Port Hadlock Cleanup and Restoration

Port Hadlock-Irondale is located in northeastern Jefferson County at 48°2′12″N 122°46′30″W (48.036614, -122.774938),[4] on the Quimper Peninsula, an arm of the northeast corner of the Olympic Peninsula. The CDP includes the communities of Port Hadlock and Irondale, plus part of Chimacum, all of which form what is locally known as the "tri-area".[5] Irondale is in the northeast corner of the CDP, and Port Hadlock is adjacent to it in the east part of the CDP; both communities abut Port Townsend Bay. Chimacum is on the southern edge of the CDP, in the Chimacum Valley at the intersection of Washington State Route 19 and Chimacum Road. The CDP extends to the west to within 0.5 miles (0.8 km) of Discovery Bay.

Samuel Hadlock, the founder of Port Hadlock, moved west in 1846, finally landing in the Port Hadlock area in 1870. He contracted with the Washington Mill Company to build a sawmill on a spit of land at the south end of Port Townsend Bay, on a low bank, but deep enough waters for tall ships to moor. Hadlock established a large lumber mill. Lumber from the mill was shipped to San Francisco, and as far away as Australia and Hawaii. Two of the remaining buildings of the Washington Mill Company are what is known today as the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building, and the residence of Samuel Hadlock, presently known as the Ajax Cafe.

On the waterfront near the mill were a general store, post office, barber shop, livery stable, laundry, two hotels and two saloons. The saloons were frequented by sailors from all over the world as well as local mill workers, longshoremen, and loggers. There was little law enforcement and it was life in the Wild West.

In 1909 construction started on the alcohol plant. It was completed in 1910, when it began manufacturing wood alcohol from sawdust. The operational costs of this venture proved too costly, and the plant suspended operation about 1913. The alcohol plant was renovated into a resort, which included an inn, restaurant, marina and art gallery. The resort and restaurant are open to the public.

Subsequent industries have included a boat building yard and a clam cannery. In 1946 Melvin Kivley established the first businesses at the Hadlock intersection - a secondhand store and a Signal Service Station.[9]