Hanging it up after 50 years: Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum at Fort Worden closing
The Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum’s 50th year at Fort Worden State Park is its last; the independent, non-profit museum is closing its doors on Sept. 7, 2026.
Fort Worden was an active U.S. Army post from 1890 to 1953, serving most of that time as headquarters for the Harbor Defense of Puget Sound from its position on Point Wilson.
The Coast Artillery Museum’s roots date to 1976, when veterans of the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps’ 248th Regiment turned their 18th annual reunion into a mission to “preserve and interpret” why Fort Worden, in particular, existed and operated.
That year, a one-room museum was opened in Building 200. The much more expansive museum in Building 201 opened in 1985. Admission is by donation.
Earlier this year, CAM’s board of directors made the decision to close. Building 201 is the last of the Fort Worden barracks that has not been significantly updated since the state’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center for juveniles operated from 1958 to 1970. The building is old, but the museum’s larger issue has been the “aging out” of members and volunteers.
Museum visitation has always been strong. The CAM hosted an average of 12,000 visitors a year before the pandemic. The museum was closed for most of 2020 and reopened in 2021 with updated displays. Visitation reached 9,500 in 2025, including instructional tours for school children.
The Museum plans to sell its collections.
Ah, man… one of the best parts of going to Port Townsend…
I wondered around the gun pits several times as a kid visiting my uncle. He had a place on the edge of the sound that was close to the shipping channel. With a good set of binoculars you could get views of the ships like you were right next to him. Even better when the orcas passed by.