Port Ludlow History
Port Ludlow 1865
Photo courtesy of Port Gamble Historic Museum Archives
1849 - 1890
In 1842 exployer Charles Wilkes named Port Ludlow in honor of Augustus C. Ludlow, a naval officer in the War of 1812, who surveyed the area.
William F Sayward and John R Thorndyke built a steam sawmill on Port Ludlow's bay in 1852 on Land belonging to Thorndyke.
At the same time in San Francisco, Andrew J. Pope and Captain William C. Talbot formed a partnership. Seeking a site for a sawmill, Pope and Talbot stopped first at Discovery Bay, then at Port Ludlow. Finding Port Ludlow already equipped with a mill, the pair and their partners set up operation in Port Gamble. During the 1870's, Port Ludlow was known more for its fine ship building than as a mill town.
Puget Mill Company
Photo courtesy of Port Gamble Historic Museum Archives
Between 1874 and 1880, three Hall brothers built 31 vessels, with the best being completed in 1881, the barkentine Kitsap. The "Town" was but a store, a rundown sawmill, a hotel, a cookhouse, a shipyard, and a few houses and cabins. In 1878 Pope & Talbot purchased the Port Ludlow mill at auction for $64,850. After the addition of new equipment, the mill turned out 125,000 board feet of lumber a day and the town's polulation swelled to 500.
1890 - 1960
The depression of 1890 caused the Port Ludlow mill to shut down and all business was diverted to Port Gamble. The Klondike gold rush in 1897 caused the Port Ludlow mill to start up again. During the next 10 years the mill only operated at 60% of the capacity of Port Gamble so in 1905 it was shut down to be modernized. In 1925 the Puget Mill Company sold the Lumber Empire to the Charles McCormick Lumber Company of Delaware for $15,000,000. During the 1940's all buildings except one were barged to Port Gamble and Silverdale. In Silverdale the houses became WWll wartime housing. In 1958, the Admiralty Hall was dismantled bringing many treasure seekers to the area. Many of the antiques are displayed at the Port Gamble Museum.
1960 - 1990
Puget Mill Company
Photo courtesy of Port Gamble Historic Museum Archives
In 1992, the 750-acre planned residential community was chosen the, "Best Residential Community for active adults in the United States" by the National Association of Home Builders. In addition, many other developers have created unique homes and community areas. Today, development continues and a variety of people and businesses have chosen Port Ludlow as their home.
Where there was once a large sawmill stands the Inn, townhomes, and condominiums. Where the shipping shed was is now the lagoon. The Annex is now the Harbormaster restaurant. Where the company store stood is now a tennis court., The schoolhouse is now the Conference Center. The Beach Club has replaced the old Admiralty Hotel and the round foundation of one of the smokestacks is a planter. The Totem Pole is where one of the refuse burners used to sit many years ago.