Port Townsend /ˈtaʊnzənd/ is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States.

[4] In addition to its natural scenery at the northeast tip of the Olympic Peninsula, the city is known for the many Victorian buildings remaining from its late 19th-century heyday, numerous annual cultural events, and as a maritime center for independent boatbuilders and related industries and crafts.

It is also significantly drier than the surrounding region due to being in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains, receiving only 19 inches or 480 millimeters of rain per year.

It was immediately recognized as a good safe harbor, although strong south winds and poor holding ground often make small-craft anchorage problematic off the town's waterfront.

Indian tribes located in what is now Jefferson County in the mid-19th century included the Chimakum (or Chemakum), Hoh (a group of the Quileute), Klallam (or Clallam), Quinault, and Twana (the Kilcid band — Anglicized as "Quilcene").

Its port was large and frequented by overseas vessels, so shipping of goods and timber from the area was a major part of the economy.

When the depression hit, those plans lost the capital to continue and rail lines ended on the east side of Puget Sound, mainly in Tumwater, Tacoma, and Seattle.

Without the railroad to spur economic growth, the town shrank and investors looked elsewhere to make a good return.

Over the decades that followed, Port Townsend maintained its economic stability in a variety of ways, including the development of artillery fortifications at Fort Worden.

The bay is now home to Naval Magazine Indian Island, the US Navy's primary munitions-handling dock on the Pacific coast.

Because of the speed at which the economy declined in the 1890s and the lack of any industry to replace it, very few of the Victorian buildings were torn down or built over in the intervening period.

Unlike most cities in the Pacific Northwest that were ravaged by natural and man-made disasters such as fire and earthquakes, prominent examples of public, private, and business buildings from nearly every period of Port Townsend's history have survived to the present day.

The city and its surroundings are well-treed, with large Douglas fir dominant over many other tree species in the remaining wooded areas.

[6] Port Townsend has a moderate Mediterranean climate with damp, chilly (though not severe) winters and warm, dry summers.

However, the environment is not as dry as the mean yearly total would suggest; cool breezes and fog from the Juan de Fuca Strait provide a comfortable level of humidity.

In late October and November 1981, Fort Worden was the central filming location for the 1982 movie An Officer And A Gentleman starring Richard Gere.

The marine trades industry is an anchor economic driver for the community, with highly skilled, world-renowned tradespeople.

Key City Public Theatre is the local playhouse presenting many award-winning productions and Shakespeare in the Park in the summer.

Starting in August 2019, Fort Worden began hosting a music festival called "THING", created by Adam Zacks, the founder of the Sasquatch!

[20] In 2023, Fleet Foxes, an indie-folk group from Seattle, led by Port Townsend's notable musician Robin Pecknold, was the listed headliner.

[21] Due to difficult accessibility to the event because of Port Townsend's location, coupled with limited lodging options and low revenue, the THING festival would not return to the city in 2024.

The city has more than a dozen large, well-preserved buildings, including the Port Townsend Public Library (a 1913 Carnegie Library), the Federal Building (now commonly known as the city's post office), the Rose Theatre, and the Elks Lodge, which now houses Silverwater Cafe.

Fort Worden, now a state park, has retained some of its pre-World War I architecture built when it was a military facility.

The Jefferson County Courthouse is in a Romanesque architectural style, as popularized by Henry Hobson Richardson, with a 125-foot bell tower.

The Port Townsend Marine Science Center has facilities at Fort Worden State Park.

In addition to road links, the city is accessible via the Washington State Ferries system, which has a route from Port Townsend to Coupeville on Whidbey Island.

[27] Electric vehicle charging stations are located at the Food Coop (414 Kearney Street), the Northwest Maritime Center (431 Water Street), and at Safeway (442 W Sims Way) The community is served by two local news sources, the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader[28] and the Peninsula Daily News—Port Townsend/Jefferson County Edition[29] An online journal, the Liberty Magazine is based in the city.