A Brief History of the Olympia Supply Company

Taken Wednesday, April 6th

I love local businesses. I love them even more if they are a historical landmark and serve their community well. The Olympia Supply Company is one of those special businesses. I grew restless observing my block last Wednesday and ventured in to get some history on the Supply Co. I approached an employee, an older gentleman who was resting his elbows on the front desk. I asked about the flooding issue that has long plagued Columbia street, judging by the vintage photos displayed of cars half-submerged in water. The man, (I regretfully did not get his name) happily exclaimed that the flooding problem was fixed, thanks to the city bypassing storm runoff into Capitol lake, instead of through LOTT (our local water treatment plant) expediting the process and solving the problem. He went on to explain that the soil on Columbia Street was extremely contaminated from decades of industrial operations and the resulting outcome now, is strict building codes and environmental impact statements required for any remodeling. I bit my tongue wanting to add another outcome of this “fix”, which is contaminated water free-flowing into an already contaminated body of water. (Click to learn more about Capitol Lake Flooding in 2015 )

On a lighter note I learned the Company had been in operation for an astonishing 124 years, and was initially founded by a family of thrifty Russian immigrants seeking to provide a service to local industrial operations. I found this charming. Lastly, before I left, the man added that the old bank of the estuary ran through the center of this building. This created a striking visual. I left the store and walked to the adjacent parking lot and tried to picture the scope and scale of the estuary that was once there. After this conversation I am left feeling more conflicted about Capitol Lake and it’s management. I hope to do more research on the city’s plan to solve flooding issues created by the lake by flushing untreated water back into the lake. What an unfortunate irony.