The Squaxin and other Coast Salish peoples inhabited the southern Puget Sound region prior to the arrival of European and American settlers in the 19th century.

Peter Puget and a crew from the British Vancouver Expedition are said to have explored the site, but neither recorded any encounters with the resident Indigenous population.

In 1846, Edmund Sylvester and Levi Lathrop Smith jointly claimed the land that is now downtown Olympia.

Stevens's treaty included the preservation of Indigenous fishing, hunting, gathering and other rights.

It also included a section which, at least as interpreted by United States officials, required the Native American signatories to move to one of three reservations.

Interstate 5 was built through the south side of the city in the late 1950s as a replacement for earlier highways that traveled through downtown Olympia.

Residual glacial topography in the area includes drumlins, subglacial channels, and kettle lakes.

[16] Between 1991 and 2020 the mean coldest daily maximum was right on the freezing point at 32 °F (0 °C) and the warmest night of the year averaged a very mild 60 °F (16 °C).

Olympia was historically dependent on artesian waters, including springs that supplied early settlers in Swantown and Tumwater.

Efforts to protect and preserve the free-flowing artesian well on 4th Avenue in downtown Olympia began in 1991 with support from a local coffee roaster.

Donations from the public were used to form "Friends of the Artesians", a group that researched the wells, maintained them, and tested their quality.

[23] Renovations at the well were completed in late 2011, including surface improvements, solar lighting, and a raised area to fill bottles.

In spring 2012, sea-themed mosaic artwork created by community members was installed at the site of the well.

The racial makeup of the city was 78.4% White, 9.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 3.1% African American, and 6.9% from other races or multiracial.

Visual art venues include some of the local coffeehouses, Olympia Coffee Roasting Co., Batdorf & Bronson, and Burial Grounds downtown, with the latter indefinitely closed.

Murals and public art installations of sculpture are prevalent in Olympia and are especially featured on the State Capitol Campus and along Percival Landing on the urban waterfront.

South Puget Sound Community College has a gallery in its Minnaert Center with rotating exhibitions.

Evergreen State College, northwest of Olympia, has a professionally curated gallery with rotating shows in the Dan Evans Library building.

The Fleetwoods, a popular 1950s and 1960s doo-wop group, whose hits included "Come Softly to Me" and "Mr. Blue", originated in Olympia.

Additionally, acclaimed[31] black metal band Wolves in the Throne Room hails from the city, forming in 2002.

Percival Landing Park includes 0.9 miles (1.4 km) of boardwalk along Budd Inlet, as well as a playground, picnic areas, and a large open space.

Squaxin Park has an extensive trail system, 150-year-old forest, and undeveloped waterfront on Puget Sound.

[33] FC Olympia (also known as Oly Town Artesians) is a soccer club that was founded in 2014 and primarily played at Black Hill High School.

[35] In the 2007–08 school year, Olympia began the Parent Partnership Program, which provides more opportunities to homeschooling families.

Online outlet NorthAmericaTalk, an aggregate for local community news and marketing, was established with headquarters in Olympia.

Since 1983, Olympia has had a public, educational and government access television station, which was rebranded in 2016 as Thurston Community Media.

[40] Evergreen State College's KAOS broadcasts a mix of educational and political programming, with student-driven music shows.

The southbound Amtrak Coast Starlight departs Olympia with service to Centralia, continuing on to Portland, Sacramento, and Emeryville, California.

Amtrak Cascades trains, operating as far north as Vancouver and as far south as Eugene, Oregon, serve Olympia-Lacey several times daily in both directions.

[42] Intercity Transit maintains a free shuttle route called "Dash"[43] which provides service from the Capitol Campus to the city's farmers market.