Overview

The two-story, wood-frame Washington Hotel operated in the city of Port Townsend, WA, by 1861.

Building History

According to the An Illustrated History of the State of Washington (1893), Charles Carroll Bartlett established the Washington Hotel shortly after arriving in Port Townsend on 08/01/1864. This source indicated that he operated the hotel for two years, roughly from 1864 until 1866. (See Harvey Kimball Hines, An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, [Chicago, IL: Lewis Publishing Company, 1893], p. 321.)

Ascribing the foundation of the Washington Hotel to C.C. Bartlett does not seem to have been accurate, as a document written by citizens of Port Townsend, dated 12/11/1860, advocated movingthe territorial capital of Washington to that city. The document noted that three innkeepers of hotels in Port Townsend offered to rent rooms to members of both houses of the legislature. They included: “The Washington Hotel will furnish fifteen rooms, furnished with either double or single beds. The Pioneer Hotel will furnish rooms to lodge city, with board for any number. The United States Hotel will furnish rooms furnished to lodge fifty, with board for any number.” (See Journal of the Council of the Territory of Washington: Eighth Session of the Legislative Assembly Begun and Held at Olympia, The Seat of Government, Upon the First Monday of December, to-wit: December 8d, A.D., 1860, [Olympia, WA: James Lodge, Public Printer, 1861], p. 47.)

In the 1860s, the Washington Hotel was located in the main business district of early Port Townsend, on Water Street.

In 1872, John Woodley owned and managed the Washington Hotel in Port Townsend, WA. (See The Puget Sound Directory and Guide to Washington Territory, 1872, [Olympia, WA: Murphy and Harned, 1872], n.p.)

In 1884, the Washington Hotel was one of four hotels operating in Port Townsend as listed in the isted in Oregon, Washington and Idaho Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1884-5, vol. I. The others included:Hunt’s Hotel (charging $1 to $1.50 for rooms a night), IXL Hotel, and the Occidental Hotel. In 1884, the Washington Hotel charged $1 per night for a room. (See Oregon, Washington and Idaho Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1884-5, vol. I, [Chicago, IL and Detroit, MI: R.L. Polk and Company and A.C. Danser, 1884], p. 788.)

PCAD id: 23613