Curran gets national nod, Fort Steilacoom saved from road paving project

It has been a good week for local history.

The University Place Historical Society has just learned that the Curran House and property has been named to the National Register of Historic Places.

“The National Register records the tangible reminders of the history of the United States and is the official repository for documentation of cultural resources worthy of preservation,” writes Dr. Allyson Brooks, Washington State Historic Preservation Officer, in a letter to UPHS president Cindy Bonaro.

This is the first National Register listing in University Place.

Meanwhile in Lakewood, Western State Hospital was walked away from initial plans to expand its parking by widening the strip in front of the remaining Fort Steilacoom buildings. The move came after local historians and Sen. Mike Carrell voiced their opposition to the plan because the widen roadway would dramatically damage the historical footprint of what remains of the first official U.S. presence in what would become Washington state.