Fort Townsend State Park (formerly Old Fort Townsend State Park) is a public recreation area located two miles south of

Port Townsend Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition t ...

in Jefferson County,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

occupies a third of the site of the original Fort Townsend built in 1856. The park includes of shoreline on

Port Townsend Bay Port Townsend Bay, also called Port Townsend, is a marine inlet off Admiralty Inlet at the northeastern extreme of the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It was named Port Townsend by George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver ...

, picnicking and camping areas, of hiking trails, and facilities for boating, fishing, and crabbing.

History

Fort Townsend was built in 1856 by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

to protect settlers. The entire garrison was transferred to the American Camp or Camp Pickett on San Juan Island in 1859 during the border dispute called the Pig War. Reactivated in 1874, the fort continued in use until fire destroyed the barracks in late 1894; it was abandoned in 1895. The site was retained on the Army rolls until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, when it was used as a munitions defusing station.

Washington State Parks The Washington State Park System is a set of State park, state parks owned by the state government of Washington (state), Washington, United States, USA. They are managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. There are over 140 ...

took custody in 1953, and it became a state park. File:Guard House at Fort Townsend, Washington, ca 1885 (WASTATE 452).jpeg, Guard House at Fort Townsend, WA, ca 1885 File:Barracks at Fort Townsend, Washington, approximately 1885.png, Barracks at Fort Townsend, Washington, ca 1885 File:Interior of barracks, Fort Townsend, Washington, ca 1885 (WASTATE 91).jpeg, Barracks interior , Fort Townsend, WA, ca 1885 File:Fort Townsend15-10.jpg, Fort Townsend parade ground

References

External links

Fort Townsend Historical State Park
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
Fort Townsend Historical State Park Map
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Closed installations of the United States Army Townsend Parks in Jefferson County, Washington State parks of Washington (state) {{JeffersonCountyWA-geo-stub