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Fort Worden Post Cemetery
Port Townsend, Washington
Location
1300-1398 West Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Visiting
- Address
- 1300-1398 West Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368
- Phone
- 425-413-9614
- Visiting hours
- Open daily from dawn to dusk. Office Hours at Tahoma National Cemetery: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day and Veterans Day. NOTE: Cemetery offices are off-site. Tahoma National Cemetery oversees this cemetery.
- Office hours
- Not yet verified
- Time zone
- Pacific Time
- Burial space
- Closed
- Accessibility
- Not yet verified
- Official page
- cem.va.gov
Flowers and grounds policy, from the VA
Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.
The cemetery staff will place three floral arrangements, which accompanied the urn at the time of burial, on the completed grave. Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year and will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing.
Artificial flowers are permitted on graves during periods when their presence will not interfere with grounds maintenance. Generally, artificial flowers are allowed on graves for a period extending 10 days before through 10 days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.
Holiday wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from December 1 through January 20. They may not be secured to headstones or markers.
Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating beads or wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury.
Permanent items removed from graves will be placed in an inconspicuous holding area for one month prior to disposal. Decorative items removed from graves remain the property of the donor but are under the custodianship of the cemetery. If not retrieved by the donor, they are then governed by the rules for disposal of federal property.
Weapons Policy
VA regulations 38 CFR 1.218 prohibit the carrying of firearms (either openly or concealed), explosives or other dangerous or deadly weapons while on VA property, except for official purposes, such as military funeral honors.
Possession of firearms on any property under the charge and control of VA is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to a fine, removal from the premises, or arrest.
General information, from the VA
The Fort Worden Post Cemetery is located in the Fort Worden State Park at Port Townsend, Washington, on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Army transferred Fort Worden Post to NCA by the Department of the Army on August 21, 2020.
The grounds are wheelchair accessible. There is no on-site parking. Visitors can park on the side of the cemetery's roadways and are reminded to use caution due to traffic. There are no restroom facilities at the cemetery.
NOTE: Tahoma National Cemetery oversees Fort Worden Post Cemetery, and visitors can contact staff at the phone number above. There is no dedicated staff physically located at Fort Worden National Cemetery.
Directions from Nearest Airport
The closest airport is William R Fairchild International Airport (CLM), which is approximately 62 miles from Ft. Worden Post Cemetery.
Depart William R Fairchild International Airport: 1402 Fairchild Airport Rd, Port Angeles, WA 98363.
Take S Airport Rd to US-101 E. Continue on US-101 E to Jefferson County. Turn left onto WA-20 E (follow the signs to Port Townsend). Turn left to stay on WA-20 E. Turn left onto Discovery Rd. Turn right at the 1st cross street to stay on Discovery Rd. At the traffic circle, continue straight to stay on Discovery Rd. Turn left to stay on Discovery Rd. Turn left onto San Juan Ave. Turn right onto Admiralty Ave. Admiralty Ave turns right and becomes Spruce St. Turn left onto W St, The cemetery will be on the left.
Pay your respects
Visitors to veterans’ graves sometimes leave a coin on the headstone to show that someone came. You can leave a symbolic coin here. No money is involved, and nothing about you is published. About the custom, and what each coin is said to mean.
History
Reproduced from the VA National Cemetery Administration’s page for this cemetery, retrieved November 11, 2026. This is the VA’s text, unedited; it is not independent research by this site.
Construction of the Fort Worden military defense installation began in 1896. It was one of three major fortifications protecting Puget Sound. The three, Fort Casey, Fort Flagler, and Fort Worden eventually became known as the triangle of fire, protecting the Puget Sound entrance from feared Spanish American War naval attacks, and any naval attacks from other nations.
Fort Worden was activated in May 1902 and was named for a naval officer, Admiral John Lorimer Worden (1818–1897), captain of the ironclad Civil War vessel USS Monitor.
The first troops arrived in May 1902 and Fort Worden was fully operational in 1905 as the Headquarters of the Puget Sound Harbor Defense Command. On June 2, 1902, one month after post activation, the first death occurred. Private Elisha Webb (1879–1902) of McMinn County, Tennessee died of illness. Private Webb was a soldier in the 126th Coast Artillery and he was buried in the new cemetery.
In 1903 the Secretary of War directed that Fort Worden be the official burial grounds for the three Puget Sound harbor defense forts. Since then, the cemetery has over 430 interments that include service members, spouses and dependents from the Spanish American War to current engagements.
In 1908, a monument named the Soldiers' Monument was erected in the cemetery. It had a pivot gun off the revenue cutter Jefferson Davis placed on a concrete pedestal. The monument honors all those who died in the service of this nation. During a scrap metal drive for World War II the pivot gun was removed and melted down for the war effort. It was replaced with a 1918 German howitzer. The gun and pedestal, along with the American Flag, are the center features of the cemetery.
In World War I artillery Soldiers going to European battlefields trained here. Between the wars the post had a small force and rearmed. In World War II the Fort was home to the 14th Coast Artillery Regiment and the joint Navy-Army Harbor Defense Command. Emphasis shifted to anti-aircraft artillery. Outdated coastal artillery was scrapped.
After World War II, Fort Worden was determined to be obsolete and the Harbor Defense Command closed in June 1953. In 1957 Washington State purchased the property for a youth treatment center. Budget cuts in 1971 closed the youth treatment center and it then became a Washington state park. The cemetery was not included in the land transfer and remained an active Army cemetery until transferred to the National Cemetery Administration in August 2020.
Notable burials and memorials
Reproduced from the VA’s page for this cemetery, retrieved November 11, 2026, including Medal of Honor recipients where the VA lists them. Links lead to the VA’s own records. To correct an entry, contact the VA; to tell us our copy is out of date, report it.
Nearby veterans cemeteries
Sources
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. Find a Cemetery: all national cemeteries, and each cemetery’s own page. U.S. government work (public domain). Retrieved November 11, 2026. Used for: name, address, phone and burial-space status, hours, policies, history and notable burials.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. Fort Worden Post Cemetery (official cemetery page). Retrieved November 11, 2026.
- Map position: U.S. Census Bureau. Census Geocoder and 2025 Gazetteer files.