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  McCarthy Album 08, Photograph 088

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  Caption: "Fort Ward, Wash.," c. 1908-1912. View from Puget Sound of a wharf and other buildings of Fort Ward. Originally known as Bean Point, Fort Ward was established by the U.S. Army Coastal Artillery Corps in 1890. Re-named Fort Ward in 1903, the facility included four coastal batteries designed to assist in protecting Puget Sound and the nearby Naval Shipyard from enemy attack. Fort Ward was placed on inactive status in the 1920s, but was revived by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The Navy discovered the fort's location was ideal for listening to radio communications from Japan, and it subsequently became a top secret listening post with a link directly to Washington, D.C. The Navy continued the fort's use as a listening post until 1956, when it was again taken over by the U.S. Army. The Army subsequently stopped all activity in 1958, ultimately selling portions of the fort to the Washington State Park System in 1960. It is now a state park.

  Date: 1908