Fort Flagler State Park
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Fort Flagler State Park is a Washington state park on the site of Fort Flagler, a former United States Army fort at the northern end of Marrowstone Island. From Fort Flagler, visitors can see Port Townsend to the northwest, the cranes at the Navy base on Indian Island to the west, and Whidbey Island eastward across Admiralty Inlet. Flagler Road (SR 116) terminates inside the park.
[edit] History
Fort Flagler was built along with Fort Casey and Fort Worden to form a "triangle of fire" to protect the entrance to Puget Sound at Admiralty Inlet, and gun batteries in each of these forts face Puget Sound. Situated on the western side of Puget Sound, Fort Flagler's batteries face eastward. In addition to the gun emplacements, the fort has historical barracks and officers' quarters, concrete bunkers, and a small lighthouse at Marrowstone Point, now a USGS field station. Fort Flagler was completed in 1907 and was in operation until 1953. It was purchased as a state park in 1955.
Fort Flagler was named after Brigadier General Daniel Webster Flagler, the Chief of Ordnance of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War and Chief of Ordnance of the United States Army from 1891 - 1899, who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
[edit] Amenities and activities
Fort Flagler has hiking and biking trails, individual campsites suitable for cars, two group campsites, two boat launches, and several historical buildings where visitors can stay - the Hospital Steward's House, the Waterway House, and the North and South Non-Commissioned Officers' Quarters.
In the 1960s and 1970s it was home to the Seattle Youth Symphony's Pacific Northwest Music Camp and Marrowstone Music Festival. A film "1812 Overture" was filmed on location there in the mid 1970s.
Every August, the Kamiak Show Band holds its annual "band camp," during which band members learn new music, prepare for the upcoming marching band season, and rehearse in sessions enjoyed by members of the visiting public.
Newport High School (Bellevue, Washington) also holds a cross-country camp at Fort Flagler for one week during the summer.
Eastside Catholic High School juniors and seniors take a trip to Fort Flagler for the Destiny retreat.
