- The first non-Indian families arrive at the new settlement of Port Townsend on February 23, 1852. (historylink.org)
On February 23, 1852, the families of Loren and Lucinda Hastings and Francis and Sophia Pettygrove arrive at the site of Port Townsend with another family and several single men. They are the first non-Indian families to settle in the new town that Hastings and Pettygrove, along with Alfred Plummer and Charles Bachelder, are founding on the Olympic Peninsula in what is now Jefferson County.
- Alfred A. Plummer and Charles Bachelder settle on the site of future Port Townsend on April 24, 1851. (historylink.org)
On April 24, 1851, Alfred A. Plummer (1822-1883) and Charles Bachelder land on a beach at the mouth of Port Townsend, an extensive bay at the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula in what is now Jefferson County. They immediately file land claims and begin building a cabin. Plummer and Bachelder are the first non-Indians to settle in the area called Kah Tai by the Clallam Indians whose land it is. Six months later they join with two newer arrivals, Loren B. Hastings (1814-1881), and Francis W. Pettygrove (d. 1887) to establish the new town of Port Townsend, which they name for the bay.
- The only two houses belonging to white men are the store and a boarding house kept by an old sea captain. The rest are Indian huts, built of slabs of cedar, and lined with mats. They belong to King George, the Duke of York and their retinue. We met Mr. Hastings, a justice of the peace, his clerk, a Mr. Plummer, and Mr. Pettigrew, a man who has formerly been very rich in Oregon.
- We returned by way of Point Wilson, in order to see a stratum of what Mr. Hastings called “ignite.” We failed to see any bear, of which there were many indications, but we killed a few grouse and Dr. Haden wounded a large eagle, which I was foolish enough to approach. He attacked me fiercely, sinking his bill and claws firmly into my leg, causing intense pain. I was only released after I had cut his head off with my knife.