The Rose first opened in 1904 as a vaudeville house on Water Street before moving to its current location in 1907, where it transitioned into a nickelodeon. Soon it was playing silent films, “talkies” and finally, Technicolor flicks before closing in 1958.
I have passed the sign for the Marvin G. Shields gravesite many times on my trips up and down Highway 101 but never stopped. Today I finally made the turn down Cemetery Road to pay my respects to the only Seabee to receive the Medal of Honor. By plain dumb luck, I arrived just prior to the Memorial Day Service.
The Swansonville Church in Port Ludlow was constructed in 1905 as a community gathering space for the Port Ludlow mill town. The mill closed in the 1930s, and the community of Swansonville dwindled. The non-denominational church shut down in the early 1990s. Empty and slowly decaying, until 2019, when The Friends of Swansonville formed to restore the church.
Every year, Port Townsend hosts a Victorian Festival. For the Friday kick off, the Jefferson County Historical Society waived admission fees (though my donation was happily accepted) for several of their historical buildings. Grabbing my camera and my sister, we toured the 1868 Rothschild House.
Finally! A sunny warm(ish) spring day led me to the Dungeness River Dike Trail. Starting at the Old Dungeness Schoolhouse, it's about a 3 mile in-and-out trail along the top of the levee built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1964.
The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St Paul Railway, later called the Milwaukee Road, built the Dungeness River Bridge (now just called Railroad Bridge) over 3-4 weeks in the summer of 1915. The last train crossed the bridge in March, 1985. Of course, the bridge is only part of the 53-acre Railroad Bridge Park, which is privately owned by the Jamestown S’Kallam Tribe.
Fort Townsend Historical State Park has all but returned to nature. Other than a World War II era munitions tower, no structures from the fort remain. What it does have is 417 acres, 6.5 miles of wooded trails, and secluded campsites, only 3 miles from Port Townsend.
This Gothic-Revival style farmhouse was built in 1861 by Captain Elijah H. McAlmond (1825-1919), and is the oldest frame residence in Clallam County. At the time, it was considered one of the finest houses in all of the Puget Sound area. It is the only house still standing from the early settlement of New Dungeness.
Built by the Seattle, Port Angeles and Western Railway Company in 1914, the last train traveled across the Johnson Creek Train Trestle in 1983. In 2002, the trestle was converted to pedestrian use as part of the Olympic Discovery Trail.
Originally built in 1879, the Point Wilson Lighthouse has been automated since 1976 and is monitored by a computer located at the Coast Guard Air Station at Port Angeles. It’s a bit battered from sitting on the exposed point, and closed to the public except for scheduled weekend tours in the summer, but still guiding boats safely around the entrance to Admiralty Inlet, which connects the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound.
A lovely sandy beach along Jamestown Road looking out over the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Though parking is virtually nonexistant, unless you're extremely lucky, take the drive from end to end of the road. And don't be ashamed to pull off to the side to snap some pictures. I do!
The old Knutsen Farmhouse, built around the turn of the century, sits right on the Old Olympic Highway. I've driven past it numerous times, and finally decided to see what information I could uncover.