At the east end of town lies a small bit of land known as Point Hudson. It was
the site of Captain George Vancouver’s landing in 1792. Back then the Point
was only a swamp frequented by Indians. It did not receive
it’s current name until
1841 when American explorer Captain Charles Wilkes christened the swampy
spit “Point Hudson” after his Commander William Hudson. In 1934 the Federal Government dredged the lagoon and constructed the docks. They built an
immigration and quarantine station
for the Public Health Department but it never
opened, as most problems dealing with quarantines were solved by the time it
was finished. The property passed through the National Youth Administration,
the Coast Guard and the Navy. Many of the original buildings still stand. At the
end of the Korean War the Point was
given to Port Townsend who sold it to the
Lighthouse keeper who in turn sold it to the Point Hudson Association who now
run a marina, hotel, restaurant and RV park. At the entrance to the RV park is
the Wooden Boat Foundation which is located in the old Cupola House. It runs
a multitude of community based maritime educational programs while
maintaining a comprehensive maritime library. The center of the wooden boat activity in Port Townsend seems to be in the “ships boat” replicas of the working
boats used by Captain Vancouver when he landed here. Made of wood, it has 8
rowing positions and 3 small sails designed in a Yawl style using a dipping
lugsail. It was quite interesting to watch the teams go out and practice for the up
and coming Wooden Boat Festival which is held the second weekend in
September.