Fortified
| Fortified | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| National Register of Historic Places | |||
| National Historic Landmark District | |||
 American L-19 aircraft at Fort Worden parade ground (1951) |
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| location | Jefferson County in Washington (USA) | ||
| Coordinates | 48 ° 8 '23.1 " N , 122 ° 45' 57.1" W | ||
| NRHP number | 74001954 | ||
| The NRHP added | March 15, 1974 | ||
The Fort Worden was a coastal fortification of the US Army in the US state of Washington . The fortress was used to protect Admiralty Inlet , the main access to Puget Sound and thus to the naval port in Bremerton, founded in 1891 . Together with Fort Casey on Whidbey Island and Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, it was able to enter Admiralty Inlet from three sides under artillery fire. The fort was occupied in 1902 and served as a military facility until 1953, but was never involved in direct enemy attacks. The site has been open to the public as Fort Worden State Park since 1973 .
investment
Fort Worden was built on a cliff at the tip of the Quimper Peninsula and was directly adjacent to the city of Port Townsend . The center of the facility was Artillery Hill , a hill over 70 meters high, on the top of which eight artillery positions were built. On the Point Wilson headland , which separates the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Admiralty Inlet, two more gun batteries were built at sea level in addition to the Point Wilson Light Station , which should repel enemy torpedo boats or attempts to land. Two more batteries were aligned to the east of the fort on Admiralty Inlet. When the system was completed as a coastal fortification in 1912, the fortress had 40 guns in 12 batteries, including four 30.5 cm guns, seven 25.4 cm guns, sixteen 30.5 cm mortars and eight 15.2 cm guns. The guns were set up in concrete positions and partially retractable to hide them from enemy fire while they were loading. The barracks and the officers' quarters were built around the parade ground from 1904. In total, the fortress comprised over 200 buildings, in addition to the barracks, administration buildings, a power station, a bakery and a hospital.
history
At Point Wilson, a church bell was hung as early as the middle of the 19th century, which was rung as a navigation signal when it was foggy. In 1879 the first beacon was erected on a 14 meter high scaffold. When the scaffolding was endangered by coastal erosion, the 15 meter high lighthouse, which still exists today, was built in 1913. The beacon was automated in 1976 and is still used today as a navigation signal.
Fort Worden was built as a coastal fortification as part of the construction program named after the then Secretary of War Endicott . The land on which the fortress was to be built was in private ownership towards the end of the 19th century, which was expropriated for the construction of the fortress. From this period, Alexander's Castle at Point Wilson has been preserved, a small, castle-like residential building which, according to tradition, was built by Reverend John Alexander for his Scottish bride after 1883 . The bride never came to Port Townsend, but married another man in Scotland. The military later used the building as a tailor shop, among other things.
In 1897, 200 workers began building Fort Worden under the supervision of the US Army Corps of Engineers . They first had to build a makeshift port facility so that the building materials and later the heavy artillery could be delivered by ship, and a small train had to be built from the jetty onto the cliff to bring the materials to the construction site. The first six concrete gun emplacements were completed in 1902, so that on May 3, 1902, a first company of coastal artillery could move into the fortress as a garrison. Since the first barracks were not completed until 1904, the soldiers had to camp in tents. The fortress was named after US Admiral John Worden , the commander of the Monitor in the historic battle with the Virginia (the former Merrimack ). In the summer of 1903 the construction of four more gun batteries began and the three fortresses on Puget Sound were connected to one another with telegraph cables. On September 4, 1904, the headquarters of the Puget Sound Coastal Defense moved from Fort Flagler to Fort Worden. From Fort Worden the officers could participate better in the social life of Port Townsend, and the garrison band could perform in the town. By the fall of 1905, Fort Worden was fully occupied by four coastal artillery companies and the Puget Sound coastal defense system was operational. Between 1908 and 1912, the fort was reinforced with the construction of another battery on Artillery Hill and another at Point Wilson.
During the First World War, Fort Worden was expanded with numerous barracks buildings and served as a training area for the army. 1,600 soldiers were sent from the fortress to the Western Front in France. During the war, 18 of the fortress' guns were dismantled in order to send them to the front in France, but only a few were actually shipped to France, as the end of the war was in sight. After the end of the war, the dismantled guns were not replaced and the coastal defense was reorganized. The headquarters of the North Pacific Coastal Artillery District moved to San Francisco in 1920. The three fortresses on Puget Sound were occupied with the 14th Regiment of Coastal Artillery with 20 officers and 400 men and Fort Worden remained in reduced operational readiness. However, some of the gun emplacements were modernized to protect them against air attacks. In 1924 a balloon hangar was built so that in the event of a defense, balloons for artillery observation were available.
During the Second World War, Fort Worden again served as the headquarters of the US Army and the US Navy for the coastal defense of the Puget Sound. Canadian officers were also stationed in the fort to coordinate the defense of Juan de Fuca Strait with the Canadian armed forces. Submarine nets and other barriers were set up between Fort Casey and Fort Worden, and the fortress was equipped with modern sonar and radar technology and anti-aircraft cannons to repel enemy attacks, while the outdated coastal artillery was dismantled and scrapped. After the Second World War, the last guns were dismantled and the fort was closed on June 30, 1953. Washington State bought the site on July 1, 1957, and initially used the facility as a home for difficult-to-educate youngsters. Part of the site was used by the US Navy as a training ground for amphibious operations, and Artillery Hill had a radar station until 1961. The home closed in 1971, and in 1973 the site was given to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. On March 15, 1974, the fort was entered as a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized on December 8, 1976 as a National Historic Landmark .
Web links
Individual evidence
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↑ Fort Worden on the National Register of Historic Places , accessed March 9, 2020.
Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State: Washington. National Park Service , accessed March 9, 2020.