Rothschild House State Park

The Rothschild House State Park is a popular stop. Its historic home (Franklin & Taylor Streets, 360-379-8076) is open for self-guided tours daily from 10 am to 5 pm, May through September. Travel back in time to the 1800s as you step through the kitchen door into a home virtually unchanged since its first days. D.C.H. Rothschild, or “the Baron” as he became known locally, was born in Bavaria in 1824. After traveling extensively around the world and engaging in several business enterprises, he settled in Port Townsend in 1858 and ran a hugely successful venture devoted exclusively to the maritime trade. In 1868, he had the Rothschild House built. When he died in 1885, his widow, Dorette, decided to remain in the house and did so until her death in 1918, allowing only minimal architectural changes. Occupied only by Rothschild family members after Dorette’s death, the house was donated by the last surviving relation to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. The house was opened to the public in 1962 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A flower garden behind the house features many old varieties of peonies, roses, and lilacs.