Port Townsend bet on a railroad that never came, and the bust is why its Victorian downtown survived
Port Townsend was supposed to be a boomtown. It had a harbor, big ambition and a town full of people certain a railroad was about to make them rich. Then the railroad never showed up, and that disaster is the reason you can walk through a Victorian seaport today.
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The railroad that never arrived
In the late 1800s, Port Townsend expected to become the western end of a transcontinental rail connection. Buildings went up and the town grew fast. By 1889, it had passed 6,000 residents.
Then the rail link to Portland fell apart after the Oregon Improvement Company, which had bought the right-of-way, collapsed in 1890. The nationwide depression of 1893 finished the job. The boom stalled for good.
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Why nobody tore it down
Here’s the twist. When the economy collapsed and no new industry replaced it, there was no money to demolish the ornate brick and stone buildings or to cover them with something modern. They just sat there, mostly untouched, like a town waiting for a bus that never came.
That neglect turned out to be a gift. The downtown waterfront and part of the bluff above it were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and the district became a National Historic Landmark District in 1977. It covers roughly 200 acres, which is a lot of Victorian for a small town.
How to walk it like you mean it
Start on the waterfront and then climb to the bluff, because the town is built in two layers and the contrast is the fun part. Down by the water, you get the old commercial core. Up top, boom-era optimists built commercial blocks and homes.
Look for the Jefferson County Courthouse, finished in 1892 in a Queen Anne and Romanesque mix, and City Hall, which dates to 1891. The Post Office, Court and Customs House, a Richardsonian Romanesque building, opened on March 1, 1893. Not a bad trio for a town whose big plan fell through.
My favorite way to see it is on a gray fall day, when the brick looks richer and the waterfront feels like a movie set with the crowds edited out. Bring a jacket and don’t rush the bluff. Ever wondered what a boomtown looks like after the boom? This is it.
Make a day of it
Port Townsend sits at the northeastern tip of the Olympic Peninsula, so it pairs well with a bigger loop. If you keep heading west, Port Angeles is the gateway to Olympic National Park, and the contrast between the two towns makes for a great trip. Which one would you pick for a long weekend?
Trip tips: grab a rental car to get out here, lock in your hotel before the good rooms are gone, or skip both and book a camper van instead.
