Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater Are Three Cities, Not One Coffee Map

Thomas Garner

Oct 7

11 min read

Upper Tumwater Falls on the Deschutes River in Tumwater just south of Olympia Washington

Photo: Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Follow Martin Way far enough and the addresses change from Olympia to Lacey. Follow Capitol Boulevard south and they change from Olympia to Tumwater. The roads keep going, the storefronts keep coming, and nothing about the pavement tells you that you have changed cities. But you have. Olympia had 55,583 residents in the 2023 American Community Survey, Lacey had 57,088 and Tumwater had 26,519, and those are three separate city counts that should never be added together into one Olympia.

This post is about that line. Other Hillcane posts walk Olympia's own coffee streets: 4th Avenue, Washington Street, Columbia Street, Cooper Point Road, Union Avenue and Capitol Boulevard. Here I want to show where Olympia stops, what sits on either side of the two busiest crossings, and why a cafe, a visitor or a search engine is better off naming the right city every time.

Three Cities, Three Census Counts

Start with the numbers, because they settle the question quickly. The 2023 American Community Survey five year estimates put Olympia city at 55,583 people, Lacey city at 57,088 and Tumwater city at 26,519. Lacey, by that count, is slightly larger than Olympia itself. Tumwater is about half Olympia's size.

Those are three incorporated cities with their own councils, their own histories and their own addresses. It is tempting to describe the whole area as Olympia, and plenty of people do in casual conversation, but a coffee page that says Olympia and means Lacey is simply giving a drinker the wrong city. I keep the three counts separate in everything I write about this area, and I would encourage any cafe owner here to do the same.

The Washington capital is Olympia. The Evergreen State College is in Olympia. Saint Martin's University is in Lacey. Tumwater sits directly south. Once those four facts are clear, the rest of the local coffee map starts to make sense.

Where Tumwater Begins

HistoryLink's thumbnail history of Tumwater puts it plainly: Olympia, the state capital, adjoins Tumwater on the north. Tumwater sits at the falls of the Deschutes River, where the river cascades into Budd Inlet at the southern end of Puget Sound.

It is also the older of the two. HistoryLink describes the community that became Tumwater, originally known as New Market, as the first American settlement north of the Columbia River, founded in the fall of 1845. The post office opened in 1863 under the name Tumwater, and the City of Tumwater was incorporated on November 25, 1869. The same history notes that Tumwater kept significant industry through most of the twentieth century, in particular the Olympia Brewing Company, whose name is a reminder of how easily the two cities get blended.

That brewery name is a good example of the whole problem. A company named for Olympia, operating in Tumwater, for most of a century. If the beer could carry the wrong city on its label, it is not surprising that a coffee stop on Capitol Boulevard gets described the same way.

The Falls That Made Tumwater

Tumwater's identity starts at the water. HistoryLink notes that Tumwater Falls, where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, was a ceremonial and sacred site of the Steh chass people, ancestors of today's Squaxin Island Tribe, who lived in the area for thousands of years. The American settlement of 1845 grew up around mills driven by the power of those same falls, and the town entered a period of industrial growth from the 1850s through the 1870s.

The brewery came later. According to the same history, work on a brewery at Tumwater started in the spring of 1896, the first beer went out on October 4, 1896, and the company, soon renamed Olympia Brewing Company, used the slogan It's the Water. In 1906 the original buildings were replaced with a six story brick brewhouse.

None of that is coffee history, but it explains why Tumwater has its own sense of place. It is a river town with its own falls, its own founding date and its own industrial past, and a cafe on its side of Capitol Boulevard sits in that story, not in Olympia's.

Where Lacey Begins

Lacey sits on the other side. HistoryLink's thumbnail history places the City of Lacey between the City of Olympia and the Nisqually River in northeastern Thurston County. The community was originally known as Woodland and was founded in 1852. In 1891 a train depot, a horse racetrack and a post office named Lacey all opened, and Saint Martin's College, later Saint Martin's University, opened a few years later.

Saint Martin's own history page gives the date: the school opened its doors on September 11, 1895, and the campus sits on 300 acres of woodlands, meadows and trails. Lacey itself incorporated much later, on December 5, 1966. HistoryLink adds that by the third decade of the twenty first century, Lacey was one of the fastest growing cities in Thurston County and nearly matched Olympia in population, which the 2023 survey numbers bear out.

