Fort Lawton - Seattle, WA - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

FORT LAWTON, the 640-acre Army reservation on Magnolia Bluff overlooking Puget Sound, was established in 1897 and a year later named for Major General Henry W. Lawton, an American officer killed in the Philippines. A half million dollars have been spent on improving the reservation, which now includes rifle, pistol, and long distance firing ranges, powder magazines, a cemetery, warehouse, and nine-hole golf course. The fort grounds have room for troop maneuvers, eight barracks, accomodations for 600 men and officers, a post hospital and headquarters.

Fine views of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and the Olympic Mountains are offered from drives encircling the parade grounds.

Fort Lawton operated until it was delisted in 2005. Nearly all of the original structures built in 1900-1915 still remain within the district, and the officers quarters and some housing areas within the fort property are still used by military personnel.

Most of the fort's property is now part of Seattle park district's Discovery Park which features miles of trails with views of the Olympic Mountains and the Puget Sound. There is also a beautiful historic lighthouse within the park grounds. The parade grounds and the historic fort buildings surrounding it have been listed as a National Historic District in the National Register of Historic Places.

During WWII the fort had a large POW camp on site and made national news when a POW was lynched during a riot led by African-American soldiers who were upset that the POW's had more freedoms than they did.

During the cold war the army installed a Nike missile on the fort grounds, and also used the area as a master command station for the Seattle area's 10 missiles. Later the Air Force's 635th Radar Squadron moved onto the fort grounds and operated a radar tower here. One of the towers is still in use by the FAA and is located within the historic district.