Port Gamble, WA: Hunting Ghosts in an Old Lumber Town

Not so long ago, we attended the 15th annual Port Gamble Ghost Conference — as the name suggests, held in Port Gamble, WA.

The original wooden water towers at the entrance to town.

Port Gamble has an interesting history.

Founded in 1853, it was an active logging town for well over a century, until the sawmills shut down in 1995. In fact, the Pope and Talbot mill was — at the time of the closure — the longest continuously operating sawmill in the US.

Looking down Main Street on a gloomy November evening near dusk.

A few years later, all signs of the sawmill had been completely removed for environmental protection reasons, leaving only the original town buildings, many of which have been there since the 1850s.

These lowland flats, now all cleaned up, was where the sawmill stood.

The interesting back story about Port Gamble is that the entire town has always been in ownership of the lumber company. It is, quite literally, a "company town."

Although it has changed hands a couple of times since the sawmill shut down, and is most recently in ownership of the Rayonier Timberlands organization... private individuals don't actually own anything in the town.

The old Port Gamble Theater, where the Ghost Conference took place

This small town has a lot of paranormal activity because not only was it home to a great many people doing dangerous jobs for over 130 years, it was also home to a number of local indigenous tribes before that.

St. Paul's Church is styled after a church in East Machias, Maine... which much of the entire town of Port Gamble is based on.

Since it is no longer an active lumber town, Port Gamble has depended primarily on tourism for its income. It is a very popular venue for events seeking a very traditional atmosphere because it actually looks more like a small town in New England than a Washington state village.

This can be explained by the fact that when the mill was first set up the founders had the idea that the only way they would be able to attract competent mill workers from their home area in Maine would be to simply replicate an 1850s Maine town with all its facilities in Western Washington.

Typical houses around town, many of which now house shops.

After all, the Washington Territories in the 1850s were — in essence — in the middle of nowhere and not a particularly appealing prospect for someone with an established life back in Maine.

View across the bay from the end of Main Street. The buildings on the opposite side are part of the New Boston settlement where the indigenous mill workers lived.

Because the town is on the National Register of Historic Places, the very town itself has a slightly supernatural and out-of-place feel to it because it seems like time has stood still when you arrive there.

The annual Ghost Conference takes place during the second weekend of November every year, and builds on the town's reputation for having many locations where supernatural activity has been observed. Haunted? Perhaps. But there's absolutely a lot of paranormal activity!

The Walker-Ames House is regarded as one of the most haunted places in town!

The main hall used for the conference is the old Port Gamble Theater, which also happened to house the town morgue in the basement, for many years!

The theater building also houses a few offices, as well as the town's original post office.

Evening mood with the Walker-Ames House

The conference itself draws a mixture of paranormal researchers, ghost hunters, and fans of the paranormal and supernatural. Over the three days of the conference there are vendors, and presenters, and workshops, and — of course — paranormal investigations at night.

This year was our second year to attend both as vendors (my husband) and as a presenter (myself).

The old General Store is directly across from the theater.

We often debate among ourselves whether we are going to go back the following year, because the energy in the building itself is extremely heavy and can be a little unsettling. We usually come away somewhat exhausted after three days there, but at the same time it would be hard to come up with a better venue to have a ghost conference!

And yes, I have had a number of personal "experiences" while in Port Gamble, both in the Theater, as well as at some of the surrounding buildings, including the logging museum below the General Store. The details are too involved to relate in a post like this; so that will be for a different time!

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