Tacoma

Tacoma (pop. 158,501), port and industrial city of Washington State, on Puget Sound, about 25 mi (40 km) south of Seattle. It is the third-largest city of the state and the seat of Pierce County. The community developed in the 1850s and 1860s and became a terminus of the Northern Pacific Railway (1873). In 1884 two small towns were amalgamated to form Tacoma. Industries in Tacoma include shipbuilding, chemicals, clothing, and metal and wood products. The port can handle oceangoing ships. The University of Puget Sound and the Pacific Lutheran University are in Tacoma. Fort Lewis, an army post, lies 15 mi (24 km) to the south.

See also: Washington.