Donkey Creek Restoration Project

When the City of Gig Harbor proposed re-configuration of North Harborview Drive to “daylight” Donkey Creek in 2013, the remarkable history about this area was also restored. The headwaters of the entire watershed at the head of the Bay was once home to the sx̌ʷəbabš Band of Indians; a history that most residents in Gig Harbor knew little about.

BUT FIRST A LITTLE BACKGROUND…

These black & white images show the concrete pylons that were left after the first Donkey Creek Bridge was removed in 1950. The original wood structure spanned a free-flowing creek and provided access to the Finholm District. After removing the old bridge, the creek was contained in a 36-inch, 350-foot pipe and buried. The entire creekbed was regraded and filled with dirt so that a new road, North Harborview Drive, could be constructed. It served the community for over sixty years.

Then in 2013, the City committed to removing the roadway and reconstructing a bridge in order to daylight and restore the creek. During excavation, a number of those original pylons were discovered. Rather than haul them for disposal, Lita Dawn Ancich-Stanton, Historic Preservationist for the City, set aside five of the pylons with a plan to use them as monument markers for interpretive signage about the history of the site.

The concrete pylons sat empty for six years…

In 2020, Linda Pitcher was contacted and asked to write a comprehensive history on Gig Harbor’s indigenous people. This work was approved by the Puyallup Tribe and presented to the City’s Arts Commission. A total of four Panels were installed in 2021.