Port Townsend Shoreline in 1792 and 2022

 In 1792, Captain Vancouver camped at Port Hudson in now Port Townsend to explore the area in 3 small boats.  

John Sykes illustrated this image showing the SE part of 'PT' with his crew in a canoe and native bird catching nets in the background.  

Spending some time in PT recently, I had the opportunity to get the 2022 photo at a minus tide in front of the Aladdin Hotel where we were staying during the Seventy48 and R2AK race weekend and 'Ruckus'.  

Read more about this visit by Captain Vancouver on the History Link site.. 

These images face East..

                                       Poles supporting nets to catch ducks, Port Townshend, 1792

                                    Engraving by John Sykes, Courtesy UW Special Collections (Neg. NA3984)

Taken in front of the Aladdin Hotel, minus tide 6/13/22

Wider view

Tall ships in Port Townsend Bay

This 1891 view of Port Townsend Bay is enchanting for so many reasons - the bay loaded with tall ships (and one hybrid steamer), the impressively crafted buildings and docks, and the streetcar in the near frame, and the sand roadways:

1891 view of Port Townsend and Port Townsend Bay.  Image credit:  Bert Kellogg collection.

I had a harder time than I expected trying to find the photographer's location, and I'm not sure I've got it right...but the modern view shot from about here next to Port Townsend's Fire Bell Tower seems to make sense, as its not difficult to imagine a photographer setting up (at what would have been a newly built tower site) there ~130 years ago:

9 July 2021 photo

Vegetation obscures much of the historic view, but the scale and size of the tall ships in the historic bay give a sense for the types of changes the waterfront of Port Townsend has scene in the last 130 years.

Landing craft on the beach at Fort Worden

 A quick post today from Fort Worden in Port Townsend. I mostly want to use this post to amplify the great work by Fort Worden historian Tim Caldwell with his regular column in the Port Townsend Leader newspaper. Kudos to the newspaper and the community for continuing to celebrate and share the story of this special place. 

Tim shared this same historical photo of landing craft on the beach at Point Wilson earlier this year. Please enjoy Tim's history behind this photo at the Port Townsend Leader's website and enjoy my now photo here for comparison:

Point Wilson at Fort Worden Then (1950) and Now (2020)
(Historical photo courtesy of the Jefferson County Historical Society)

In the distance you see the Point Wilson lighthouse, which has stood since 1879, although it was rebuilt in 1914. It was built on a very sandy beach and the shoreline to the north was heavily armored in an effort to protect the lighthouse and associated buildings from the large wind waves from the Strait of Juan de Fuca that pummel the beach and threatened the integrity of these structures. The negative effects of shoreline armoring obviously weren't known in those days. 

Please visit this page from the National Archives to see photos of the previous lighthouse and the beach before the riprap was placed. For more information about the history of the lighthouse, please visit lighthousefriends.com, and for current information please visit pointwilsonlighthouse.org. 

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Flagler's guns come ashore at Marrowstone Point

My favorite place to visit here on the Olympic Peninsula is Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island. The former coast artillery fort is now a state park offering the best views of Puget Sound you can hope to find, including powerful currents and marine wildlife to watch, historical military structures to explore, and let’s toss in a lighthouse (well, sort of) for good measure. All these features make it an endlessly entertaining place to visit for a day, a weekend, or longer.

The historical photo for today’s blog post really blew my mind when I first saw it. It's a shot of Marrowstone Point from 1898, when Fort Flagler was under construction. I hope you enjoy my now photo, but you really should go to Jefferson County Historical Society’s site and look at the original historical photo. There are so many fascinating details to spot. Those are enormous cannon barrels being brought ashore from a barge on the beach. And in the distance on the left is the Marrowstone Light Station keeper's residence.

Marrowstone Point at Fort Flagler in 1898 and 2020
(Historical photo courtesy of Jefferson County Historical Society) 

Construction of Fort Flagler began in 1897 but the U.S. government was active here a decade earlier in the interest of maritime safety. A light to guide mariners has shone at Marrowstone Point in one form or another since 1888, but not from the traditional lighthouse tower that most of us would think of. Starting with a lens lantern mounted on a pole, the light eventually was erected atop a 20 ft. concrete building where it has been located since 1918. 

The light keeper's residence in both our now and then photos has acted as sentinel, standing at the shoreline since 1896. Just offshore, Puget Sound's unwieldy winds and dense fog can make navigating the strong currents rushing through narrow Admiralty Inlet a harrowing experience for vessels of any size. One calamitous event happened here in 1892 when the freighter S.S. Willamette rammed the S.S. Premier at full speed, killing five and injuring 18. Although neither ship sank, the damage to the Premier was significant to say the least. Take a look for yourself.  😮

The light still shines, now automated, but since the mid-1970s the site and structures have primarily served federal scientific research as the U.S. Geological Survey’s Marrowstone Marine Field Station. Their current work is focused on fish and overall marine ecosystem health. The light keeper's residence provides lodging for visiting scientists.

Marrowstone Point 1895 map
(National Archives)

I have not been able to track down information on the barn or other buildings we see in the historical photo. But on a map of the fort from 1913, the buildings are labeled as “old stables” and “old laundry.” Structures also appear on a map from 1895, but have no information. If anyone knows more, please share.

Fort Flagler 1913 map
(National Archives)

In addition to these maps, the National Archives website has several interesting photos including the document below showing the earlier structure on which the light was placed, and the front of the keeper's quarters with its fog bell. Both structures still stand and can be seen today (minus the bell).

1915 images of Marrowstone Point Light Station
(National Archives)

Sources: 

• https://www.historylink.org/File/5702
  https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=109
• "Fort Flagler, Over 100 years of History," A Friends of Fort Flagler publication, 3rd Edition, January 2013