Swansonville Christian Congregational Church

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 and create an in-person and digital museum of Swansonville history. So far they’ve managed to straighten out ownership of the building; add the church to the Washington Heritage Register; and have the church added to the National Register of Historic Places (in January 2021).

The first step toward restoration of the church is to replace the posts and piers foundation with a concrete footing.

The boarded up door and the canvas-covered wall are indicative of the state of the building.

Pressing my camera up against one of the side windows, sadly it doesn’t look like the interior is in any better shape than the exterior.

With the wavy bubbles, I’m pretty sure this window is the original glass. Notice how the bell tower is separating from the rest of the church building.

Links of Interest:

• Friends of Swansonville – website
• A New Chapter Begins for Historic Swansonville Church, Port Townsend Leader article, Jan. 3, 2021

Location:

Swansonville Church, 11 Werner Rd, Port Ludlow, WA