- Purdy, Washington
Purdy is a small
unincorporated community north of the city of Gig Harbor, on the northern boundary ofPierce County, Washington . It is located on the shores ofBurley Lagoon andHenderson Bay of theCarr Inlet . The two bodies of water are separated by asandspit and thePurdy 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 Tacoma Times, June 11, 1948] The land upon which the school was built was donated byHorace Knapp . [Peninsula Historical Society] The modern-dayPeninsula High School now sits on the hill where this original schoolhouse was built. [The Tacoma Times, June 11, 1948]The area was settled in the 1880s. Isaac Hawk purchased the land from the Washington Territorial Government. Horace Knapp purchased 19 acres 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). [Peninsula Historical Society]
In 1885, Josephine Fuller, the first white woman in the area, married Horace Knapp. [Peninsula Historical Society, and The Tacoma Times, March 16, 1939]
In 1886, the mill in Purdy secured the first contract to provide lumber for nearby
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard inBremerton . [The Tacoma Times, June 11, 1948] 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. [Peninsula Historical Society]Oysters and clams have been raised in Purdy for decades.
Purdy is the location of the
Washington Corrections Center for Women , also known as the Purdy Correctional Center.References
External links
* [http://visitkitsap.com/cities.asp?ID=56 Kitsap Peninsula Visitor Information - Purdy]
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