160-year-old home in Thurston County open for tours for first time in six years
The Crosby House is reopening to the public this Sunday after a six-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and renovations of the historic home in Tumwater.
Ann Olson, president of the Olympia chapter for Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington, told The Olympian on April 9 that the Crosby House, which was built in 1860, will be open for tours starting Sunday, April 12, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and then every first Sunday of the month through October.
The house is located at 702 Deschutes Parkway and was built in 1860 by Nathanial Crosby III, according to the city of Tumwater’s website. They were some of the earliest English settlers in the area. Music artist Bing Crosby was a direct descendant of Nathaniel and his wife Cordelia Jane Smith.
“The illustrious house changed hands numerous times throughout the years before it was placed with a trustee, William Manier, a local attorney,” according to the city’s website. “Through the efforts of the Schmidt family and descendants of the Crosby family, the house was purchased and donated to the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington, Chapter 4 in 1947.”
Olson told The Olympian that the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington is a lineage organization for women who have ancestors that arrived in the Washington territory before or during 1870, as well as neighboring states in the same time period.
She said the chapters, including the Olympia chapter, have been declining in membership since the pandemic. She said there are chapters across the western side of the state, but all the ones on the eastern side have closed.
According to the city’s website, the Daughters of the Pioneers gave the Crosby House to the city of Tumwater in 1981, with the provision that the organization would have a “life estate in the property as long as Chapter 4 (the Olympia chapter) continued.”
Olson said it’s the daughters who have worked to restore and furnish the house, under Tumwater Parks’ purview. There was also a pioneer garden on the property, which she said had to be taken out in order to address other issues with the home itself. She said they’re working to reestablish the garden, but there are still rose bushes and other historic elements to take in on the tour.
Olson said tours of the home were put off due to COVID-19, and then there were structural issues that needed to be addressed. She said some of those issues are still being addressed: the home needs a new roof and gutters, and there’s interior remodeling that needs to be done.
“We’re looking forward to having the house open again, having people see the house, and we know that there’s a lot of interest in it, and the history in the whole area, the history of the house,” Olson said.
She said it feels like a great time to bring back the tours at a time when it feels like history is becoming more popular. She said part of that is the celebration of the country’s 250th birthday this year.
“All of that is a part of history that has been made and history that will be made, and the Crosby House is part of all of that,” she said.
The Crosby House is listed on the Tumwater Register of Historic Places, according to the city’s website, as well as the National Register as part of the Tumwater Historic District. It’s individually listed on the Washington State Register of Historic Places.
The home is free to visit, and donations to the Daughters of the Pioneers will be accepted. Olson said donations help furnish the building and keep up with renovations.
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