Lakewood, Washington

Lake Steilacoom is a reservoir approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) southwest of Tacoma in Pierce County, Washington, United States. Its boundaries lie entirely within the city of Lakewood, Washington. The reservoir covers approximately 306 acres (1,240,000 m2), has a mean depth of 11 feet (3.4 m) and a maximum depth of 20 feet (6.1 m). Lake Steilacoom is a freshwater lake and drains into Puget Sound via Chambers Creek, which begins at its northern tip. The lake is fed at its southeastern end by two creeks: Ponce de Leon Creek, which originates in springs below what is now Lakewood Towne Center, as well as Clover Creek which flows from its source near Frederickson to the lake. The reservoir was created in 1853 when Andrew Byrd built a dam across Chambers Creek, flooding what had previously been a small pond in a wetland. The dam was used for his sawmill (also built in 1853) and a grist mill (100 yards downstream, in 1857). A public boat launch can be found on the eastern shore in Edgewater Park. The smaller pond was known as Lake Wyatchew prior to the dam's installation, and was briefly known later as Byrd's lake. The Rhodesleigh mansion is located by the lake. The Nisqually Indians say this lake was possessed by an evil female monster known as Whe-atchee. Legends of the creature attacking people go back over a century. To this day, Nisqually refuse to fish or swim here.

Rhodesleigh, also known as the Rhodes Mansion, is a historic residence in Lakewood, Washington. Architects involved in its design included Ambrose J. Russell and Frederick Heath. The house is located at 10815 Greendale Drive, built in 1922. The Rhodes Brothers were involved in the retail trade and had Rhodes department stores in Tacoma and other areas. The business was established in 1892 as a coffee shop in downtown Tacoma by Albert, William, Henry, and Charles Rhodes. The 12,600-square-foot (1,170 m2) 1921 house with its 8+ bedrooms and 7+ bathrooms was on sale in 2009 for $3.4 million. Its carriage house (built later in 1941) at 10914 Greendale was also up for sale. It is located on Lake Steilacoom. According to the broker's website it was built in memory of Edward Rhodes "who served and paid the ultimate sacrifice in World War I".

Clover Creek is a creek in Pierce County, Washington. Clover Creek rises near Frederickson, flows through Spanaway and Parkland, is diverted under the main runway of McChord Air Force Base and Interstate 5, and into Lakewood, where it spills into Lake Steilacoom. The creek was named for the wild clover growing along its course. Its drainage basin is 74 square miles (190 km2). The creek is 13.8 miles (22.2 km) long. Clover Creek was the traditional home of the Sastuck band of the Steilacoom Tribe of Indians.

Clover Park High School (CPHS), located in Lakewood, Washington, is one of two secondary schools within the Clover Park School District.

Lakewood Towne Center is a shopping center located in Lakewood, Washington, a suburb of Tacoma. Lakewood Towne Center was created when MBK Northwest bought and demolished the enclosed portion of the failing Lakewood Mall in 2001, and turned the site into an open air destination by creating four distinct components, including a civic center with a city hall as its centerpiece, a power center, entertainment center, and a neighborhood center. Lakewood Mall itself had been a replacement for the outdoor Villa Plaza Shopping Center.

Lakewood Playhouse is a theatre in Lakewood, Washington.

Gravelly Lake is a lake located in Lakewood in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The lake is fed by groundwater and has no surface drainage channels. The lake is surrounded by higher-priced homes and estates. Out of the three main lakes in Lakewood, Gravelly Lake is the most prestigious and expensive. Called Cook‑al‑chy (pond lily) by the native people, the lake was named Gravelly Lake due to the gravel-covered lake bed.The lake has two legal public access points, both of which are overgrown and are not viable for access.

Lakewold Gardens is a 10-acre (40,000 m2) non-profit estate garden located at 12317 Gravelly Lake Drive SW, Lakewood, Washington, in an area known as the Lakes District. It is open to visitors year-round.

Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood, Washington is the largest park in the city. The 340-acre (1.4 km2) park includes Waughop Lake, an off-leash dog park, and several soccer fields and baseball fields. It is adjacent to Pierce College, historic Fort Steilacoom, and Western State Hospital. The area became a homesteader's farm circa 1844, then became Fort Steilacoom in 1849. In 1868, the government purchased it for use as the "Insane Asylum for Washington Territory". Hospital residents grew crops and orchards in the park area, and planted many of the poplar trees that line the lake shore. More than 3,000 hospital residents are buried in the cemetery near the parking lot.The park is the site of high school cross country meets in the fall and Pierce College utilizes it for athletic activities. In September or October the Fort Steilacoom Invite is held, hosted by Lakes High School. It is currently the second largest meet in Washington state.

Waughop Lake is a lake less than 1.6 km (1.0 mi) east of Steilacoom in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The lake lies within Fort Steilacoom Park, in the city of Lakewood, Washington. Waughop Lake has a surface area of approximately 33 acres (130,000 m2) and a mean depth of 7 feet (2.1 m). The lake is fed by groundwater and has no surface drainage channels. The lake is named after Dr. John Wesley Waughop, former superintendent of the Washington State Hospital for the Insane. The hospital, now known as Western State Hospital, lies across from the park on Steilacoom Boulevard SW. Remnants of part of the hospital are incorporated into the trail. The lake is circled by a 9/10-mile paved loop trail. Waughop Lake is refilled with trout that, unless caught, die within a few weeks. One of the primary researchers of this lake, Michele La Fontaine, has done studies on the algae and dissolved oxygen content. The depth fluctuates about 2 feet a year, gaining 2 feet in winter and losing 2 feet due to evaporation.

For the adjacent park, see Fort Steilacoom Park Fort Steilacoom was founded by the U.S. Army in 1849 near Lake Steilacoom. It was among the first military fortifications built by the U.S. north of the Columbia River in what was to become the State of Washington. The fort was constructed due to civilian agitation about the massacre in 1847 at the Whitman mission. Indians of the Nisqually tribe attacked white settlers in the area on October 29, 1855, as a result of their dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Medicine Creek that had been imposed on them the previous year, particularly angered that their assigned reservation curtailed the traditional fishing economy. The fort was headquarters for the U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment during this "Indian War" of 1855-56. In the course of the conflict, Volunteer U.S. Army Colonel Abram Benton Moses was killed. At the conclusion of the war, Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens brought Chief Leschi of the Nisqually tribe to trial for the death of Moses during a skirmish at Connell's Prairie on October 31, 1855. Since the death had occurred in combat, the United States Army refused to carry out the sentence of death on the grounds of Fort Steilacoom, maintaining that he was a prisoner of war. The territorial legislature therefore passed a law authorizing Leschi's execution at the hands of civilian authorities. On February 19, 1858, Leschi was hanged in what is today the city of Lakewood. He was exonerated in 2004.Fort Steilacoom was decommissioned as a military post in 1868. In 1871 Washington Territory repurposed the fort as an insane asylum, with the barracks serving as patient and staff housing. Fort Steilacoom is now Western State Hospital. Four cottages from the fort remain on the site, and serve as a living history museum. The post cemetery also remains, containing civilian burials from the fort era. All known military burials were relocated to the San Francisco National Cemetery in the 1890s.

Tacoma Country and Golf Club is a private golf course and country club in Tacoma, Washington. Created in 1894, it had the first golf course in the Western United States not on a military reservation (the Mare Island course opened in 1892), and is the oldest continuously operating golf club in the West.