The Pacific Northwest is home to many people of Scottish descent. In 1891, a group of them formed the Olympia Caledonian Society to preserve and promote Scottish culture. Caledonia is an ancient name for Scotland. The group was also known as the Caledonian Club.

Olympia Caledonian Society Forms
“We [Scots] are strong enough here [in Olympia] to have formed a Caledonian Society,” Henry “Harry” Hastings wrote his old pastor back home in Linlithgow, Scotland. The letter, dated September 21, 1891, was reprinted in the West Lothian Courier. “Of which,” Hastings continued, “your humble servant was one of the organizers.”
Hastings was a recent arrival to the United States, working for Alexander Drysdale’s Scottish-funded loan business. Drysdale moved to Olympia from Dalgety in 1884. Many early meetings were held in their office.
“The club,” reported the Morning Olympian, “has been organized for the purpose of assisting toward the establishment and maintenance of relations of friendly intimacy among those who are of Scotch birth or extraction, and keeping alive in them an interest in Scottish manners and usages; the encouragement and practice of the ancient games and preservation of the customs, manners and costumes of Scotland; the promotion of a taste for her language and literature, and the binding more closely in social links of the sons and daughters of bonnie Scotland.”

Elections were held in December 1891. The first Chief was John M. Swan, for whom Swantown is named. He was succeeded by Alexander Drysdale and George B. Forbes. Officers also included a standard bearer, physician, three trustees and four chieftains.
Membership, open to men of Scottish birth or with Scottish parents or grandparents, grew quickly. But Hastings did not live to see it, dying of typhoid on November 17, 1891. He was 22. Having only lived in America for 14 months and with no relatives in the country, the society packed the pews of the First Presbyterian Church, where he was an active member, for his memorial service.
Olympia Celebrates Burns Night And Halloween
The Caledonian Society held regular meetings, with literary and musical programs. This included an annual Burns Night celebration on January 25, the birthday of Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns (1759-1796).
Like the Burns Nights celebrations, their annual Halloween parties featured Scottish folk music and dance. Their 1892 Grand Gathering of the Clans was held in Columbia Hall. All local Scots were invited to the program and the ball afterwards. 250 came. Chief John Swan spoke about the Scottish influence on the holiday. Millie West and Rosa Brown performed the Highland Fling and Fisher’s Hornpipe. Supper was served in a storeroom opposite the hall.

Scottish Games During the Fourth of July
In 1893, the Olympia Caledonian Society arranged to hold a Caledonian or Highland Games as part of the town’s official Fourth of July program. They distributed colorful posters of a Highlander athlete in traditional costume throughout the region, inviting other Caledonian Societies to participate from as far away as Victoria, B.C.
The group commissioned an 18-inch-tall silver challenge cup, worth about $200, to be awarded to the Caledonian society that won the most contests. It was put on display in a store window downtown. A large banner was hung above Fourth and Capital Way. George Forbes raised subscriptions to support the event. Chinatown donated $25, a very large amount. Competitors practiced in the public square, attracting many onlookers.
A heavy nighttime shower gave way to a sunny Fourth. About 8,000 people came to the Thurston County fairgrounds in Tumwater for the event. There were a series of speeches and music – shorter than a normal Independence Day program, organizers assured families with restless children. The crowd ran for cover when a shower broke out during Bessie Lee’s reading of the Declaration of Independence. O.V. Linn’s oration had to be cancelled.
But the rain soon cleared for the activities. Bagpipers took turns playing throughout the day and there was a platform for dancing. Sporting events included regular track and field contests and Highland specialties such as throwing the hammer and tossing the caber. The Olympia team beat Pierce County at Tug-of-War after three grueling minutes, winning $25 dollars. Young “Master” McLeod of Tacoma won $10 for best Highland costume.
Winners were given cash prizes and medals in the public square after the games. Because Tacoma was the only other Caledonian Society to attend, the challenge cup was not awarded. After the event, the Olympia Caledonian Society hosted a ball at the Olympia Theater downtown.

A New Caledonian Society in Olympia?
The Caledonian Society faded away in the mid-1890s but in 1926, Scottish Olympia people tried to reestablish the group. Now open to women, they held a Burns Night banquet at Community Hall. Rev. John Kennedy spoke about how Burns had shown the beauty of the Ayrshire dialect, reading his poem “The Cotter’s Saturday Night.” Elizabeth Scrimger danced the Highland Fling while her father played the bagpipes. 143 signed applications to create a permanent organization.
That did not happen. But with groups such as the Olympia Highlanders pipe and drum band, Scottish dance groups such as Eildon Scottish Highland Dance Academy, Scottish heritage remains strong and well in Thurston County today. Harry Hastings would be proud.