All through the war to end war
and through that other, bigger, one,
someone stood, just as always before,
in hope and terror, watching the open ocean.
--Sam Hamill, From the Bunkers
Ten of the 150 Washington State Parks are comprised of decommissioned military installations or reservations which have been transferred to the state. I have detailed the wonders of Deception Pass State Park and Cape Disappointment State Park in previous posts.
Fort Worden offers something uniquely different; a "swords to plowshares" exhibit, if you will, of turning a place developed for the express purpose of military engagement into a haven for peaceful pursuit of humanity's highest achievements in the arts, music and conservation.
In some sense, this mirrors global trends: over the last 600 years, annual war deaths have averaged around 15 per 100,000 people (spiking higher for notably deadly conflicts such as the Thirty Years War, Napoleonic Wars, World War I & II). However, since the end of WWII, the rate has fallen to a fraction of 1 per 100,000 people.
At the same time, the proportion of the earth's lands and waters dedicated to conserving natural resources has risen from practically nothing in the 19th century (Yellowstone, the first national park, was legislated in 1872) to 15% of the terrestrial planet and 7% of the oceans in 2019, driven largely by the 1994 adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity by most (not the USA) of the world's nations.
Fort Worden was built as an Army Coast Artillery base to protect Washington from an attack by sea, anchoring the northwest corner of the "Triangle of Fire," along with Fort Casey and Fort Flagler (also now transformed into popular state parks).
All of the cement for the batteries was imported from Belgium, shipped around Cape Horn, unloaded at Point Wilson and carried by tram to the bluffs. It took 200 workers three years to complete the excavations and concrete work. Activated in 1902, the coast artillery was functionally obsolete by the end of WW I, as advances in warships and aircraft largely outclassed its capabilities. The fort remained a military base until decommissioned 1953, serving as a training ground, radar air defense station and administrative site. Surplussed as a useful military base, the federal government sought a transfer to another branch of government. The idea is not unique to Fort Worden-- the Federal Lands to Parks Program helps communities to acquire, reuse and protect surplus federal properties for local parks and recreation. Since its inception in 1949, this program has transferred about 184,000 acres of land to state and local governments for parks and recreation use.
Fort Worden was purchased by the State of Washington from the Department of Defense in 1957 for $127,500 for use as a juvenile treatment center. Ultimately, it was dedicated as a state park in 1973.
Recognizing the potential for uses of the buildings on the property, the State Parks and Recreation Commission sought tenants. Passing the landlord role off to an independent agency, the Fort Worden Public Development Authority, the park has an impressive collection of arts and conservation organizations on site:
Centrum--envisions a future where anyone from anywhere can nurture their creativity in an environment that is supportive, challenging and uplifting – building a world of greater civility and inclusion through the arts.
Goddard College--offers MFA in Creative Writing & MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts.
Copper Canyon Press--publishes extraordinary poetry from around the world to engage the imaginations and intellects of readers.
Friends of Fort Worden--connects with the community to support the preservation and enhancement of Fort Worden State Park.
Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum-- established the Puget Sound Coast Artillery Museum to preserve and interpret the Harbor Defenses of Puget Sound.
Rainshadow Recording--includes a full service recording studio, offering both analog and digital formats, as well as concert promotion and production services.
Corvidae Press--is an association of artists who share an interest in fine art printmaking and who support and manage a communal non-toxic printmaking facility.
Madrona Mindbody Institute--leads toward discovering new found energy through a practice of conscious movement that creates freedom in your body and mind.
Peninsula College--educates diverse populations of learners through community-engaged programs and services that advance student equity and success.
Gray Wolf Ranch/Newport Academy--has treated more than 1,500 young men with substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders and is a pioneer in combining clinical treatment, wilderness therapy, experiential programming, and academic instruction.
Port Townsend Marine Science Center--is an educational and scientific organization devoted to understanding and conserving the marine and shoreline environment of the Salish Sea.
Port Townsend School of the Arts--brings out the artist in all of us.
Port Townsend School of Woodworking-- inspires a lifelong passion for craftsmanship through education in woodworking and traditional building trades.
"The kind of work that we'll need more of in a climate-stable future is work that's oriented toward sustaining and improving human life as well as the lives of other species who share our world. That means teaching, gardening, cooking and nursing: work that makes people's lives better without consuming vast amounts of resources, generating significant carbon emissions, or producing huge amounts of stuff.
--Alyssa Battistoni
With the passage of just a few years, the focus of human use in this place has dramatically shifted from the booming artillery of warfare to the peaceful pursuits of creativity and research.
The change is celebrated at Fort Worden with a noteworthy art installation--Memory's Vault. Built under the auspices of Washington's Art in Public Places program, the sculpture garden is built on the site which housed members of the Army Corps of Engineers as they designed and constructed the gun batteries. Poetry by Sam Hamill, founder of Copper Canyon Press, celebrates the transformation of this landscape and hauntingly reminds readers of of our own temporary nature on earth.
There are some to whom a place means nothing,
for whom the lazy zeroes
a goshawk carves across the sky
are nothing,
for whom a home is something one can buy.
I have long wanted to say,
just once before I die,
I am home.
Like any Nootka rose,
I know there are some
for whom a place is nothing. Like the wild rose,
like the tide and the day,
we come, go, or stay
according to a whim.
It is enough, perhaps,
to say, We live here.
--Sam Hamill, A Lover's Quarrel
As Washington's third-most-visited state park (after Deception Pass and Lake Sammamish), Fort Worden has most certainly become an enduring monument to the potential of humanity to rise above our baser tendencies and reach a higher potential.
--David
"Those of us who want to make the world a better place--more democratic, equitable, healthier, cleaner--should make abolishing the invention of war our priority, because peace can help bring about many of the other changes we seek. If you want less pollution, more money for healthcare and education, an improved legal and political system--work for peace."
The End of War --John Horgan
