How does JCHS currently support Historic Preservation of Architecture in Jefferson County? 

• We offer extensive historic preservation research resources on both our website and at our Research Center, which is open to the public for a small fee, and open for members at no-charge. (Re-opening for research appointments in April will be for members and we hope to resume our 5-days a week open schedule later in 2021).
• We maintain & grow our “vertical files system” – collections of information on historic properties in Port Townsend and broader Jefferson County, which was used heavily for the inventory and narrative work for the Historic District designation, and a small subset of which is available online.
• We maintain historic photographs used in historic preservation work – these are available for free online, and we can make enlargements and provide digital copies for people when they are doing detailed preservation work.
• We regularly field requests around historic preservation to help people do remote research if they are not able to visit the Research Center.
• We provide images and research assistance for historic preservation narratives – the Point Hudson Jetty is an example, we provide these resources on sliding scale for our historic preservation partners.
• We provide resources to determine commercial historical property uses and businesses that have occupied those spaces over time.
• With the collaboration of the Jefferson County Genealogical Society, provide information about the residents of Jefferson County that may have occupied or worked in an historic property.
• We regularly write letters of support and lend our voices to advocate for historic preservation - recent letters include one in protest of the closing of the National Archives in Seattle, a letter to the National Park Service to encourage moving or adaptive re-use of the Enchanted Valley Chalet, and letters to support historic preservation projects undertaken by other Jeff Co non-profits.
• We advocate for building owners to maintain archival and structural documentation when historic preservation projects are undertaken, and we accept commercial business & personal archives into our collection, bolstering the work of future researchers on those properties.
• Since 2018, we have actively fundraised for the restoration of the 1868 Rothschild House, the oldest intact and largely original historic structure in Port Townsend, including re-painting the exterior in 2019, and since then raised funds to replace the roof, which have been successful and is being coordinated with WA State Parks. 
• Since 1951, we have actively maintained and spearheaded the restoration of Port Townsend’s 1892 Historic City Hall (restoration completed in 2006), which is the home of the Jefferson Museum of Art & History, and the longest continually used City Council Chambers in the State of Washington.
• We have held the annual Mary P. Johnson Historic Preservation Awards since 1978, a free program to encourage and amplify historic preservation, provided with support from volunteers, members, and donors.
• We operate seasonal Historic Downtown Walking Tours focused on Historic Architecture and stories around early settlement, and are working on expanding our Walking Tours program to Uptown Port Townsend within the next couple of years. 
• We have published two self-guided booklets for tourists and residents alike, one on architecture of the downtown Port Townsend Historic District, and one in partnership with the Port of Port Townsend on the Historic Point Hudson area (forthcoming this month!) 
• We are participating in a new project with the City of Port Townsend, PT Main Street and Olympic Peninsula Steam to share the "Hidden Histories" of early settlers on signage in the downtown and uptown areas of the PT Historic District. 
• We are the fiscal sponsors for the Friends of Swansonville, and provide grant writing support for their major restoration project on the 1904 Swansonville Church, the last remaining community historic structure in Port Ludlow.
• We help support the Quilcene Museum and Worthington Mansion restoration through a sub-grant of County HB1386 funds each year. 

What don’t we do around Historic Preservation of Architecture in Jefferson County?

• We don’t make determinations or regulate what building owners or lease holders can and can’t do with their property in the Historic District or in broader Jefferson County. Please refer to the City of Port Townsend’s Historic Preservation Committee and City of Port Townsend’s Planning Department resources for those regulations in the City, or Jefferson County’s planning regulations here.
• We don’t purchase historic properties in Jefferson County, but we do accept donations on behalf of the properties we steward, and in stewardship of our collection and research services.
• We don’t do extensive historic property research for free, but can provide those services for a fee and connect building owners with professional researchers.
• We don’t focus exclusively on the Victorian era through our programs or exhibitions, and when we do engage with content around the Victorian era, we aim to elevate under-represented stories from that era.
• We don’t focus exclusively on historic preservation in Port Townsend (the County Seat for Jefferson County and the population center) but as the County Historical Society we aim to equitably support historic preservation efforts across the County, including understanding preservation interests in under-represented Jeff Co communities like Chimacum, Discovery Bay, and Brinnon, as examples.
• We don’t spearhead nominations of historic properties to the State and National Register of Historic Places, but we can provide guidance and occasionally letters of support, based on our institutional mission, vision, and values.
• We don’t support historic preservation projects that exclude specific members of the public or have a goal of freezing history in time. History is dynamic and we promote historic preservation that encourages adaptive re-use and the continuation of use.

