Point Hudson

Point Hudson. . , For over 8,000 years Native Americans camped at Point Hudson while migrating from summer camps to winter lodges., The American explorer, Captain Charles Wilkes, named the area in honor of Commander William L. Hudson in 1841., There was no mention of Native Americans camping on the beach on May 7, 1792 when Captain George Vancouver and crew members arrived in three small boats. They spent a night on the shore near Point Hudson. The expedition's botanist, Archibald Menzies, walked the shore from Point Wilson to Point Hudson and described it as "low and flat with some marshy ground behind it and a pond of water surrounded with willows and tall bulrushes.", Port Townsend was officially founded on April 24, 1851. Over the years the Native Americans moved on or integrated with the settlers, selling fish, weavings and baskets door-to-door from a small colony at Point Hudson., In 1934 the lagoon was dredged and construction began of docks and buildings for the Immigration and Puget Sound Quarantine Station for the U.S. Health Administration. The station opened in May of 1936 on 15 acres with 10 buildings, including a hospital, detention barracks and a disinfection building., During world war two the U.S. Navy took command, enlarging the site to include the west end of the marina. During the war years the Navy built machine shops to service mine sweepers and built additional docks, the two-story building with the tower and signal light, a carpenter shop and parts and supply buildings., In October of 1950 the 369th Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment began arriving at Point Hudson. The unit occupied the facilities for the duration of the Korean War. In 1953 the government deactivated the Point Hudson and Fort Worden military facilities., In 1956 the Port of Port Townsend purchased the site through the General Services Administration. In 1962 Point Hudson was leased to Harry Horton, a former harbormaster, on a 40-year lease for $6,000 per year. In 1968 Harry Horton sold his lease to the Point Hudson Company. In 2002 the private lease expired and the Port of Port Townsend resumed management., [Photo captions, center top to bottom, then at right, read] , . Oil painting of the tidal pool at Point Hudson, 1902. This is the site of the current marina., . Canoes and camp on the beach at Point Hudson, looking out toward Marrowstone Point. Watercolor painting by Harriet Foster Beecher., . Native American women at camp on the beach at Point Hudson. Point Townsend City Hall in the background., . Native American camp at Point Hudson., . An 1884 Sanborn fire insurance map shows a lumber mill using the lagoon as a mill pond., . Point Hudson Lagoon, 1928, . Beginning of dredging, 1934, . In 1939 the U.S. Coast Guard took over the quarantine station and opened a training station. The Marine Hospital is on the bluff in the background., . 1940s with temporary barracks