So Lacey is not an Olympia neighborhood. It is a city with its own university, its own founding story and, by the latest count, slightly more residents than the capital next door.

Martin Way: One Road, Two Cities, One ZIP Code

Martin Way is the clearest example of how the line blurs. Dutch Bros publishes one Olympia stand at 7225 Martin Way E., Olympia, WA 98516, and one Lacey stand at 8229 Martin Way, Lacey, WA 98516. Same road, a short stretch apart by street number, same ZIP code, and yet two different cities on the chain's own locator.

That ZIP code detail is worth sitting with. A drinker who sees 98516 might assume every address in it is Olympia, or every address is Lacey. The chain's locator shows it is both. The city name on the address is what tells you where you are, not the ZIP code and not the road name.

For an independent cafe anywhere along a corridor like Martin Way, the lesson is straightforward. Write the city your address actually carries, and if you are near the line, say which side you are on. A drinker in Lacey searching for coffee in Lacey should find a Lacey cafe described as a Lacey cafe.

Capitol Boulevard: Olympia's South End and Tumwater

Capitol Boulevard does the same thing heading south. Olympia Coffee's South Olympia cafe is at 2824 Capitol Boulevard, Olympia, WA 98501, with a phone number of (360) 943 9211. Its own page posts cafe hours of 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. This is Olympia proper, the third of the company's in city locations along with downtown on 4th Avenue East and the Westside on Harrison Avenue NW.

Further south on the same road, Dutch Bros lists its Tumwater stand at 5210 Capitol Blvd, Tumwater, WA 98501. Again: same boulevard, same ZIP code, different city. 2824 Capitol Boulevard is Olympia. 5210 Capitol Blvd is Tumwater.

Anyone describing coffee on Capitol Boulevard should keep that split in mind. The South Olympia room belongs on Olympia's map. The Tumwater stand belongs on Tumwater's. They share a road, and that is all the road tells you.

What the Chain Locator Shows About Scale

The Dutch Bros footprint here is a useful reference point precisely because the chain labels each stand by city. Its Washington page lists 74 locations statewide, with one each in Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater. One stand per city, three cities, three separate listings.

That tidy split is also a reminder that the chain is a small part of this local coffee picture. Olympia alone carries roughly 14 to 18 cafes and roasters inside its limits, and the posts in this series cover its independent rooms street by street. A single drive thru per city is texture, not the scene.

It also shows how the national brands handle the line. The chain does not describe its Lacey stand as Olympia or its Tumwater stand as Olympia. It uses the city on the address. Independents can hold themselves to the same standard, and the ones that already do make their own pages easier to trust.

The Visitor Bureau Covers All Three, and More

Experience Olympia, the visitor bureau for the area, deliberately takes a wider view. Its Coffee and Donuts page describes spots in Olympia, Tumwater, Lacey and Yelm, and its partner cards carry addresses in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and Rainier. Its community menu lists Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Yelm, Tenino, Rainier, Bucoda, Rochester and Grand Mound.

That is the right job for a visitor bureau. It markets a county, and a visitor planning a weekend wants every option within reach. But it also means a regional page mixes cities by design. A drinker reading it still has to notice that one card says Lacey and another says Tumwater.

A cafe's own page has a different job. It is not marketing a county. It is telling one drinker how to reach one door. That is why the city on a cafe's own page matters more than the region on a visitor bureau's page.

Two Campuses, Two Cities

The college split follows the same pattern. The Evergreen State College is Olympia's campus, and the Olympia posts in this series say so plainly and keep it separate from the University of Washington. Saint Martin's University is Lacey's campus, open since 1895 on its 300 acre grounds.

For coffee, that means two different student and faculty populations in two different cities. A cafe near Saint Martin's is a Lacey cafe serving a Lacey campus. A cafe on the Westside near Evergreen is an Olympia cafe. Folding both into Olympia coffee loses the detail that makes each one easy to find.

I do not print enrollment figures for either school here, because a clean city label is the useful fact for a drinker, and the campus name does that job on its own.

What This Means for Cafes and Drinkers

For a drinker, the practical rule is to read the city on the address. On Martin Way and Capitol Boulevard, the road and the ZIP code will not tell you which city you are in. The city name will.

