Located on Commencement Bay, at the southern edge of Puget Sound, Tacoma is the third-largest city in Washington and serves as the seat of Pierce County. The city's name comes from its proximity to Mount Rainier, which was originally called Mount Tacoma (from a Puyallup native word tacobet, meaning "mother of waters"). In 1864, land developer Morton McCarver purchased the land, which had already been settled and abandoned once during the Indian War of 1855-56. He established a new settlement, which was laid out in 1868 as Tacoma City. McCarver then went to work attracting settlers and lobbying the railroad to bring its line west to Commencement Bay. The Northern Pacific Railroad did select Commencement Bay as their western terminus but, much to the chagrin of McCarver, opted to build their depot two miles south of Tacoma City. In 1873, the railroad founded the separate community of New Tacoma.

Although McCarver never lived to see his "City of Destiny", New Tacoma and Tacoma City had merged by the time the transcontinental rail line came through in 1884. The railroad, coupled with Commencement Bay's natural deep-water harbor, made Tacoma a major port of commerce. The abundance of timber in the region, coupled with the city's newfound shipping capabilities, gave rise to the massive lumber, plywood, and paper industries that still bolster Tacoma's economy today.