Best Web Design in Puyallup, WA (2026)

Web Design for Puyallup, Washington

Puyallup (pronounced "pew-AL-up") is a Pierce County city of the fertile Puyallup River valley about 10 miles southeast of Tacoma, its name taken from the Puyallup Tribe and meaning "the generous people" in Lushootseed. Founded by Oregon Trail pioneer and "Hop King" Ezra Meeker, it is famous statewide for the Washington State Fair and the springtime Daffodil Festival. On clear days Mount Rainier looms enormous over the valley's farmland and Victorian downtown.

AppWT works with Puyallup, WA businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Puyallup

Also known as. P-Town. The Valley (Puyallup Valley). "Do the Puyallup" (the fair's long-running slogan).

History. The valley has been home to the Puyallup people for thousands of years; the name means "the generous people" in the Lushootseed language, and regional treaty history traces to the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek. Pioneer Ezra Meeker, who had crossed the Oregon Trail by ox-drawn wagon, settled the site in 1862 and platted the townsite in 1877. Meeker grew hops for brewing and became known as the "Hop King of the World," building a fortune that funded an 1887-1890 mansion still standing today. A hop-aphid infestation that swept the West Coast in 1891 destroyed Meeker's crops and much of his fortune. Puyallup incorporated in 1890 with Ezra Meeker as its first mayor; in his late 70s (1906-1908) he retraced the Oregon Trail by wagon to build monuments and keep the route from being forgotten.

Local economy. The valley's rich soil and mild climate historically made it a center for hops and, later, daffodil-bulb and berry farming. Daffodils came to the valley around 1925, recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to replace the dying hop industry. The broader Pierce County economy leans on aerospace, healthcare and logistics, with major regional drivers including Joint Base Lewis-McChord and the Port of Tacoma. The Washington State Fair is itself a major seasonal economic engine, drawing over a million visitors across its 17-day September run.

Culture and community. The Washington State Fair each September is one of the largest fairs in the United States, drawing more than a million visitors; it was known as the "Puyallup Fair" until 2013, and its slogan "Do the Puyallup" is a regional catchphrase. The Daffodil Festival, begun in 1926, culminates in a Grand Floral Street Parade that travels through four Pierce County towns in one day: Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner and Orting. The Puyallup Farmers Market, running Saturdays April through October, is one of the largest farmers' markets in the state. Puyallup has produced notable athletes including MLB pitchers Jon Lester and Zach Davies and UFC champion Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson.

What makes Puyallup distinct. The city's name is famously hard for outsiders to pronounce; locals say "pew-AL-up" and shorten it to "P-Town." Puyallup's founder was a genuine Oregon Trail pioneer who, in his late 70s, re-drove the trail by ox wagon to save it from being forgotten, later even attempting the route by automobile and airplane. A tiny insect, the hop aphid, effectively toppled the town's original economy and its founder's fortune in 1891. The name honors the Puyallup Tribe and literally translates to "the generous people."

Puyallup Landmarks and Local Life

• Meeker Mansion - the 1890 Italianate Victorian home of Ezra and Eliza Meeker, now a museum
• Washington State Fair Events Center (the fairgrounds) - host of the September fair and spring fair
• Pioneer Park in downtown - with a statue of Ezra Meeker
• Mount Rainier - the 14,410-foot volcano that dominates the valley's skyline and is called Tahoma by area tribes