History of Yelm
According to Nisqually legend, the area was first known as Shelm, the name given to the shimmering heat waves which dance and play above the prairie when the summer sun shines hot. A great prairie creates a great haze. The Nisqually emphasized this by drawing out the syllable to say "S-S-S-SHELM". The impatient Euro-American settlers eventually shortened this to Yelm. The Yelm prairie was the crossroads of Native American trails leading north from the Cowlitz River and the Bald Hills trail leading to Naches Pass over the Cascades. The Nisqually Indians utilized these trails, then fur traders, the British operators of the Hudson Bay Company, American settlers and eventually the Northern Pacific Railroad.
A business and residential district quickly grew along the intersection of the railroad and the old east/west Bald Hills Trail.
1883In 1883 James Longmire discovered "his" springs near Mount. Rainier, built the first wagon road to the future park and established a guiding station. Yelm came into being as the gateway to Mount. Rainier. The Yelm business district became the commercial center for the prairie with a thriving economy based on dairy farms, grain, cattle, saw mills and shingle mills. As Washington approached statehood, Yelm was still evolving as a town.
1912
By 1912, when the Northern Pacific Railroads elevated Yelm to official status, the town had assumed the form still visible today.
1916The first quarter century also saw the creation of one of Western Washington's few irrigation districts. The Yelm Irrigation Company was formed, and by June, 1916, the project was complete. The Yelm Ditch, as it was popularly called, was viewed as a way to increase productivity and to encourage more families to settle in the area. Farm prices were good and demand for produce was high. The irrigation system allowed farmers to grow red and black raspberries and Bluelake beans in commercial quantities. By 1930 the economics of farming and the problems of maintenance were taking its toll, and in the late 1940's, the Yelm Irrigation Company ceased operations.
1924Three major fires in 1908, 1913, and 1924 propelled the Yelm Women's Civic Club to start a movement to incorporate, allowing the construction of a water system to fight fires. On December 8, 1924 Yelm was incorporated. One of the first orders of business was to establish a fire department. Many buildings seen today along Yelm's main street were built following the 1924 fire.
