The Tanglewilde Recreation Center (TRC) was built in 1962 to provide summer fun for the residents of Tanglewilde and their families.

The community of Tanglewilde was developed in the late 50’s and early 60’s by Alvin and Evelyn Thompson. Al had seen the name on a new development while traveling in Texas and it had seemed appropriate for the new neighborhood he had planned on the beautiful wooded acreage in rural Thurston County.

His plans included spacious wooded lots, wide paved streets, a 5.2 acre park with a beautiful swimming pool, a neighborhood shopping center and a donated site for an elementary school, which is now Lydia Jane Hawk. He also set aside a parcel for a church for the community which is now St. Andrews Methodist.

Tanglewilde was quite unique at the time. It was even featured
in the NAHB (National Association of Homebuilders) magazine. Two of the features made Tanglewilde unique:

• First, the beautiful swimming pool and 5.2 acre wooded park which Al and Evelyn donated to the community.

• Secondly, the streets in Tanglewilde were named after sports teams in Washington (Husky, Cougar , Wildcat, Bobcat, Choker, etc.). Al and Evelyn had large attractive metal signs created for each street corner with a painted picture that matched that streets name at the top, Vikings for Viking St., Bulldogs for Bulldog St., and so on.