Seabeck

History

Seabeck was founded in 1856 by Marshall Blinn and William Adams, doing business as the Washington Mill Company. Their lumber was in such demand they built a second mill, then a shipyard to build boats to haul the lumber to California, which had high demand due to the California Gold Rush. Eventually, along with four saloons, the town had two general stores and two hotels. In 1876, there were over 400 people living in Seabeck. After decades of success, in the 1880s the demand had eased, and most of the easily accessible trees had been harvested. In August 1886 a spark from the ship Retriever started a fire that consumed both mills, along with other buildings. Rumors flew that the mills would not be re-built, so most residents moved to other towns with mills, notably Port Hadlock, turning Seabeck into a virtual ghost town. In 1914, the old townsite was purchased by Laurence Colman and revived as a retreat for Puget Sound's YMCA & YWCA clubs, and eventually all non-profit groups. Several surviving buildings from the 1850s-60s were refurbished and today form the campus of the Seabeck Conference Center. Seabeck is a mostly rural area, consisting primarily of the conference center across the road and lagoon from the general store, coffee shop, antique store, a pizza parlor and Olympic View Marina. There are houses and a now-demolished elementary school that served the areas around Seabeck. The population was 1,105 at the 2010 census. Under the direction of William J. Adams, the Washington Mill Company undertook the role of a shipyard, constructing vessels for a brief period of time in the late 1800s. In total, the Washington Mill Company is responsible for creating at least seven vessels of varying type within the city of Seabeck. Source: * Georgia – 1872, steamer *…

Geography

Seabeck is in western Kitsap County, along the southeastern shore of Hood Canal. It is northwest of Bremerton. The village of Seabeck is in the center of the Seabeck CDP, which extends east to Big Beef Creek and west to Stavis Bay. Scenic Beach State Park is in the western part of the CDP. Lake William Symington is directly south, a few kilometers away from the southern boundaries of the city. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Seabeck CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 21.85%, are water.

Most-observed species

• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,873
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  14,633
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  14,135
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  12,721
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,236
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  9,653
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  9,560
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Poecile rufescens (J.K.Townsend, 1837) · Aves
  9,064

Most recent

• M 2.56 — 2026-09-12
  2 km E of Mount Vernon, Washington
• M 2.51 — 2026-08-09
  11 km SSW of River Road, Washington
• M 3.8 — 2026-07-02
  2 km E of Oak Harbor, Washington
• M 2.5 — 2026-06-26
  11 km E of Carnation, Washington
• M 2.87 — 2026-06-08
  2 km ESE of Oak Harbor, Washington
• M 2.84 — 2026-05-27
  4 km W of Wauna, Washington