 This village was called "Scht’ləqʷəm," later anglicized as Steilacoom.William Bright says the name comes from the Southern Coast Salish subgroup "/č'tílqʷəbš/", anglicized as "Steilacoom".European-American settlement at Steilacoom was founded by Lafayette Balch, a sea captain from Maine, and the town was officially incorporated in 1854.