Swede Day Midsommar Festival. Population: 5,369 in the Rochester/ Grand Mound area, according to the 2010 Census. Rochester also is home to Lucky Eagle Casino and Hotel, run by the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, and Great Wolf Lodge, a conference center, hotel and indoor water park, just off the Rochester/ Grand Mound exit on I-5, is a joint venture of the Chehalis tribe and Madison, Wis.-based Great Wolf Resorts.
Many of the businesses in town have been restored to resemble Shelton in the 1920s, a time when Shelton saw some of its most significant growth. The 1926 construction of the Olympic Loop Highway provided easy access to the town’s business center. Recent growth in Shelton has included several shopping centers and restaurants on the town’s west side and a downtown brew pub. Population: About 9,834, according to 2010 Census. Features: Many Sheltonites say the west-side growth has added traffic to Shelton’s established downtown business center. In addition to the historical flavor and sense of community in Shelton, the town is best known for its celebrations, including the Mason County Fair, Forest Festival, and OysterFest.
Yelm
Shelton Location: Off U.S. Highway 101 in Mason County History: The logging town is known for its wood products and commercial shellfish industry. It sits on the shores of Oakland Bay, which is home to the largest commercial production of manila clams in the nation. In the 1890s, Sol Simpson founded Simpson Logging Co. The company has been the backbone of Shelton’s economy through five generations of Simpson family members and continues to be a major part of the town. In recent years, the company has restructured to form Green Diamond Resource Co., which manages about 320,000 acres of timberland in Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, and Simpson Timber Co., which operates lumber-production plants in Washington and Oregon.
Tenino Location: Southeast of Olympia, off Old Highway 99. History: Opinions vary on where Tenino got its name. Some say the city was named for an American Indian word for “junction” or “meeting place,” and others insist railroad officials named Tenino for a railroad engine numbered 10-9-0. Population: About 1,695, according to the 2010 Census. Features: Historical attractions in Tenino include the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot, which houses the
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Location: Yelm is at the junction of state Routes 507 and 510, about 15 miles southeast of Olympia in eastern Thurston County. History: The city was incorporated Dec. 10, 1924. Yelm is a Salish Indian word that means “heat waves from the sun.” Yelm was known as a village site for the Nisqually tribe. Since the 1980s, Yelm also has been home to JZ Knight, who claims to channel a 35,000-year-old warrior named Ramtha, and the Ramtha School of Enlightenment, run by Knight. Population: 6,848, which is more than double the 2000 Census figure, according to the 2010 Census. Features: In recent years, shopping centers and a cinema complex have sprung up in Yelm. A new library has opened near the cinema. Also, a WalMart Supercenter opened in 2007 and a $9 million medical care center opened in April, 2010
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Tenino Depot Museum. Included in the museum is a printing press used to make Tenino’s famous wooden money, which was issued in the town during the Great Depression. The depot and many of the massive buildings lining the streets of the town are constructed with original sandstone from the five sandstone quarries that were operating in 1910. In the summer, visitors flock to the Tenino Quarry Pool, an abandoned rock quarry now used as a swimming pool.