Port Discovery, Washington
Encyclopedia
Port Discovery, Washington is the historical name of what is now called Discovery Bay
Discovery Bay, Washington
Discovery Bay is:* A small bay adjoining the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State; this body of water was also historically called Port Discovery...

, a bay in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Washington on the south side of the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...

, on Washington's Olympic Peninsula
Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...

. It was also called Port Discovery Bay for some time, a name that can be found on maps from the 1940s and earlier. Port Discovery is also the name of a historically significant community that was located on the bay for roughly a hundred years; it disappeared in the late 20th century, with the collapse of the local timber industry.

The bay

The bay was first visited by Europeans in 1790, during the expedition of Manuel Quimper
Manuel Quimper
Manuel Quimper Benítez del Pino was a Spanish Peruvian explorer, cartographer, naval officer, and colonial official. He participated in charting the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Sandwich Islands in the late 18th century. He was later appointed a colonial governor in his native Peru at the...

 in the Princesa Real, with Juan Carrasco
Juan Carrasco (explorer)
Juan Carrasco was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and navigator. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest during the late 18th century. He was second in command of the 1791 voyage of José María Narváez, the first European exploration of the Strait of Georgia.Many details...

 as pilot. They gave it the name Puerto de Quadra, after Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra
Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra was a Spanish naval officer born in Lima, Peru. Assigned to the Pacific coast Spanish Naval Department base at San Blas, in the Viceroyalty of New Spain , this navigator explored the Northwest Coast of North America as far north as present day Alaska.Juan...

, their commander at San Blas
San Blas, Nayarit
San Blas is both a municipality and municipal seat located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the state of Nayarit.-City:San Blas is a port and a popular tourist destination, located about 100 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, and 40 miles west of the state capital Tepic. The town has a population of...

. In 1791 Francisco de Eliza
Francisco de Eliza
Francisco de Eliza y Reventa was a Spanish naval officer, navigator, and explorer. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest...

 used Port Discovery as his base of operations for further explorations.

The name Port Discovery was given by George Vancouver
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...

 in his 1792 visit to the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...

, and honors his ship the Discovery. Vancouver's landing place was apparently at what was later called Carr Point (also Contractors Point).

Port Discovery was a regular port of call for ships traversing the Pacific until the mid 20th century, and in particular for many U.S. ships involved in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, such as USS Washington
USS Washington (ACR-11)
The seventh USS Washington , also referred to as "Armored Cruiser No. 11", and later renamed Seattle and renumbered CA-11 and IX-39, was a United States Navy Tennessee-class armored cruiser...

, USS Lassen
USS Lassen (AE-3)
USS Lassen ex-SS Shooting Star, was an ammunition cargo ship of the U.S. Navy during World War II. Like many Naval ships of this category that carried large amounts of explosive cargo, she was named for a volcano...

, and USS Las Vegas Victory
USS Las Vegas Victory (AK-229)
USS Las Vegas Victory was a Boulder Victory-class cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations through the end of the war earning one battle star, and then returned to the United States for disposal.-Victory built in...

. The wreck of the War Hawk (clipper ship), which burned and sank in 1883, is a popular dive site in the bay, near Mill Point.

The community

In the 19th century, Port Discovery became an important coastal community, centered on a large sawmill that was established in 1858. The settlement called 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 what is now Broders Road. This spot is several miles north of the current settlements at the foot of Discovery Bay.

The town at Mill Point dwindled after the closing of the sawmill, and vanished after the later collapse of the local timber industry. Only a couple of houses and an old pier remain at the site, which is private property.

Until around 2008, the prominent remains of another famous sawmill were visible further down the shore from Mill Point, near what was Maynard, Washington at the foot of the bay. The romantic, derelict building was adjacent to Highway 101, and was thus seen by every passing motorist; it was one of the most-photographed sites in the area for decades. Many such photos are mislabeled as the Port Discovery mill, although the Maynard mill was built later. By 2010, the building's vestiges were removed, in efforts to restore Discovery Bay salmon and shellfish habitat.
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