Puget Sound region and settled the Puget Sound area. The first non-indigenous settlement was New Market (now known as Tumwater) in 1846. In 1853 Washington Territory was formed from part of Oregon Territory. In 1888 the Northern Pacific railroad line reached Puget Sound, linking the region to eastern states. For a long period Tacoma was noted for its large smelters where gold, silver, copper and lead ores were treated. Seattle was the primary port for trade with Alaska and the rest of the country and for a time possessed a large shipbuilding industry. The region around eastern Puget Sound developed heavy industry during
Oyster Bay (Puget Sound) run that would exist without human impacts. Oyster Bay (Puget Sound) Oyster Bay is an inlet in southern Puget Sound which branches off from Totten Inlet. The bay spans Mason and Thurston counties, in the U.S. state of Washington. Kennedy Creek empties into the bay at the U.S. Highway 101 overpass. Oyster Bay was named for the oyster industry it supports. The bay is the site of one of only four oyster reserves in Puget Sound where the Olympia oyster grows. Oyster Bay is one of the most productive chum salmon runs in the state with over 40,000 spawners a