Better know a Tumwater pioneer: Jesse Ferguson
Photo credit: Emmett O’Connell
The Pioneers are coming to Tumwater this season, but did you know that the original Tumwater pioneers were huge soccer fans themselves?
Jesse Ferguson was one of the first settlers to arrive in Tumwater and played an important part in founding the first permanent settlement in Western Washington. Ferguson made a claim on 320 acres and built his home and barn on the current location of Tumwater Middle School and was a partner in the first sawmill on Puget Sound in 1847.
Ferguson’s barn: sight of Tumwater’s first indoor arena?
But did you know, Ferguson was also an accomplished striker for the Black Lake Homesteaders, founding members of the Oregon Territory Soccer Association? Recent research has uncovered evidence of Ferguson’s prowess and it is now thought that when Ferguson and a group of 26 other men were taken prisoner by the Haida Indians in the Queen Charlotte Islands in 1851, it was actually a plot by the Portland Timbers to keep him from playing in the league championship game.
The present day Tumwater Pioneers begin play in the PASL Premier at Tumwater Indoor Sports for the 2012-2013 season. Tickets prices are just $5 for adults and $3 for children and the PASL Premier season schedule will be released shortly. Tryouts for the team are ongoing, for more information on tryouts, contact head coach Matt Stalnik at mattpioneers@gmail.com.
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