Tenino Downtown Historic District

Tenino () is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,870 at the 2020 census.Incorporated in 1906, the city sits upon land first established as a food-source prairie for Native Americans living in the area. The town grew around an economy of stone quarrying, with local sandstone being used in several government and university buildings in the Pacific Northwest. With a decrease in demand for stone, the town converted one abandoned quarry into a community pool. Its downtown district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Tenino gained notoriety during the Great Depression for the use of wooden money as public currency for its residents, a practice briefly revived during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Research released in a 2019 book provided an answer regarding myths surrounding the name of Tenino; it was determined the name is borrowed from the moniker of a steamboat used during a railroad committee expedition.

The Tenino Stone Company Quarry, at City Park in Tenino, Washington, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.It is also known as the Memorial Swimming Pool. It is the site of a sandstone quarry from which stone was removed in a box shape, about 900 feet (270 m) long, 60 feet (18 m) wide, and 90 feet (27 m) deep. It is used as a swimming and diving pool. The basin is split into two sections, a shallow area and a deeper pool, large enough to be considered an inland lake.

Tenino station, located in Tenino, Washington, was built by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1914 along the mainline from Portland, Oregon to Tacoma, Washington. The depot is rectangular in shape and is made out of the local sandstone. (The sandstone quarry located east of the rail line was also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.) The architecture is a modernized Richardsonian style with simplified stone coursework and arched windows. The depot had a passenger waiting area on one end and a freight room on the other. The agent's office was located between the two rooms. The depot ceased serving passengers in the 1950s, but continued to handle freight into the 1960s. It was finally closed in 1965. The depot remained abandoned. In 1975, the Burlington Northern Railroad (the successor of the Northern Pacific) gave the depot to the City of Tenino instead of demolishing it as a surplus property. The city then moved it alongside an old Northern Pacific branchline, adjacent to the old sandstone quarry. The city refurbished the depot and turned it into the Tenino Depot Museum, a museum of local history. Exhibits include a press used to make the original wood money, logging and quarry tools, railroad memorabilia, a 1920s doctor's office, and local antiques and historic artifacts. The museum is open weekend afternoons. The depot was listed in the National Register due to its association with the development of Tenino as well as its association with the development of railroads in Washington.

Mud Lake is a lake in the U.S. state of Washington. The lake has a surface area of about 10 acres (4.0 ha).Mud Lake was so named on account of the muddy condition of its waters.

Offutt Lake is an unincorporated community in Thurston County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The community is situated around Offutt Lake and is east of Millersylvania State Park. The populated area of Skookumchuck lies to the east and the city of Tenino is roughly south.

Rocky Prairie is a Puget prairie that is about 56 miles (90 km) southwest of Seattle, Washington, United States, and about 10 miles (16 km) south of Washington's capital city of Olympia. It sits very close to the Millersylvania State Park, the community of Maytown, and the city of Tenino. Old Highway 99 runs through Rocky Prairie. The part of the prairie west of the highway is called West Rocky Prairie. Both the west and east sides of the prairie have various plant and animal species. Many of the plant species are flowering plants. Both sides also have areas of Mima mounds (not to be confused with the Mima mounds at Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve about 10.5 kilometers or 6.5 miles to the west). Rocky Prairie is divided into several different properties. The two land owners west of Old Highway 99 are the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Port of Tacoma. A major land owner east of Old Highway 99 is the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. There is also another property on the east side owned by Thurston County which has a gravel pit located on it. Some of the prairie on the east side is private property, and has pastures and houses on it. In West Rocky Prairie, the property that belongs to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife is called the West Rocky Prairie Wildlife Area. The size of the property is 810 acres (330 hectares). Part of the property is wooded, and part of it is in the prairie. The West Rocky Prairie Unit has over 300 acres (120 hectares) of woods, 360 acres (150 hectares) of wetlands, 40 acres (16 hectares) of Quercus garryana (Garry oak trees), and 300 acres (120 hectares) of Mima mounds.

Offutt Lake is a lake in the U.S. state of Washington. The community of Offutt Lake surrounds the area. The lake has a surface area of 192 acres (78 ha) and reaches a depth of 25 feet (7.6 m).Offutt Lake was named after Levi and Milford Offutt, early settlers.

Pitman Lake is a lake in the U.S. state of Washington. The lake has a surface area of 27 acres (11 ha) and reaches a depth of 15 feet (4.6 m).Pitman Lake has the name of Jesse Pitman, a local landholder.

Plumb is an unincorporated community in Thurston County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The community is located to the west of nearby Offutt Lake and lies in and around the Rocky Prairie Natural Area Preserve.

Thurston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 294,793. The county seat and largest city is Olympia, the state capital. Thurston County was created out of Lewis County by the government of Oregon Territory on January 12, 1852. At that time, it covered all of the Puget Sound region and the Olympic Peninsula. On December 22 of the same year, Pierce, King, Island, and Jefferson counties were split off from Thurston County. It is named after Samuel R. Thurston, the Oregon Territory's first delegate to Congress.Thurston County comprises the Olympia-Tumwater, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Seattle-Tacoma, WA Combined Statistical Area.

Deep Lake is a 66-acre (27 ha) body of water lying eight miles (13 km) south of Olympia in Thurston County, Washington. It is 17 feet (5.2 m) deep at its deepest point and has a water volume of 771 acre-feet (951,000 m3). The lake drains into Black River by way of Beaver Creek and Scott Lake. Deep Lake is located in Section 3, Township 16N, Range 2W, Willamette. The lake is bordered on two sides by Millersylvania State Park. An RV resort camp occupies the lake's eastern shore. The lake's fish population includes stocked rainbow trout and naturally reproducing largemouth bass, bluegill, yellow perch, and pumpkinseed.

Millersylvania State Park is a public recreation area located on Deep Lake eight miles (13 km) south of Olympia, Washington. The state park's 903 acres (365 ha) include old-growth cedar and fir trees as well as 3,300 feet (1,000 m) of freshwater shoreline. In 2009, the park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its well-preserved Civilian Conservation Corps landscape. It is managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.