Port Discovery - Washington Ghost Town

PORT DISCOVERY

NAME: Port Discovery
COUNTY: Jefferson
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 6
CLIMATE: Cool winter and summer.
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Anytime.

COMMENTS: A mill town.
REMAINS: Nothing.

The first recorded activity in Port Discovery was in 1792 when Captain George Vancouver entered the quiet refuge of Discovery Bay. At a small Indian village that Vancouver called Port Discovery, he rested the ship's crew, reprovisioned and made repairs to the ship before going on to explore Puget Sound. It was not until 1858 that the town began to grow with the establishment of a lumber mill at the site of Vancouver's original anchorage. From its excellent location near the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the mill thrived. Port Discovery became a boomtown of at least 300 people. For thirty years, the mill operated briskly and prosperously. During it heyday in 1885, the mill was turning out large quantities of lumber to be hauled away in a reported fifty-four vessels. The town had about fifty buildings meandered along the bluff and beach including a Chinatown, populated mostly by illegal immigrants. The mill was located on Mill Point south of today's Discovery Lodge. Nothing remains of the mill site today but in a nearby cemetery one will find the names of interesting pioneers and those of sailors who died for from home. Submitted by Henry Chenowith.	Port Discovery Courtesy Tom McCurnin Port Discovery Courtesy Tom McCurnin

The first recorded activity in Port Discovery was in 1792 when Captain George Vancouver entered the quiet refuge of Discovery Bay. At a small Indian village that Vancouver called Port Discovery, he rested the ship's crew, reprovisioned and made repairs to the ship before going on to explore Puget Sound. It was not until 1858 that the town began to grow with the establishment of a lumber mill at the site of Vancouver's original anchorage. From its excellent location near the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the mill thrived. Port Discovery became a boomtown of at least 300 people. For thirty years, the mill operated briskly and prosperously. During it heyday in 1885, the mill was turning out large quantities of lumber to be hauled away in a reported fifty-four vessels. The town had about fifty buildings meandered along the bluff and beach including a Chinatown, populated mostly by illegal immigrants. The mill was located on Mill Point south of today's Discovery Lodge. Nothing remains of the mill site today but in a nearby cemetery one will find the names of interesting pioneers and those of sailors who died for from home. Submitted by Henry Chenowith.

Port Discovery
Courtesy Tom McCurnin

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