Submitted by City of Tenino
The City of Tenino recently entered into a lease agreement with the Tenino Stone Carvers to occupy a portion of a city owned Public Works building for the Stone Carvers commercial operations.
The Tenino Stone Carvers has been working with the PARC Foundation of Thurston County to formalize the Stone Carvers as a Non-profit organization with the purposes to preserve and share the history of Stone Carving in Tenino as well as train future Stone Carvers.
“Stone Carving is once again a viable industry in Tenino and we are excited to see the Tenino Stone Carvers formalize themselves as an organization and have them be involved in promoting Stone Carving and Tenino” said Mayor Wayne Fournier. “Tenino is one of the few places in the US where you can learn the skills of the trade” Fournier continued. “This is another addition to our Tenino Creative District as focus on our effort to utilize all the facilities we have to meet our vision of building a thriving community,” Fournier added.
“This project is amazing on many levels as it preserves history, culture, promotes commercial activity and tourism, provides training and teaching opportunities, and repurposes old, neglected city infrastructure” said Jessica Reeves-Rush, City of Tenino P.A.R.C Specialist. “The public will still be able to watch demonstrations at the Stone Shed, but most serious work and teaching will take place at the new workshop” Reeves-Rush continued.
