A Growing Community

The newly built Memorial Presbyterian Church was dedicated on September 13, 1913, under the leadership of Reverend Thomas J. Weekes. Since 1893, Rev. Weekes had been teaching and preaching on the Peninsula. The site for the church was donated by the Gustafson family. Over the years, the building has been owned by various congregations and has been extensively remodeled.

The area just up the hill once served as a town park, complete with a baseball field. The local team played against nearby rivals, including the team from the Key Peninsula.

Gig Harbor's main well was located near this corner on land deeded to the town by H.R. Thurston. Thurston and his wife, Asta, owned a large section of this area on which he built his electric shop, facing today's Harborview Drive, with upstairs living quarters, storage shed, garage, and Asta's "little house." The buildings are still standing and home to several Gig Harbor "village green" businesses. Thurston was an electrical contractor, and also sold and repaired appliances. He owned a generator which produced electricity for sale within close range. He also installed some of the first electrical control panels in local fishing boats. Thurston served as the town's justice of the peace from the early 1920s until the modernized justice court system was established in 1962. He remained a judge until his retirement in 1967.

[Photo captions, top to bottom, read]

. Gig Harbor's baseball field, circa 1930s

. H.R. Thurston's electric shop next to the Peninsula Hotel, circa 1930s

. Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1916, on Pioneer Way . This historical marker was erected by City of Gig Harbor and Gig Harbor Peninsula Historical Society. It is in Gig Harbor in Pierce County Washington