Tag Archives: Fort Worden

Hanging it up after 50 years: Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum at Fort Worden closing

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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.

Hat’s Off!

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Members of the 3rd Co., Coast Artillery Reserve Corps, firing a 12-inch M1888MII gun at Fort Worden’s Battery Ash, overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, during summer camp, 1914. The round being fired is likely a rarely shot service round as opposed to a practice round, so more powder is involved.

Photo from Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum collection

Constructed during the Endicott Period of coastal defenses sparked by the Spanish-American War, Battery Ash was constructed between 1899 and 1902. At the time of operation, it was outfitted with five 10-inch and two 12-inch guns in barbette carriages, the latter of which had a range of 10 miles when firing a 1,070-pound armor-piercing shell. These were aimed towards the West, the expected entry point of the enemy.

The last of the big guns at Fort Worden were deactivated in late 1942, hopelessly obsolete, and were removed in 1944, cut up to be used as scrap iron for the war effort. None of the guns or mortars at the Harbor Defenses of Puget Sound ever fired a shot in anger – only for practice.

During their four-decade career, each of the big 12-inchers at Worden only fired about 70 rounds in practice, an average of less than two shots per year.