An 1883 brick tower residence on Madrona Hill at Fort Worden Historical State Park — the post's oldest building — associated with a maintenance worker's drowning in the property's cistern.
200 Battery Way, Port Townsend, WA 98368
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Vacation rental rates through Washington State Parks / Fort Worden Hospitality; Discover Pass required for park access.
Access
Limited Access
Brick tower residence on Madrona Hill; multiple flights of internal stairs. Grounds accessible via park paths.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1883 · Oldest building within Fort Worden Historical State Park · Predates the establishment of Fort Worden as a U.S. military post in 1898 · Built by Reverend John B. Alexander, rector of St. Paul Episcopal Church
Alexander's Castle is the oldest structure within Fort Worden Historical State Park, predating the U.S. military post that would surround it. In 1886 — though most sources place the construction itself in 1883 — Reverend John B. Alexander, rector of St. Paul Episcopal Church at Tyler and Jefferson Streets in Port Townsend, purchased ten acres on a bluff overlooking Point Wilson from Mary Fowler for $250 in gold. He built a brick tower residence reminiscent of Scottish architecture, reportedly for his Scottish fiancée. According to widely repeated local lore, when Alexander sailed back to Scotland to retrieve her, he discovered she had married another in his absence.
The castle remained Alexander's residence until his death. When the U.S. Army established Fort Worden in 1898 as part of the Coast Artillery defenses of Puget Sound, the property was incorporated into the post. The castle is the oldest structure at Fort Worden.
Fort Worden was decommissioned as an active military post in 1953. It became Washington's Fort Worden State Park, today known as Fort Worden Historical State Park, and Alexander's Castle is now operated as a one-bedroom vacation rental managed by Fort Worden Hospitality / Washington State Parks.
Sources
Per Fort Worden Hospitality's official 'Castle Continues its Haunting Attraction' page and reporting in the Port Townsend Leader, ghost lore at Alexander's Castle centers on William Payne, who served as a maintenance man for John Alexander. According to local accounts, Payne was found dead with his head submerged in the property's cistern in just six inches of water — a circumstance that, under normal conditions, he could have stood upright to escape, raising historical questions never fully resolved.
Play-by-play investigation reports by groups including Ghostly Activities document EVP sessions in which questions were addressed to William Payne in the castle. The same accounts identify John Alexander himself among the reported presences. Wider Fort Worden ghost lore — beyond the castle proper — includes reports of moans in abandoned barracks and ghostly soldiers along Pershing Avenue, the post's main road.
These accounts are documented in regional news, Fort Worden's own hospitality literature, and paranormal investigation reports — a relatively well-corroborated source mix compared to many private-residence haunted-place listings.
Notable Entities
Book Alexander's Castle through Washington State Parks for a one-bedroom vacation rental. Ghost tours and investigation events are periodically offered through Fort Worden Hospitality.
Walk the grounds of Fort Worden Historical State Park, including the area around Alexander's Castle on Madrona Hill.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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