In 1850, Thomas M Chambers built the first grist mill near town of Steilacoom (founded 1854) and nearby Fort Steilacoom (1849-1868). A sawmill soon followed in 1852, with a flour mill here in 1855. They were the first mills in Pierce County.

(The settlement of Port Steilacoom had been founded by Lafayette Balch in 1851. John Chapman later founded Steilacoom City adjacent to Port Steilacoom. They merged together in 1854, becoming the incorporated city of Steilacoom.)

Arriving in the Puget Sound in 1847, Chambers staked a land claim along Steilacoom Creek (now Chambers Creek) at this site in 1849. Despite the fact that the area had become a US Territory in 1846, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) and its British Puget Sound Agricultural Company disputed his land claim. Taken to court, Chambers won his case.

Chambers first built a house for his family alongside Steilacoom Creek. After building a grist mill, he sent for the machinery necessary to build his sawmill. By 1855, he had built a third mill.

Chamber's sawmill was the first of two built along Steilacoom Creek (now Chambers Creek). Andrew Bryd built his sawmill in 1853 upstream of this creek by building a dam as it entered a large marsh. This created Steilacoom Lake.

There is little here except a stone monument. Chamber's first saw mill became one in a chain of ownership of a sawmill located near this original site. Historically, during his operations, Chambers helped bring significant wealth into the Steilacoom community as shiploads of processed timber were shipped to San Francisco, starting in the 1850's.