- Fort Steilacoom is located on the grounds of the Western State Hospital, overseen by the Washington State Department of Social & Health Services and cared for and paid for by the Historic Fort Steilacoom Association, (HFSA). In 1978, the final four remaining buildings were in deplorable condition. Plans for the hospital included demolition of the fort structures. Preservation efforts, in the early 1980s, by the Washington State Historic Preservation Office, Heritage League of Pierce County, and HFSA restored these officers’ quarters, which became the Fort Steilacoom Museum.
- Tales of Old Fort Steilacoom (PDF) (historicfortsteilacoom.org)
Brevet Captain Delancy Floyd Jones was a bit of a dandy. And like most dandies was somewhat full of himself. He claimed an aristocratic background, was proud of his family’s lineage, and believed that small hands and feet were evidence of that heritage. Floyd Jones had small hands and feet. Also, perhaps his hyphenated last name contributed to his feelings of superiority. Floyd-Jones was a good soldier despite his aloofness. Lieutenant August Kautz describes him as a man of good habits and beyond reproach in his personal conduct, but he had one personal trait that distinguished him from all others at Fort Steilacoom. Floyd-Jones changed his shirt every day.
- Fort Steilacoom, Vol. 35, No. 1, Spring 2018 (PDF) (historicfortsteilacoom.org)
August Valentine Kautz was born in Germany on January 5, 1828. Shortly thereafter the family, including close relatives, emigrated to America and settled on land previously purchased in Ohio. When he grew up, August Kautz had a long career in the United States Army. He graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1852, serving in many places, including Fort Steilacoom, and later as a General in the Civil War. He retired from active service on January 5, 1892, in Vancouver, Washington.