Purdy, Washington
Encyclopedia
Purdy is a small unincorporated community north of the city of Gig Harbor
, on the northern boundary of Pierce County, Washington
. It is located on the shores of Burley Lagoon
and Henderson Bay
of the Carr Inlet
. The two bodies of water are separated by a sandspit
and the Purdy Bridge
.
In the 1880s, the community was named for a Tacoma, Washington
businessman who donated the materials to construct a schoolhouse for the community. Joseph W. Purdy was a grocer by trade. The land upon which the school was built was donated by Horace Knapp. The modern-day Peninsula High School
now sits on the hill where this original schoolhouse was built.
The area was settled in the 1880s. Isaac Hawk purchased the land from the Washington Territorial Government. Horace Knapp purchased 19 acres (76,890.3 m²) of this land from Hawk in 1884 for the price of $23.75. These acres were made into the town of Purdy (with lots and blocks).
In 1885, Josephine Fuller, the first white woman in the area, married Horace Knapp.
In 1886, the mill in Purdy secured the first contract to provide lumber for nearby Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
in Bremerton. This put Purdy on the map. The mill's success also brought conveniences to the area like a grocery store, and a post office. There was a long chute along present-day 144th Street that brought the logs down the hill to the water.
Oysters and clams have been raised in Purdy for decades.
Gig Harbor, Washington
Gig Harbor is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 7,126 at the 2010 census....
, on the northern boundary of Pierce County, Washington
Pierce County, Washington
right|thumb|[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] - Seat of Pierce CountyPierce County is the second most populous county in the U.S. state of Washington. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory...
. It is located on the shores of Burley Lagoon
Burley Lagoon
Burley Lagoon is a picturesque watershed located on the Key Peninsula in both Pierce County, Washington and Kitsap County, Washington. Approximately sixty percent of the lagoon is in Pierce County and forty percent in Kitsap County. The percentages in each county are reversed for the watershed...
and Henderson Bay
Henderson Bay
Henderson Bay is a bay on the Aupouri Peninsula, at very top of the North Island in New Zealand. It is on the eastern side of the peninsula, close to New Zealand State Highway 1 near Houhora. A metal road connects the bay to the highway....
of the Carr Inlet
Carr Inlet
Carr Inlet, in southern Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington, is an arm of water between Key Peninsula and Gig Harbor Peninsula. Its southern end is connected to the southern basin of Puget Sound. Northward, it separates McNeil Island and Fox Island as well as the peninsulas of Key and Gig...
. The two bodies of water are separated by a sandspit
Sandspit
Sandspit may refer to:* Sandspit, British Columbia, a town on Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada* Sandspit Beach, a major tourist site in Karachi, Pakistan* Sandspit , a deposition landform found off coasts...
and the Purdy Bridge
Purdy Bridge
The Purdy Bridge is a continuous hollow-box girder bridge that spans over Henderson Bay, connecting Purdy, Washington, USA with the Purdy Sand Spit Park. It was built on September 29, 1937, and at the time was the longest continuous box girder bridge in the US, at a cost of $62,000 from a design...
.
In the 1880s, the community was named for a Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
businessman who donated the materials to construct a schoolhouse for the community. Joseph W. Purdy was a grocer by trade. The land upon which the school was built was donated by Horace Knapp. The modern-day Peninsula High School
Peninsula High School
Peninsula High School is a public high school located in Purdy, north of the city of Gig Harbor, Washington. It is built on a hill overlooking Henderson Bay and Burley Lagoon.- History :...
now sits on the hill where this original schoolhouse was built.
The area was settled in the 1880s. Isaac Hawk purchased the land from the Washington Territorial Government. Horace Knapp purchased 19 acres (76,890.3 m²) of this land from Hawk in 1884 for the price of $23.75. These acres were made into the town of Purdy (with lots and blocks).
In 1885, Josephine Fuller, the first white woman in the area, married Horace Knapp.
In 1886, the mill in Purdy secured the first contract to provide lumber for nearby Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington...
in Bremerton. This put Purdy on the map. The mill's success also brought conveniences to the area like a grocery store, and a post office. There was a long chute along present-day 144th Street that brought the logs down the hill to the water.
Oysters and clams have been raised in Purdy for decades.