Since the beginning, we've named our soups after real places throughout Washington and the surrounding Northwest. From small towns and mountain peaks to rivers, canyons, and historic landmarks, each name was chosen because it means something to us and the region we call home. Each soup has a story, and so does the place that gave it its name.
Flowing from the slopes of Mount Rainier, the Puyallup River enters Puget Sound in a broad delta at the head of Commencement Bay. Indigenous peoples of the Puyallup and Nisqually tribes established settlements here, calling the area “Skwax̱zuks.” They referred to Mount Rainier as “Tacobet,” meaning “Mother of Waters,” later interpreted by settlers as “Tahoma.”
The first recorded Euro-American settler in the area was Swede Nicolas Delin, who built a water-powered sawmill in 1852 near a creek at the head of the bay. A small community formed around the mill but did not fully develop until after the Indian Wars of 1855–1856.
In 1868, developer Morton McCarver purchased land in the area that had already been platted under the name Tacoma. He then promoted the site to attract settlers and secure the Pacific Northwest Railroad. In 1873, Tacoma was selected as the railroad’s western terminus, though the main depot was built two miles south and named New Tacoma. Rapid growth followed as rail connections expanded to the rest of the country in 1883, and “City of Destiny” became the city’s motto.
In 1884, New Tacoma and Old Tacoma merged and incorporated as one city. By 1890, the population had reached 36,000, growing to 50,000 just two years later. Commencement Bay was designated a U.S. Port of Entry in 1918. Today, the Port of Tacoma is the sixth-largest container port in North America and among the top 25 in the world.
