T.C. Van Eaton was a young man on a mission when he set out for Washington Territory in 1888.

The 27-year-old came west from Minnesota with the idea of establishing a settlement or town in a place where it would grow and prosper.

Van Eaton, shown an area along the Mashell River by a local Indian, bought squatter�s rights from a man known only as �Hank� in 1889. The land: 160 acres. The price: $50.

Washington would become a state a few months later.

He built a 17-foot-by-27-foot cabin and settled in.

It was a decision that would indelibly stamp his mark on southeastern Pierce County.

His sticktuitiveness, passion and vision became Eatonville, platted in 1897 and incorporated in 1909.

The 2,300-resident town celebrates its centennial the weekend of Oct. 16 to 18 with a masked ball, parade, Volksmarch, street fair, salmon bake, history talk and other events.

It will be a small-town America salute to the grand ideas and vision of its founder, residents say.

In many ways, Eatonville is not much different than those pioneering days. It�s a place where people know one another, where the schools are first-rate and central to the community, where the guy or gal down the street will help you out when you�re in need, resident Nancy Iams said.

�It�s really important to be Small Town USA,� she added. �We�re proud. We�re having a big party.�

STRUGGLING THROUGH HISTORY

It was not an easy life, nor an easy time when Van Eaton settled on the spot for his town.

�Mr. Van Eaton found that before he could get his wagon to the place he had chosen, trails would have to be widened enough to get a team of horses through the thick timber,� Edith E. Erickson wrote in her 1984 history, �Timber Town and Later, The Story of Eatonville.�

Rough though it was, the area was near to an Indian settlement. Soo-Too-Lick, a Native American also known as Indian Henry, befriended the young Van Eaton and showed him where to build, history tells us. The two are depicted on the front of a commemorative coin designed for the centennial by local artist David Craig.

The young pioneer opened a store, a real estate office and a post office and up grew the beginnings of a town serving the loggers toiling in the woods. They were men with �double bitted axes, broadaxes, falling saws, picaroons, cant hooks and peavey heads,� according to Erickson�s book.

A steam-powered sawmill sprang up. The railroad arrived.

In 1907, a group of Midwest investors established the Eatonville Lumber Co. Iconic photographs show suspenders-clad loggers posing in front of hugely thick trees, some already showing wedged cuts. In one photo, a logger sits in front of a tree while his three companions stand several feet off the ground on a springboard, a device to help them in their work.

Eatonville grew and contracted through the years. Businesses came. Businesses left.

A day in early December 1932 �became everyone�s worst nightmare,� Erickson wrote. �The sawmill was completely destroyed by fire as hundreds of citizens helplessly watched.�

The mill was eventually rebuilt. It went out of business in 1954, three years after the death of T.C. Van Eaton.

TOWN CHANGES BUT STAYS THE SAME

When the lumber mill shut down, �everybody thought Eatonville might fold up, but of course it didn�t,� 67-year resident Wally Block said this week as he sat in the Tall Timber restaurant.

Block, who came to Eatonville with his family at age 3 in 1942, has seen a lot of changes, most brought about by economic slumps and booms.

But Eatonville, at its core, �pretty much stays the same,� he added. It is, he said, a town �of just really, very nice people.�

That�s the message centennial committee chairman Bob Walter and others want you to hear about the place they call home.

It�s what Iams calls �a one-light town,� referring to the four-way flashing red where Highway 161 enters town at Washington Avenue.

Iams, who owns the Holly Hut gift shop, wants more small businesses to land there. She thinks of Eatonville as �a walkabout town� where people can stop and sit a spell, shop and perhaps spend the night as part of a weekend getaway.

Young people in the community worked over the summer to spruce up town for the centennial events. A combination of federal stimulus money, a grant from Pierce County and a bond expected to be approved by the Town Council next week is paying for a new visitor�s plaza.

The gigantic yellow arm of a huge earth mover chewed away at the parcel on Monday. Community leaders hoped the plaza would be open in time for the celebration but construction was delayed for a variety of reasons, Mayor Tom Smallwood said Tuesday.

But in every other way, the small town that calls itself a Gateway to Mount Rainier is ready for a well-deserved party, residents say.

�Eatonville survived where a lot of communities didn�t,� said Pat Van Eaton, grandson of the town founder. �Perseverance and hard work is what really kept the town going,� he said. The pioneers �had this �can do attitude� that we could get the job done,� he added.

It�s the same combination of pride and work ethic alive on the streets of T.C. Van Eaton�s dream town today.

Kris Sherman: 253-597-8659

kris.sherman@thenewstribune.com

Celebrating a centennial

A series of public events is planned Oct.16-18 to mark Eatonville�s 100th anniversary. Here are highlights:

Oct. 16

Masked Ball: 7:30 p.m.-midnight, Eatonville High School Commons. Tickets are $10, and must be purchased by Sunday. Masks will be provided; evening wear only; no jeans. Contact Melanie McGuire, 360-832-4076.

Oct. 17

Volksmarch: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. start times, sponsored by the Daffodil Valley Volkssport Association, Walks of varying lengths and terrain may be done at your own pace. Begin at Eatonville Middle School, 207 Carter St. E.

Parade: 10 a.m., downtown

Street fair: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Washington Avenue; live entertainment, food, arts and crafts.

Oct. 18

Salmon Bake: Noon to 4 p.m., Mill Pond Park, 201 Center Street W. $10 donation. Cowlitz Tribe members will cook the salmon in native style; Nisqually Tribe members will provide the fish; the Wapato Indian Club will perform.

Centennial Family Seminar, 1 to 3 p.m., Eatonville High School. South Pierce County Historical Society sponsors presentations on the history of Eatonville, followed by a tour of the T.C. Van Eaton home and tea. RSVP: Audrey Roley, 360-569-2650.

More information: www.eatonvillecentennial.com