Port Gamble Historic District

Founded in 1853 on the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula, Port Gamble was one of the earliest and most important lumber-producing centers on the Pacific Coast. Schooners and squared-rigged sailing ships loaded the products of the Port Gamble Mill for destinations all along the Pacific Rim. The founders, including Andrew Pope and Capt. William Talbot, who formed the Pope & Talbot Lumber Company, designed the town to resemble their hometown in Maine, also the home of many of the first employees. The mill closed permanently on November 30, 1995.

Now a National Historic Landmark, the community is still active as a tourist destination and planned community, and with its variety of architectural styles, Port Gamble exemplifies the mid-19th century company-owned port town. Visitors wander among picturesque, turn-of-the-century buildings filled with antiques, an historic church, breathtaking views, expansive grounds and New England style houses on maple and elm tree-lined streets.