Bair Drug and Hardware Historical Site
1617 Lafayette Street
The Bair Drug and Hardware Store was built in 1895 at its present location on Lafayette Street in Steilacoom. The hardware, pharmacy, soda fountain, and, especially, the post office made the Bair Store a popular place for Steilacoom Citizens to congregate. The old pot-bellied stove around which the men of the town congregated on cold wintry days inside the store is represented today by a similar unit.
W.L. Bair’s daughter, Eudocia, and her husband, William Leach, ran the Post Office for many years. A visitor today may view certificates of appointments signed by several presidents. All around the store are items original to the business or of the period. There is a fine collection of molding planes, scales, mortar and pestles, tobacco tins, medicines, and many other items that might be found in such a business during the late 1890’s.
In 1973, heirs of W.L. Bair (Eudocia Bair Leach and Godfrey “Cub” Bair) donated the building to the Steilacoom Historical Museum Association. SHMA renovated the building in 1976 and 1997. As in most old buildings, the Bair requires on-going maintenance.
Since 1977 the Bair Drug and Hardware Store has included within the building a full-service restaurant, operated most recently by Rosa Kreger and then Ed and Martha Lintott. In the Fall of 2008, the restaurant closed and a new round of repairs, renovations, and upgrades began. Work was completed in March 2010, and SHMA welcomed a new tenant, Sarah Cannon, who opened her highly anticipated new restaurant, The Bair Bistro. Check the Bair Bistro storefront for current operating hours.
Steilacoom Historical Museum Association
