Levi Lathrop Smith

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Levi Lathrop Smith
BornMarch 6, year unknown [1]
New York State
DiedAugust 30, 1848 [2]
Puget Sound near present-day Tumwater [3] [4]
OccupationPioneer
Known forOriginal settler of present-day Olympia, Washington

Levi Lathrop Smith was an Oregon Territory original settler of present-day Olympia, Washington, arriving with Edmund Sylvester in 1846. [5] Smith died of drowning in 1848, [4] shortly after being elected to the Oregon Territorial Legislature, passing his property claim to Sylvester. [6]

Contents

Biography

Smith was born on March 6 [1] in New York State. He was a Presbyterian divinity student. [7] He later emigrated to Wisconsin [8] where he became "attached to a half-caste girl, a catholic[ sic ]. To marry under these circumstances would be a violation of rule, and he made another to remove to Oregon." [9]

Smith and Sylvester arrived in Newmarket, Oregon [a] in October 1846. On October 20, Smith took claim to the land next to Budd Inlet, while Sylvester claimed Chambers Prairie. [10]

In 1847, Smith built the first cabin near the shore, naming the establishment Smithfield; [11] it was approximately 16 square feet (1.5 m2), located near present-day Capitol Way between State and Olympia Avenues. [1] Smith's cabin was modest: made of split cedar wood, with a chimneyed stone fireplace, one door, three windows, and single room partition. The surrounding 2 acres (8,100 m2) were enclosed for farming vegetables and raising livestock. [8]

On June 5, 1848, Smith was elected to the Oregon Territorial Legislature to represent Lewis County [1] [12] but did not live to take his seat. [13]

On August 30, 1848, [2] Smith suffered an epileptic fit while canoeing near Newmarket [a] and drowned. [4] [15] Epilepsy had previously affected his health. [3] [9] [16] Sylvester, as the surviving member of the partnership, abandoned his claim for Smith's land. [10] Smith's final journal entry is dated August 29, 1848. [1]

Works

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 The settlers' name, Newmarket and sometimes New Market, later changed to Tumwater. [14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Smith, Levi Lathrop (2003) [1952]. Tannis, James Robert (ed.). "The Journal of Levi Lathrop Smith, 1847 – 1848 (excerpted)". Olympia Historical Society. Transcribed by Roger Easton. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Curry, George Law, ed. (November 4, 1848). "Nothing in Particular". Oregon Free Press. Oregon City, OR: Geo L. Curry: 2–3. OCLC   777483278 – via Historic Oregon Newspapers.
  3. 1 2 Curry, George Law, ed. (September 30, 1848). "Drowned". Oregon Free Press. Oregon City, OR: Geo L. Curry: 2. OCLC   777483278 – via Historic Oregon Newspapers.
  4. 1 2 3 Murphy, John Miller (March 1909). Wilhelm, Honor L. (ed.). "Pioneer Days in Thurston County". The Coast. 17 (3). Seattle, Wash.: The Coast Pub. Co.: 145. OCLC   656634487 – via HathiTrust.
  5. ↑ Crooks, Drew (March 12, 2013). "From Cheetwoot To Olympia: The Naming Of Washington State's Capital City". ThurstonTalk. Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  6. ↑ Writers' Program of the Work Progress Administration (1941). Washington, A Guide to the Evergreen State, Part 2  . Vol. Part 2. Portland, OR: Binford & Mort. p. 202. OCLC   591971187 – via Wikisource.
  7. 1 2 Hubert Howe Bancroft (1890), History of Washington, Idaho and Montana 1845-1889, The works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, vol. 31, San Francisco: History Company, pp. 15, 16 – via Internet Archive
  8. 1 2 Rathbun, John C. (1895). History of Thurston Co., Washington. Olympia, Washington: Publisher unknown. p.  11. OCLC   28212090 – via Internet Archive.
  9. 1 2 Evans, Elwood; Meany, Edmond S. (1893). The state of Washington. A brief history of the discovery, settlement and organization of Washington, the "Evergreen state," as well as a compilation of official statistics showing the material development of the state up to date. Tacoma: Tacoma Daily News press. p. 187. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  10. ↑ Heffelfinger, C. H. (March 19, 1936). "The Empire Builder's Empire". Vol. 30, no. 12. Cashmere Valley Record. p. 8. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
  11. ↑ Legislative Committee Services (December 2008). "Chronological List of Oregon's Legislatures" (PDF). Oregon State Legislature. p. 17. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  12. ↑ Blankenship, Georgiana Mitchell (1916). Early history of Thurston County, Washington. p.  8. OCLC   1042927695 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ↑ Blankenship, George E. (1923). Lights and shades of pioneer life on Puget Sound. Olympia, Wash.: [s.n.] p.  85. OCLC   1145766141.
  14. ↑ Meany, Edmond S. (October 1920). "Origin of Washington Geographic Names". The Washington Historical Quarterly. 6 (4): 293. ISSN   0361-6223.
  15. ↑ 1845-1945 Washington Centennial Commemorative Booklet. Olympia, Washington: Washington centennial association. 1831–1850s. pp. 21, 22. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
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