Port Townsend - (Images of America) by Jefferson County Historical Society & Marsha Moratti (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

On Washington's Olympic Peninsula, at the entrance to Puget Sound, the Port Townsend of the 1850s was perfectly situated for sailing vessels. By 1880, thousands of ships from all over the world were passing through. Optimistic investors sought fortunes in shipping, logging, lumber mills, and land speculation. While commerce flourished at sea level, citizens built fine homes, churches, schools, clubs, a respectable shopping district, and parks uptown on the bluff. The settlers of this lovely seaport enjoyed rich cultural and social lives. Port Townsend went bust after the anticipated railroad failed to arrive. It remained largely frozen in time without economic motivation to tear down and replace its fine Victorian architecture. It wasn't until the 1970s that the beautiful setting and buildings were discovered by artists, hippies, preservationists, and, later, tourists and retirees. The town is now a thriving arts and cultural community, still beautiful, still small and remote.

Review Quotes

Title: Jefferson County Historical Society unveils theater, honors preservers of history Author: Staff Writer Publisher: Peninsula Daily News Date: 4/25/2010 The memory keepers of Jefferson County were center stage during the 2010 Historic Preservation Awards given by the historical society. "Traditionally, we have given the awards to people who have restored a building," said Bill Tennant, Jefferson County Historical Society executive director. Recorders of history "But this year, we focused on those who were recording the history because if the stories are never recorded, they are never preserved for the future." The pinnacle of Founders' Day on Sunday was the screening of a film, "We Came with Dreams," which gives a taste of what the museum and new gallery have to offer. The new gallery, which is in a 10-by-12-foot room, features a 53-inch television for viewing the video. The room's walls contain several historical photographs along with six frames that display a rotating selection of digital images from the museum's collection. Film focuses on motivations The film is divided into four sections, focusing on the four motivations that brought settlers to the area: harvesting crops, building an empire, developing community and achieving freedom. "The film was wonderful -- it exceeded what we all thought it would," Tennant said. "There were strong, bearded men who were crying." The film is meant to give viewers people an overview of Jefferson County, so it does not go into deep detail. "It really does a great job showing everything from the Olympic Mountains to the coast to the Hood Canal region to Port Townsend," Tennant said. "We have kind of joked that maybe we shouldn't show this to very many people because they will all want to move here now." The film was made using accounts of those who have been recording the history of Jefferson County. Construction of the new room and a design plan for future museum renovations were funded by a $200,000 grant from the Washington State Heritage Project. The award winners were: ? Tom Camfield -- For ongoing documentation of local history including authoring the books Port Townsend: An illustrated History of Shanghaiing, Shipwrecks, Soiled Doves and Sundry Souls in 2000 and Port Townsend: The City That Whiskey Built in 2002. His promotion of history through his blog on the Port Townsend Leader Web site also was honored. ? Pam Clise -- For ongoing documentation of local history through the thorough researching and writing of historical newspaper stories and for helping county schools to afford museum field trips. Her historical columns appear on the last Thursday of the month in the Jefferson County edition of the Peninsula Daily News. ? Marsha Moratti -- For her work as an archivist for the Jefferson County Historical Society and overseeing the publication of three books in the Arcadia Publishing Images of America Series: Jefferson County in 2006, Port Townsend in 2008 and Olympic Mountains in 2010. ? Marjorie Rogers -- For recording Jefferson County history through the collection of oral histories. She has worked with the oral history program since its inception, and has collected and transcribed more than 50 volumes of histories focusing on occupational history. ? Marge Samuelson -- For promoting local history through new technology with an weekly history blog on the Port Townsend Leader Web site and for inputting thousands of historical documents and images into the society's database.