Originally named “Port Townshend” by Captain George Vancouver for his friend the Marquis of Townshend in 1792.  The port was considered a safe harbor and the largest on the west coast thanks to the railroads who brought in goods and lumber for shipping overseas, but in the early 1890’s the town experiencing a economic decline as other Puget Sound ports grew.  Port Townsend is noted for its Victorian houses and historical buildings, including a 1913 Carnegie Library, the Federal Building, Rose Theater, Fort Warden and a 125 foot bell tower.  The Bell Tower on the bluff above downtown was used from 1890 to the 1940s to call volunteer firefighters.