Your donations and memberships make our Historic Preservation efforts and Research Center services possible. Thank you for your support!
Do you have additional questions about Historic Preservation in Jefferson County? Feel free to reach out to us at info@jchsmuseum.com, and if you have specific research questions (like, “who is Jacob Miller?”) don’t hesitate to send your research request to research@jchsmuseum.com. Just allow 2 -3 weeks for a response as we have one highly dedicated Archivist, and many, many research requests each month, on top of all the existing projects we are engaged in, as outlined above.
To make research appointments, please follow this link: (Research Center)

Historic Preservation Links 

Fort Worden State Park Oral History Program
Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe Museum and Library
Jefferson County Genealogical Society (JCGS)
Library of Congress Bird's Eye Map of Port Townsend
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Peninsula Daily News
Port Townsend/Jefferson County Leader
Preservation Directory
State of Washington Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation
Washington State Historical Society
Whatcom Museum of History & Art
Wooden Boat Foundation
Washington Trust for Historic Preservation

Fire Bell Tower 

Port Townsend's Fire Bell Tower is a 75-foot wooden structure built in 1890 to hold a 1,500 pound brass bell and the city's new $900 fire engine. The ringing bell rallied the community to fight fires, providing a coded signal as to the location and severity of the blaze.

In October of 1889, the American Telegraph Company began erecting poles and stringing wires—the poles to be equipped with boxes containing signaling devices for the transmission of fire alarms. Gamewell Company “Excelsior” model fire alarm boxes were installed at strategic locations throughout the city. By 1933 twenty-one were in service.

Since 1890 the wooden tower has weathered countless storms. Every decade or so, the community comes together for yet another round of fundraising for its restoration. In March 2004, the Washington State Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) named Port Townsend's Fire Bell Tower, restored by the Jefferson County Historical Society and the City of Port Townsend, as the recipient of the 2004 State Historic Preservation Officer's Award for Resource Stewardship.  

Port Townsend City Hall 

  In 1891 architects Batwell & Patrick designed a combination fire department, police courtroom, jail and city offices to serve the needs of a city of 20,000.

A multi-purpose civic structure, City Hall once housed administrative offices, council chambers, a courtroom, jail and fire hall. Completed in 1892 - the year before the town went bust - City Hall was often in a state of disrepair.

In the 1930s, substantial maintenance was completed under the Civil Works Administration. In 1945 a violent wind storm severely damaged the building’s towers and third floor roof structure.

As the fire and police departments, police court, jail and administrative offices moved on to more modern facilities, the museum expanded into many of the spaces left behind.

By the end of the 20th century, years of exposure to weather, earthquakes, and stop-gap repairs left the stone, woodwork, plaster and brick dangerously deteriorated.

United by the understanding that a city loses its soul if it loses its center, the City of Port Townsend and the Jefferson County Historical Society raised funds to restore the building in 2005. At the same time, the city constructed a new adjoining building. The addition literally supports the old. Seismic bracing and mechanical systems intermingle to tie the two together.

The restored City Hall now stands as a distinct focal point in Port Townsend’s National Register Landmark Historic District. It is a symbol of our town’s stewardship and pride in heritage. City Hall continues to be the place where we come together to chart our town’s future and to remind us of its past.

Port Townsend’s city council still meets upstairs, making this the oldest continuously operating city hall building in the State of Washington.