Port Townsend by wysiwig

Photography • Historical • posted on Nov 24, 2010

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Description

Port Townsend is a town in Jefferson County, Washington, approximately 40 miles (64 km) north-northwest of Seattle. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. It is an old town having first been settled in 1851. With its large, safe bay it had the potential to become the largest port on the west coast of the United States. The town experienced a building boom in the 1880s in anticipation of Port Townsend becoming the northwest extension of the rail lines being built throughout the area. This would have secured its place as a major hub for shipping in the Northwest. After a financial depression dubbed The Panic of 1893, plans for this extension died and Port Townsend went into a rapid decline. Today it has just under 10,000 inhabitants. The image shows part of the original waterfront preserved as part of historic Port Townsend.

Comments (10)

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WilliamEpic3

12:41AM | Wed, 24 November 2010

The USA also had panics in 1837 and 1873 as well as your 1893. Real estate booms played a big part in this! Sometimes we are not educated to appreciate the most basic things. The big picture looks great! Thanks for sharing.

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auntietk

12:53AM | Wed, 24 November 2010

There's a lot in your writeup that I didn't know! Fascinating. I'll have to do some homework before we go back up there again!

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durleybeachbum

3:34AM | Wed, 24 November 2010

The rich colours and the low skyline make this extremely attractive.

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Faemike55

8:35AM | Wed, 24 November 2010

Great capture! love the colours here and well as the history!

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myrrhluz

10:54AM | Wed, 24 November 2010

I see that red brick with blue trim is popular there. I like it. Beautiful capture! Interesting about the railway. The railroads made and destroyed a lot of towns in the US. You can understand why those who controlled where tracks were laid were so powerful. I just found out my younger son is moving to Seattle. I'll be looking at your images of the area with an added interest.

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