| Watershed Park | |
|---|---|
| Type | Municipal (Olympia) |
| Location | Olympia, Washington |
| Area | 117.5 acres (0.476 km2) |
| Created | 1956 |
| Status | Open all year |
The Watershed Park is a public park located in Olympia, Washington. The site of the city's first water works, recently the park has been infested with gypsy moths.[1]
Contents |
Water wells for the city of Olympia were first created in the area now comprising Watershed Park in the late 19th century. Influential Western Washington businessman Henry Clay Heermans bought the entire waterworks in 1909, and sold it to the City of Olympia in 1917.[2] After operating the wells into the 1950s, the city planned to log the area and sell the property, leading to a Washington Supreme Court battle that led to the area's preservation, with a city ordinance protecting the area presently.[3]
The Moxlie Creek Springs Basin, one of the largest spring basins in the region, is situated in the center of the park, which is completely forested by a temperate rain forest. Skunk cabbage and salmon berries grow alongside Moxlie Creek, which weaves throughout the area. The creek is fed by ground water and surface water runoff. Chinook salmon, coho and cutthroat trout live in the creek. There are big leaf maple, douglas fir, red alder and incense cedar throughout the park, along with huckleberry, Oregon grape, licorice and sword ferns, and devil's club. The one and a half-mile long, G. Eldon Marshall trail encircles much of the park. Evidence of the former waterworks in the form of pipes is scattered throughout the park, as well.[4]