John Wayne Marina / Pitship Point in Sequim Bay

This is part one of two historical photos I’ll be sharing, taken near what is now John Wayne Marina in Sequim Bay. This area can be referred to by several names. The sandspit where the marina was eventually built was named Pitship Point by the Charles Wilkes Expedition in 1841. The marsh on the left is called Pitship Pocket Estuary and underwent a much-needed restoration in 2010 by the North Olympic Salmon Coalition. The project replaced a small culvert with a bridge that reconnected the marsh to the bay, improving habitat for out-migrating salmon as they make their way to the ocean.

The historical photos I’ve found of this area refer to nearby Johnson Creek, which runs adjacent to the marina. The photo below is another from the Bert Kellogg collection at the North Olympic Library System and is titled “Log Dump on Johnson Creek.” The date is unknown, but cabins were built in 1910 (the focus of our upcoming part two) that would have been seen here if the photo had been taken after that time period.

Then - Johnson Creek Log Dump (date unknown - via Bert Kellogg Collection at North Olympic Library System) / Now - Pitship Pocket Estuary and John Wayne Marina (2019)

This was one of several locations on Sequim Bay used to collect and sort logs before they were rafted and towed to a local mill.  But as with all history here, the story begins with the S’Klallam tribe. Carbon dating of artifacts found at Pitship Point date back at least 2000 years.

Newspaper ad March 1970

In the 20^th century and continuing through today, Pitship Point has been used for recreation, with a boat ramp and cabins and camping available just across the road. In the early 1970s, Sequim Bay Marina, Inc. (actor John Wayne) developed Pitship Point, attempting to turn it into a marina. In 1975, Wayne gifted the land to the county so that the current marina could be built. The marina was completed in 1985 and the Wayne family still owns adjacent property, including John Wayne’s Waterfront Resort. Washington’s Department of Ecology Shoreline Photo website shows an aerial view of what Pitship Point looked like in 1977, before work started on the current marina.

The bluff as a landmark on the opposite side of Sequim Bay

I kept the Now picture a little wider so you could see more of the marsh and all of the marina. The marsh to the left is an easy landmark but what caught my eye in the historical photo is the bluff on the far right. The bluff is located on the opposite side of the bay. The marina and trees get in the way of us seeing it in the modern photo above, so I took a second picture from the marina. On the far left is Paradise Cove, and the arrows point to what I believe is the same slide area on the bluff in both photos. If it weren’t for all the vegetation, the arc of the bluff would be a little easier to discern, but you can still make it out.

Look for a part two from this same area in another blog post coming soon.