TACOMA, Wash. — The tale of modern day Tacoma begins with the first of many railroad tracks that lead to the city's birthplace along Commencement Bay.
Tacoma is born of the railroad, created by the railroad and for most of it's history, it was physically shaped by the railroad," said historian Michael Sullivan whom we met at the Washington State History Museum.
An exhibit there looks at the impact of a fateful decision The Northern Pacific Railroad made eight years after the Civil War.
"Everybody knew that by the end of 1873 a steam locomotive needed to reach salt water," Sullivan said.
At stake for the railroad: 40 million acres in land grants, thousands of miles of rail already completed and tens of millions of dollars already invested. It would all be for nothing if the railroad failed to get to a port city.
Four Puget Sound area cities were vying for the terminus, Olympia, Steilacoom, Tacoma and Seattle.
"The railroad was shopping for the best deal they could get on land and waterfront and all of the important things for a port city," Sullivan said.
On July 14, 1873 The Northern Pacific revealed its decision in a telegram.
"We have located terminus on Commencement Bay," it read.
"Well it would have fulfilled the greatest hopes of the few people in Tacoma," Sullivan said.
Why Tacoma? That summer the railroad had reached Tenino, more than 40 miles from water, and time was running out. Engineers needed the fastest, most direct, flattest way to get to salt water.
The answer can be found on the campus of UW-Tacoma. The Prairie Line featured miles of flat, treeless land that made construction easier. Much of the line today is within the boundaries Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
"And that was probably the tipping point between Seattle and Tacoma," Sullivan said.
The impact was immediate.
"It created the city in a burst, and it attracted enough investment and population for the city to really take off right away," said Sullivan.
Today you can still see the Northern Pacific headquarters, among the first grand buildings in Tacoma. The railroad had great power.
"The headquarters of the railroad originally was across the street from City Hall and the joke was flip a coin as to which side of the street the city's controlled by," Sullivan said.
It has not always been a smooth ride for Tacoma, always on the verge, it seems, if fulfilling its promise to become the City of Destiny.
"But for that brief moment, I think you could make the argument that we were the luckiest place in the country," Sullivan said.
Sullivan gives a free walking tour of the Prairie Line Friday. It begins at 6 p.m. at Tollefson Plaza in downtown Tacoma. The Washington State History Museum exhibit will be up through the end of the year.
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