Port Discovery, Washington

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Port Discovery, Washington is a bay in the U.S. state of Washington on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is also the name of a historically significant community on Washington's Olympic Peninsula.

[edit] The bay

The bay was first visited by Europeans in 1790, during the expedition of Manuel Quimper in the Princesa Real, with Juan Carrasco as pilot. They gave it the name Puerto de Quadra, after Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, their commander at San Blas. In 1791 Francisco de Eliza used Port Discovery as his base of operations for further explorations. It was given its present name by George Vancouver in his 1792 visit to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

[edit] The community

The settlement of Port Discovery was located at what now is called Mill Point on the west shore of the bay, to the east of U.S. Highway 101 at Broders Road, several miles north of the current settlements at the foot of Discovery Bay. ^[1]

In the 19th century, Port Discovery became an important coastal community, home to a large sawmill that was established in 1858. It was a regular port of call for ships traversing the Pacific until the mid 20th century. The town dwindled after the closing of the mill, and vanished after the later collapse of the local timber industry. Only a couple of houses and an old pier remain at the site.

The remains of another famous sawmill further down the shore, built later at what was Maynard, Washington, are often mistaken for the Port Discovery mill.