Rainier, Washington


Rainier is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. Beginning as a train stop in the 1870s, Rainier was first settled in 1890 and would become known as a logging town. The city was officially incorporated in 1947.
WWW cityofrainierwa.org

History

Indigenous history

Rainier is situated in an area known as the Tenalquot Prairie. Known also as "Te-nal-cut", "Ta-nal-cuth", or "Ten-al-quelth" to indigenous people in the area, the word most likely means "the best yet" or "happy land" in the Lushootseed language. Another possible meaning is that of a mink in search of home in a human settlement.

19th century and establishment

By the 1840s, the prairie was used for sheep farming station under the Puget Sound Agricultural Company. Rainier began in the 1870s as a "Prairie Line" stop on the Northern Pacific Railroad track between Kalama, Washington, Tenino and Tacoma. In 1884, the town was named for its view of Mount Rainier.
German immigrants Albert and Maria Gehrke were the first non-indigenous settlers to homestead in Rainier, arriving in 1890. Later that year a store and post office were established by Henry Harmer, who homesteaded with his wife Jessie and children on the Deschutes River near Rainier. Rainier was officially platted by George H. Ellsbury in 1891.
Ellsbury modeled the new town after a settlement he began in the Dakota Territory. The "Rainier Colony" initially began under Ellsbury's idea as a cooperative settlement though it remains uncertain how much of the development was completed or followed. By 1891, Rainier grew to include additional families, buildings, and a hotel. In 1896, the community's first full-time school as well as a Lutheran church were built by Albert Gehrke and his two brothers, Theodore and Paul; the buildings are state historic landmarks.

20th century

The original school was converted into the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church after a new schoolhouse was built in the early 1900s; the church had been founded by German settlers the prior decade. The church was used once again for educational purposes after a fire at the schoolhouse in 1915.
In 1906, the Bob White Lumber Company opened, bringing prosperity to the area through logging and sawmilling. Other lumber companies, such as Deschutes, Gruber and Docherty, and Fir Tree, were soon attracted to the area as well, building mills or railroad spurs in the late 1900s into the mid-1910s. A depot was built in 1910 after the arrival of a line by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, several of these mill operations and many of the local buildings were destroyed by a series of fires, leading many residents to seek work at Weyerhaeuser Lumber at nearby Vail, a present-day ghost town.
A state forest camp, known as Camp Rainier, was built in the town during the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1936, Rainier's third school was built out of brick. The construction of this new school allowed for the 1926 second story to be removed, leaving it as a single story building again.
Rainier's 1940 population was 500. In 1941, the WPA Guide to Washington described Rainier as "the social center for farmers and loggers of the vicinity, although its closed mills and vacant houses mark it as a ghost lumber town." The population was recorded to be approximately 315 during the 1947 vote for incorporation.
Rainier was officially incorporated on October 20, 1947; the incorporation, known as a "city of the fourth class", passed by a town vote of 74 to 31. A mayor-council form of government was approved; Glenn Lund served as the city's first mayor In 1948, Rainier opened its town hall at 102 Dakota Street South; it housed the Rainier town council, police department, and fire department.
On May 4, 1974, Rainier High School was destroyed by a fire caused by an electrical fault in an attic storage space; the state's fire marshal office had previously noted several fire hazards during inspections of the building. Classes were cancelled for the remainder of the school year; a set of 13 portable classrooms were constructed adjacent to the destroyed building by local residents and soldiers from nearby Fort Lewis. The portable buildings had been sold at cost by Seattle Public Schools after they were withdrawn from a surplus auction. A new building for Rainier High School—along with a new elementary school—was opened on September 1, 1976. In late 1979, the Town of Rainier considered leasing a portable building from Rainier School District as the existing town hall had grown too small to hold meetings in. While the school board was willing to lease the building, they were only willing to do so for a 1-year term, citing that increasing enrollment numbers could necessitate the use of the building.
In 1990, Rainier's current Town Hall was built at 102 Rochester Street West. It was assembled from several prefabricated pieces, forming the manufactured building that serves as the Town Hall.

21st century

Rainier officially adopted the title of "City of Rainier" in 2001. In the 21st century, Rainier is considered to be a rural, suburban community with a majority of the population commuting to Olympia or Tacoma.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all of it land. In terms of land cover, 18% of the city is urban, 27% is forested, and 55% is covered with non-forest vegetation and soils.

