill for the establishment of a national park in 1935.
After a visit to the Olympic Peninsula in the fall of 1937, President Roosevelt added his enthusiastic support by signing legislation to establish Mount Olympus as Olympic National Park in 1939. The coastal strip was added to the park in 1953. In 1976, Olympic National Park became a Biosphere Reserve and in 1981 it was designated a World Heritage Park.
Today, more Native American tribes are associated with Olympic National Park than any other national park. Peninsula tribes have formed deep cultural attachments to the region based on tribal beliefs, customs, practices and history. The following 12 tribes are currently associated with this land: Chohalis, Hoh, Jamestown S'Klallm, Elwah Klallm, Makah, Porr Gamble S'Klallm, Quileure, Quinault, Shoalwater Bay, Skokomish, Squaxin and Suquamish.
Most of the Peninsula's tribes were signatories to treaties that are a grant of rights from the tribes to the U.S. In addition, federal statutes, as well as private state and federal articles have been developed for managing various Peninsula resources.