For a cafe owner in Olympia, Lacey or Tumwater, the rule is to claim your own city clearly and consistently: on your own page, in your hours block, in the way you describe your neighborhood. If you sit near the line, say so. A Lacey cafe that calls itself a Lacey cafe near the Olympia line is easier to find than one that calls itself Olympia and hopes for the best.

And for anyone writing about this area, the rule is the one this post started with. Three cities, three census counts, never summed: Olympia at 55,583, Lacey at 57,088 and Tumwater at 26,519. The coffee map is richer for keeping them apart.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater the same city?

No. They are three separately incorporated cities in Thurston County. The 2023 American Community Survey counts Olympia at 55,583 residents, Lacey at 57,088 and Tumwater at 26,519. Tumwater was incorporated on November 25, 1869 and Lacey on December 5, 1966, according to HistoryLink. Olympia is the state capital and adjoins Tumwater on the north, with Lacey to the east.

Is Lacey bigger than Olympia?

By the 2023 American Community Survey five year estimates, yes, slightly. Lacey city counted 57,088 residents and Olympia city 55,583. HistoryLink notes that by the third decade of the twenty first century Lacey was one of the fastest growing cities in Thurston County and nearly matched Olympia in population. The two are separate cities and their counts should never be added together.

Where does Martin Way cross from Olympia into Lacey?

Martin Way runs through both cities, and the address city is what tells you which side you are on. Dutch Bros, for example, lists one stand at 7225 Martin Way E., Olympia, WA 98516 and another at 8229 Martin Way, Lacey, WA 98516. Both share ZIP code 98516, so the ZIP code alone does not identify the city.

Is Capitol Boulevard in Olympia or Tumwater?

Both. Olympia Coffee's South Olympia cafe at 2824 Capitol Boulevard carries an Olympia, WA 98501 address. Further south, Dutch Bros lists its Tumwater stand at 5210 Capitol Blvd, Tumwater, WA 98501. The two addresses share a boulevard and a ZIP code but sit in different cities, so read the city name rather than the road or the ZIP.

What are the hours at Olympia Coffee on Capitol Boulevard?

Olympia Coffee's South Olympia page lists 2824 Capitol Boulevard, Olympia, WA 98501, phone (360) 943 9211, with cafe hours of 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. It is one of three Olympia cafes, alongside 600 4th Ave. East downtown and 1706 Harrison Ave NW.

How many Dutch Bros stands are in Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater?

The Dutch Bros Washington locator lists 74 locations statewide, with one each in Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater. The Olympia stand is at 7225 Martin Way E., the Lacey stand at 8229 Martin Way and the Tumwater stand at 5210 Capitol Blvd. The chain labels each by its own city, which is a useful model for how local cafes can describe themselves.

Which is older, Tumwater or Olympia?

HistoryLink describes the community that became Tumwater, originally called New Market, as the first American settlement north of the Columbia River, founded in the fall of 1845 at the falls of the Deschutes River. Its post office took the name Tumwater in 1863, and the city incorporated on November 25, 1869. Olympia grew into the capital next door and adjoins Tumwater on the north.

What college is in Lacey, and which is in Olympia?

Saint Martin's University is in Lacey. Its own history page says it opened on September 11, 1895, and its campus covers 300 acres. The Evergreen State College is in Olympia, and it is a separate school from the University of Washington. Keeping the two campuses in their own cities helps drinkers and search engines place nearby cafes correctly.

Does Experience Olympia cover Lacey and Tumwater coffee too?

Yes. Experience Olympia is the area visitor bureau, and its Coffee and Donuts page describes spots in Olympia, Tumwater, Lacey and Yelm, with partner cards carrying addresses in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and Rainier. Its community menu lists nine places from Olympia to Grand Mound. That regional view suits a visitor bureau, while a cafe's own page should name its single city.

Why does the city name matter for a cafe's own page?

Because roads and ZIP codes cross city lines here. Martin Way addresses in 98516 can be Olympia or Lacey, and Capitol Boulevard addresses in 98501 can be Olympia or Tumwater. A cafe that names its real city, and says when it sits near the line, gives drinkers and search engines the one fact that neither the road nor the ZIP code provides.

Work with Hillcane

Martin Way runs from Olympia into Lacey and Capitol Boulevard runs into Tumwater, with the same ZIP codes on both sides. Here is where the city line falls and why coffee should follow it.

If your cafe sits near the Olympia, Lacey or Tumwater line and you want a page that claims your real city clearly, reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449.