Fort Worden State Park
Oral History Program

The Fort Worden Oral History Program collects oral histories, writings, photos and memorabilia from those who were at Fort Worden during a memorable period of their life.

Comprehensive Oral History Interviews

Since its inception in 2003, the volunteers of the Fort Worden Oral History Program have collected almost 300 interviews with the men and women who have served, lived, worked, or visited Fort Worden over its long history.

The interviews tell of the real life experiences of those who served at Fort Worden during the military era; who worked or lived here during the Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center days; or have visited, participated in activities, or worked at the fort since it became a state park conference center.

These interviews, which have been transcribed and cataloged, form a rich treasure trove of stories that should be mined for source material by historians, students, genealogists, and writers. We regularly feature new excerpts from selected interviews. We hope you enjoy reading about the lives and times of these men and women.

From an interview with Mrs. Mary Swift of Olympia, WA
conducted by Rick Martinez at the Fort Worden History Center on October 12, 2002. Mrs. Swift, daughter of Lt. Col. Floyd D. Robbins, lived at Fort Worden from 1940 to 1945. Here she describes what it was like at Fort Worden on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941.

• Read excerpt

“We were here on Pearl Harbor Day. It was exciting but yet it was scary; because, number one, we did not know where Pearl Harbor was. We’d never heard of Pearl Harbor in those days. My dad always turned on the radio first thing in the morning. We were getting ready to go to church. He was eating his breakfast and the news came over the radio. He immediately jumped up so fast. He ran and put on his battle clothes, his leggings and his boots and all those things. So we knew it was serious. He just dashed out of the house and ran across the parade grounds, and then just disappeared. We stood on the porch crying, “What’s goin’ on, what’s happenin’.” We were so scared.

This fort came to life on that day. Sirens started going off and the bugle calls, assembly. Soldiers were running in every direction. We thought the Japanese were still on the way. We had had air raid drills, so we knew what you do. Our basement was our air raid shelter, and they had main air raid shelter someplace up there by the brig or somewhere in there; and so we all went to our basement thinking they’re still coming.”

From an interview with Harry Plowman of Quincy, PA
conducted by Oran DeBois on January 4, 2004 by telephone from the Fort Worden History Center. Mr. Plowman served in the US Army from 1942 to 1952 and attained the rank of colonel. He served in both World War II and Korea. Here he describes the night the Fort Worden Officer’s Club was destroyed by fire.

• Read excerpt

“We had a very nice one. About two o’clock one morning I heard the fire siren blow and so I got up and looked out the window from where we lived off post and I saw all these flames. Our Officer’s club was on fire and it burned completely down to the ground. The next morning the only thing that was left was a large native stone fireplace and chimney. A lot of my friends joked and accused me for burning down the Officer’s Club. The reason they did this (was because) at noon time all the officers went there and made lunch most of the time, and we had a cribbage game going all the time. You tried to work your way up to be on top, be the first man on the ladder as far as cribbage players were concerned. They knew that I became the top man on the cribbage ladder—of course, it was that night that the club burned down. So everybody accused me…so I would always be the number one cribbage player.”

Select a cataloged list of these interviews from the links below:

Comprehensive Interview List

Comprehensive Interview List

Tapes and transcripts of complete interviews are available for a nominal fee to cover duplicating and shipping costs. Please contact us at:

Fort Worden History Center
200 Battery Way, Port Townsend, WA 98368
(360) 344-4481

Library of Congress Veterans Project

We are collaborating with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project to collect oral histories of veterans and wartime civilians who were based at Fort Worden. A record of these interviews will be registered with the Library's national database. Audio tapes and memorabilia will be preserved in the Fort Worden State Park archives. For a list of archived veteran interviews, please visit the Veterans History Project Database website.

Share Your Story

We continue to collect stories from those involved with the Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center, State Parks employees and from participants in park activities. Memories on tape and donations of memorabilia from interviewees' Fort Worden experiences are carefully documented and preserved in the Fort Worden State Park archives.

You will be interviewed by one of our trained our Oral History Program volunteers. The recorded interview will be no more than 90 minutes in length. During your interview, we encourage family and friends who might have accompanied you to take a stroll along the beach, enjoy a snack in the Fort Worden Commons, visit the Marine Science Center or partake of the other activities Fort Worden offers. If you are unable to travel to Fort Worden, we can arrange to interview you by telephone.

Categories of particular interest include:

  • Veterans
  • Civilian Employees
  • Military Family Members
  • Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center Residents and Employees
  • Fort Worden State Park Campus Partners
  • Fort Worden State Park Volunteers
  • People who have participated in festivals, workshops, or other activities at Fort Worden

We hope you will take this opportunity to leave a legacy for future generations by sharing your memories. Please contact us at the address below. We look forward to your contribution.

Patience Rogge
Oral History Program
200 Battery Way, Port Townsend, WA 98368
(360) 344-4481