Climate

The climate of Rainier tends to be relatively mild. Although the temperature reached a record high of in 1981, the average temperature of the hottest month, August, is. Similarly, while the record low temperature was in 1979, the average temperature of January, the coldest month, is. With an average of of precipitation, November is the wettest month. Rainier averages approximately of precipitation a year.

Demographics

2020 census

At the time of the 2020 census, there were 2,369 people residing in Rainier, living in 871 households.
The median age in Rainier was 38.4 years old, with 27.4% of the population under the age of 18, and 72.6% of residents 18 years or older. Of the 2,369 residents, 30 identified as American Indian and Alaska Native, 47 as Asian, 22 as Black or African American, 192 as Hispanic or Latino, 16 as Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1,969 as White, 60 as "some other race," and 225 as "two or more races"; 192 identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino of any race, while 1,882 identified as "Not Hispanic or Latino.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,794 people, 656 households, and 484 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 717 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 90.7% White, 1.2% African American, 1.2% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.1% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.0% of the population.
There were 656 households, of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.2% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.11.
The median age in the city was 37.1 years. 26.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.2% were from 25 to 44; 29.2% were from 45 to 64; and 9.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.7% male and 50.3% female.

Arts and culture

Art

To the northeast of downtown Rainier on a trestle support over Washington State Route 507 is a mural known as the Sgt. Justin Norton Memorial Mural. Norton, who died in 2006 during the Iraq War, was a graduate of Rainier High School. Installed in 2011, repeated vandalism of the mural had led to several repairs and re-paintings. The mural was restored by Seattle graffiti artist and muralist, Jeff Jacobsen, known as "Weirdo", in 2025. Funds for the project were raised by a prior recipient of a memorial scholarship fund in Norton's name. The painting was expanded and reimagined to include a new portrait of Norton as well as symbolic additions regarding his military career and honors. The artwork was sealed to protect it from vandalism.

Festivals and events

Rainier hosts several annual events including two in August, the Rainier Roundup Days that began in the 1990s and includes a community parade and a bluegrass music festival, and the Rainier Community & Alumni Celebration honoring all past and present residents of Rainier. The community regularly hosts Relay for Life, during which, over an 18-hour time frame, participants walk around the high school track to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

Historical buildings and sites

The Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church was purchased by the city in 1995. The building was converted for use as an event space after a restoration in 2020. The church is listed as an historic building under the Washington Heritage Register.

Rainier School

In the early 2000s, the Rainier Historical Society, under the non-profit parent corporation of the Rainier Area Building Community, began restoring the 1915 Rainier School, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The school was converted into a community center known as the Lifelong Learning Center. In 2005, the Rainier Food Bank was opened at the site. A thrift store was also opened, with the proceeds going to fund the operational costs of the building. An art gallery and public meeting rooms followed. In November 2009, the Rainier Volunteer Library opened at the center, featuring a collection of donated books available for borrowing. A partnership with the Timberland Regional Library brought the addition of a computer kiosk and the ability to pick up reserved books from the Timberland Regional Library system.
In the fall of 2011, the food bank, under the name Rainier Emergency Food Center, relocated to a nearby church due to safety concerns at the historic schoolhouse. The building, which had been near demolition, was returned to the Rainier School District to be used for offices in 2015, its centennial year. The library and thrift store were closed. The school was further renovated in 2017 by the school district.

Parks and recreation

Rainier features eight acres of parks. In the center of town, the Veterans Memorial Park is dedicated to veterans and active military personnel, members of the fire and police departments, and various recognized volunteers and charitable groups both in the community and throughout the United States.
Nearby, Wilkowski Park is the site of the Rainier Roundup. Beside the park, the Yelm–Rainier–Tenino Trail connects the cities of Yelm, Rainier, and Tenino in a paved pathway for pedestrians and cyclists.
Other parks in Rainier include Gehrke Park, Holiday Park, and Raintree Park.

Government

Rainier has a mayor–council government. In 2017, Robert Shaw became the mayor of Rainier. The city council has five members. Other government positions in Rainier include that of city administrator, clerk, treasurer, city attorney, and public works director.

Education

Rainier is served by the Rainier School District 307. The district consists of an elementary school, a middle school, and Rainier High School. As of the 2021–2022 school year, the district's enrollment was 925 students, taught by 56 teachers.
As of the 2021–2022 school year, Rainier Elementary School was serving 463 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. The enrollment of Rainier Middle School, which serves sixth through eighth grade, was 215 in the 2021–2022 school year, with the principal as of 2017 being John Beckman. Rainier High School included 247 students from ninth through twelfth grade in the 2021–2022 school year.

Notable people