Port Angeles Vision

Where did Port Angeles get its otherworldly name? Once the site of an Indian fishing village, a spanish explorer named Francisco de Eliza was sailing down the Strait of Juan de Fuca in 1791 when he saw a natural breakwater jutting out several miles from the shore. This unique seawall caught his attention and caused him to drop anchor inside its sheltered deep-water harbor.  He declared this area to be Spanish territory and christened it as the Port of Our Lady of the Angels.  One year later another explorer shortened the name to Port Angeles.

Port Angeles was established as a townsite in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln through an executive order. This led the Board of Trade in 1890 to call it the “Second National City” (Washington, DC being the first). Most of the land was held as a military reserve until 1894. Pioneers, however, ”jumped the Reserve” in 1890 and Congress agreed to a sale of lots in 1894. Tributes to Lincoln’s influence are found in the naming of Lincoln Street in the heart of town, Lincoln school, and Lincoln Park.

The forest and fishing industries played major roles in the boom and bust economy of Port Angeles. The regenerative forest around Port Angeles supplied the building materials for Seattle, San Francisco and beyond. Trees of mammoth proportions were shipped through the Port as old-fashioned saws cut down the forest. Salmon was king of the Strait and plentiful for all to fish. Commercial fisherman, charter boats, and sport fisherman took their limits easily and returned year after year just as the salmon did. Both industries have slowed some, as concerns over habitat for bird and salmon are analyzed and protective zones and regulations have been developed.

The Olympic Forest Reserve was established in 1897. In 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt established the Mt. Olympus National Monument. Olympic National Park was established in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Generations of tourists and travelers have come to the Olympics for rest and rejuvenation. Two hot springs in Olympic National Park were touted for their medicinal value early in the 1900s and people from Seattle made the 3-5 day journey by boat and wagon to spend a week at Olympic and Sol Duc Hot Spring Resorts. They would arrive in Port Angeles or Port Crescent on independent ferries that were the major mode of transport in the Puget Sound and then travel by wagon through the forest.

Visitors to Port Angeles can learn more Port Angeles history by visiting the Museum in the Federal Building at First and Oak Street, Monday through Friday 8:30-4:00.

Sources: Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce & Wikipedia