W. P. Bonney - Historian and Namesake of Bonney Lake, Washington
Pierce County pioneer, historian, and namesake of Bonney Lake
Historian of Pierce County and Washington's Pioneer Communities
William Pierce Bonney dedicated his life to recording the stories of Washington Territory. As Secretary of the Washington State Historical Society and curator of the Ferry Museum, he preserved oral histories, artifacts, and documents that define the state's founding era.
- Authored History of Pierce County, Washington (1926), a cornerstone reference for regional research.
- Served on the advisory committee for the 1938 Washington Pioneer Project and wrote the foreword to Told by the Pioneers, Volume II.
- Advocated for pioneer remembrance, inspiring communities like Bonney Lake to honor their roots.
William P. Bonney, Tacoma historian, photographed in 1905.
"W. P. Bonney — Pioneer of Pierce County, now Secretary of the Washington State Historical Society and Curator of the Ferry Museum. Mr. Bonney is sitting at the desk used by Governor E. P. Ferry, first governor of the State of Washington, and in the chair made for and used by Governor Stevens, first governor of Washington Territory."
Family Origins and Early Years
William P. Bonney was born into a family whose resilience mirrored the demanding landscape of the Pacific Northwest. His father, Sherwood Bonney, left Connecticut for Ohio as a child, lost his father to pneumonia, and by age twelve was supporting himself. In 1852 Sherwood joined the great overland migration to Oregon Territory, traveling the same cholera-ridden trails that claimed his first wife Elizabeth and his brother Timothy. The family rebuilt in Washington Territory, where Sherwood married Lydia Anne Wright—the widow of Timothy—and together they raised a blended household of thirteen children.
During the Puget Sound Indian War of 1855–1856, the Bonney family sheltered with other settlers behind the palisade at Steilacoom. William’s mother taught the region’s first school in 1854, balancing lessons with child care for the growing pioneer community. These frontier experiences shaped William’s determination to document the sacrifices and humor of his neighbors’ lives.
From “Told by the Pioneers” (Washington Pioneer Project, 1938)
“After she and father were married, they had father's five children, her three, and five from the second marriage. Once when father came home, he heard quite a commotion in the back yard. He asked the cause of the noise. Mother looked out and smilingly replied, ‘It is your children and my children teasing our children.’”
Historian, Author, and Museum Curator
Bonney’s lifelong mission was to safeguard Washington’s documentary heritage. His 1926 two-volume History of Pierce County remains a foundational compilation of biographies, maps, and civic records. As Secretary of the Washington State Historical Society and curator of the Ferry Museum in Tacoma, he cataloged artifacts and maintained the historic furnishings of territorial governors, including Governor E. P. Ferry’s desk and Governor Isaac Stevens’s chair—seen in the portrait above.
During the Great Depression, federal works programs partnered with state historians to capture first-person pioneer accounts. Bonney served on the advisory committee of the Washington Pioneer Project (Works Progress Administration) and authored the foreword to Told by the Pioneers, Volume II, where his own family narrative appears. His editorial guidance ensured that immigrant road builders, schoolteachers, and farmers received recognition alongside more prominent figures.
Legacy and Namesake
Bonney encouraged communities to honor the people who carved homes from the plateau and river valleys. When residents between Sumner and Buckley established a new town site after World War II, they chose the name Bonney Lake to acknowledge his contributions. A primary source clipping from the era records the community's decision to celebrate "William Bonney, a settler who arrived about 1900 and whose cabin was one of the first on the hill where the town was built."
Beyond place names, William P. Bonney's greatest legacy lies in the archives he stewarded. Researchers still rely on his meticulous records, while the Washington State Historical Society and Greater Bonney Lake Historical Society continue his mission of preserving pioneer voices for future generations.
Gravestone of William P. Bonney (1856–1945) in Tacoma Cemetery, Pierce County, Washington.