Submitted by City of Tenino
After a 4-year closure, The Tenino Quarry Pool will open this weekend with a new look. Thanks to a grant from the Thurston County Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) The pool now has a splash pad and a kiddie pool, The City has also added a sun deck, shaded cabanas and more. This Saturday, June 22, 2024, will be a Ribbon Cutting at 12 p.m., followed by bands playing the Quarry House stage, Bounce Houses, Pony Rides, Petting Zoo, Balloon man, food trucks and more. The Pool will be free admission Saturday 6/22 thanks to a donation from the Tenino Splash Bash Committee.
We hope you can join us on this monumental day!
History of the Tenino Quarry Pool
The Tenino Memorial Quarry Pool is Tenino’s most unique experience. Once owned by the Tenino Stone Company (Est. 1888), this quarry in its heyday supplied building material up and down the west coast and beyond. When the Tenino Stone Company shuttered in 1918, the Quarry was left to fill the water and despite “no trespassing” signs, instantly became the towns unofficial swimming pool.
The City of Tenino purchased the property in 1946 and with WW2 fresh in the collective mind, the city planned the “Tenino Memorial Pool” as a public pool and memorial to those wo have served. Work continued through the late 1940s, removing stone, building fenced, paving the children’s pool area, and building a bath house. The pool was formally dedicated on June 18, 1950.
The pool continued seasonal operation on and off through the years until 2020 when it was closed due to the Covid 19 global pandemic. In an effort to make lemonade out of lemons, the city seized the opportunity to plan much needed upgrades and renovations that would save the City nearly a million gallons of water every summer. However bringing the a pool constructed in the 1940s up to the 21st century standards and codes proved to be a challenge that took years to overcome. The lake side (deep end) has remained untouched and still holds the historic charm.