PNW Victorian Seaport’s Colorful History

Shaped by Indians, Chinese, sailing, lumber and dreams of a railroad

Learn stories of a Pacific Northwest shaped by local tribes, smugglers, devastating fires and a waterfront of saloons and brothels with a more gentile uptown with churches and schools.

All these tales belong to Port Townsend, WA, a small town on the Olympic Peninsula, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets Puget Sound, known for its passion to preserve its history and Victorian architecture from the late 1800’s.

Listen live when you visit with a tour guide from the Jefferson County Historical Society and Museum, given by a member of the town’s Key City Public Theatre, on the first and third Saturdays of each month.

Or visit any of the tour’s stops in the downtown area denoted by signs and scan the QR code that will send you to PTHistory.com to get the whole story where you can get all the details now.

Learn how railroads and fires changed the destiny and prosperity of the town. Stories of sailors in bars shanghaid to wake up at sea. Imagine wives walking the widow walks on the top of their homes looking for their husbands’ ships to return. Townsfolk dashing to ring the fire bell to save lives and businesses.

We had the live tour and just adored our guide, Bry Kifolo, so if you are in town at the right time, join in. The tour takes less than an hour and it’s all in the downtown (easy walking) area.

There are a number of old painted murals in town that are fading. The paint just soaks into the bricks, so it’s a challenge to repaint. There is one note about the Bull Durham billboard below. Apparently, the bull was originally anatomically correct, but some alterations were made to the painting to assuage sensibilities. The owner of that building was walking his dog by the tour and overheard this story, saying it was the first time he had heard it!

Interested in murals? Check out the Museum’s study to learn about the approved type of paint for these old treasures.

When you are in town, look for Hidden History markers on downtown sidewalks to start your self-guided tour. Notice the QR code (circled on the image) and use a QR scanner on your phone. If you don’t have one yet, I like the one from Trend Micro (no ads). It’s quick to download. Then point your camera at the code on the marker and it will send you to the tour’s site to learn about history around that stop.

Watch this space for more stories of Port Townsend and other interesting, special places.

Happy trails!