The Nisqualy People of the Henderson Inlet

Before recorded history, people lived along the shores of Henderson Inlet. These people were the Nisqually. The historical evidence of Nisqually habitation in the area is the presence of a shell midden on lower Chapman Bay by archaeological explorations. The natives lived in small groups, their livelihood was determined by availability of food and the local topography. Because a fresh water stream meant a source of potable water and proximity to salmon runs, these small groups were always located along a steam or near its mouth. Marian Smith, an ethnologist, provided a more exact location as “on South Bay or Henderson Inlet between the creek at the head and that on the south.” She called this small group tuts’e’tcaxt. While the exact location of this small group is no longer known, some uncertain conclusions can be made about Native American activity in the Woodard Bay area. Tuts’e’tcaxt was a permanent village, consisting of two cedar plank houses that measured approximately 30 feet by 100 feet. Here the natives lived during the severe winter months. (Andrew Poultridge. 1991)
In 1991, all shoreline portions of Woodard Bay NRCA, all flat areas within 60 meters of the shore, existing trails inland from the shore, and NRCA boundaries were the subject of archaeological reconnaissance, which yield a total of 21 prehistoric archaeological sites.
In 1852, Harvey Rice Woodard who was a New Yorker followed his physician’s directions to find out a new home and a more temperate climate. Later in the winter of 1853, the Woodard family from New York came to Olympia by ship. In March of that year, the Woodard family settled by the bay which now bears their name. Here the family erected a house, cleared ten acres to farm, and went to work build...

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...ton State, an important haul-out are for harbor seals, and nesting and breeding areas for waterfowl. In first phase, the project removed Woodard Bay Trestle, 90% of open water pilings (leaving piles for seal haul-out habitat), and approximately 150-feet of Chapman Bay Pier superstructure. ( Zukerberg, 2010) In second phase, the project removed 800 to 1,000 feet from end of Chapman Bay Pier (including creosoted beams, decking and pilings), salvaged stringers and rail ties to reinforce portions of the pier that currently provide bat roosting and rearing habitat, added metal sheeting to habitat areas that need cover or protection, and worked with bat biologists to identify suitable upland habitat alternatives. (www.dnr.wa.gov) The purpose of the restoration was to build the largest intact, undeveloped, protected shoreline areas in southern Puget Sound. (U.S. ACE, 2008)