Fort Townsend Historical State Park
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Fort Townsend Historical State Park
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 Parade ground and flagpole |
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| location | Jefferson County in Washington (USA) | |
| surface | 149 hectares | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 4 ' N , 122 ° 47' W | |
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| administration | Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission | |
The Fort Townsend Historical State Park , formerly Old Fort Townsend State Park called, is a state park in the US state of Washington . The 150-acre park is located on the Olympic Peninsula about six kilometers south of Port Townsend in Jefferson County .
history
The park is located on the site of the former Fort Townsend , which was built by the US Army in 1856 to protect settlers from Indian attacks during the Puget Sound War . The fort's buildings were made of wood from the neighboring forest and occupied by the 1st Company of the 4th US Infantry Regiment. In 1859 the garrison was moved to the San Juan Islands to intervene in the so-called pig conflict. The fort was only maintained by a small regular crew after an inspection classified the fort as "militarily unsuitable". Despite this classification, the fort was relocated and expanded by troops in 1874 under political pressure from the city of Port Townsend. Only a fire triggered by an exploded kerosene lamp on January 2, 1895, which destroyed the barracks of the fort, meant the end of the fort. Since the Indians no longer posed a threat and the location of the fort had long been used by the military as a coastal defense was found unsuitable, the fort was abandoned in the same year. Fort Worden , Fort Casey and Fort Flagler were built for coastal defense at the entrance to Puget Sound in the late 1890s .
The area of the old Fort Townsend was used by the US Navy during World War II to render enemy mines and torpedoes harmless. In 1953 the site was handed over to the State Parks Commission of Washington state. The park is one of thirteen state parks that have been discussed since 2009 for financial reasons.
investment
The park is located on Port Townsend Bay and has 1.2 kilometers of coastline. The park is wooded with alder, Douglas fir , hemlock and dense undergrowth, the forest has been designated as a Natural Forest Area since 1993 . More than ten kilometers of hiking trails run through the park; for environmental reasons, cycling is only allowed on some of them. There is a campsite with 40 spaces in the park. In the meadow, which used to be the fort's parade ground, there are picnic tables, a playground and a ball field. Only an information board reminds of the military facilities of the old Fort Townsend, only one building that was built to destroy enemy ammunition in World War II is preserved.
literature
- Marge Mueller, Ted Mueller: Washington State Parks: a Complete Recreation Guide. Mountaineers Books, Seattle 2004, ISBN 978-0-89886-642-1
Web links
- State Park website
- Fort Townsend on FortWiki
- Fort Townsend Historical State Park on the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fort Townsend Historical State Park ( English ) Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ↑ Stage 1 - Old Fort Townsend and Rothschild House 01-08-09 Public Workshop Comments ( English , PDF) Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. January 8, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2017.