Though tremendously altered over the years, Talcott Jewelers remains an important downtown Olympia landmark. The business was founded in 1872 by Lucius Lord Talcott and his son Charles, who arrived that year from Illinois with a satchel of jewelry and watches. Their first shop, a woodframe building at Capitol Way and State Avenue, burned in a disastrous fire that swept through much of downtown in 1882.

The Talcotts rebuilt-in "fireproof" brick-at the present location in 1883. Charles' brothers, George and Grant, soon came west to join the family business. The Talcotts rapidly added all kinds of merchandise to their store: groceries, silverware, china, lamps, pianos and organs, umbrellas with carved wooden handles. They fashioned rubber stamps, notary seals, spectacles and dental crowns, and are believed to have made the first set of gold teeth on the Pacific Coast.

In 1889, when Washington Territory became Washington state, the Talcott brothers designed the official Washington State Seal. Their simple and elegant design, which features the face of George Washington inside a coin-like frame, appears on official state documents as well as on the state flag.

The Talcott shop was damaged during the earthquake that rocked Olympia in 1949. The "modernizing" repairs that followed greatly changed the look of the original jewelry store. It remains, however, the oldest continuously operating jewelry store in Washington. The store is run today by fifth-generation Richard Noyes Talcott, Jr., who maintains a keen interest in local history. His personal collection of historic Olympia photographs and postcards is displayed inside the store.

Talcott Jewelers in located on the east side of Capitol Way between Fourth and Fifth Avenues. It is listed on the Olympia Heritage Register. The building is open to the public.

Talcott Jewelers. Olympia Heritage Commission photo.

Talcott Jewelers at left of photograph. Postcard from a private collection.