Restoring 1904

Friends of Swansonville is a community nonprofit formed to preserve & restore a historic building and its surrounding area in Port Ludlow, Washington.

Since 2020 alone, Port Ludlow neighbors have worked hard to keep this historic building upright. As we carry out a long-term restoration project, we are happy to report that Friends of Swansonville has:

A weathered wooden church with arched stained glass windows and a tall steeple, set against a cloudy sky and surrounded by trees.

 Established legal ownership and received the deed for the building.

(C) 2018 Tony Webster (CC BY 2.0)

Gained National Historic Site of Historic Places status from the US National Park Service.

A vintage typewriter with a sheet of paper that reads 'FUNDING ROUND' against a black background.

Received grant awards from the Rayonier Corporation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

A project support sign from the National Park Service featuring the park logo, information about the Swansonville Church Third Places Fund Project, contractor details from All Weather Roofing, ownership by Friends of Swansonville, grant from Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation, and a brief project description about reroofing and repairing water damage.

We have accomplished some major feats in recent years, including:

  • In 2020 Friends of Swansonville barely saved the edifice from being demolished.

  • In 2021, we turned our focus to keeping the building from tipping! The 116-year-old post and pier foundation began to be addressed.

  • In September 2021, Friends of Swansonville obtained a grant to fund the restoration of the foundation. This is being funded through the Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program from the federal Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) of the National Park Service (NPS), proposed by Washington State’s Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP), and managed under contract by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation (WTHP).

  • In 2024, we have begun deploying our Third Places Fund grant from the National Park Service to address water intrusion by reroofing the building and repairing the water-damaged steeple.

Funding the construction and restoration of the building foundation is one of the first steps in our long-term restoration of the oldest community building in Port Ludlow, Washington.

Volunteers have donated time, resources and expertise to frame, support and prepare the building to be raised.

Get Involved

Come pick up a paint brush, or maybe browse through archives from the Jefferson County Historical Society. With Friends of Swansonville, there are many volunteer opportunity for every type of person with any skill set!

VOLUNTEER WITH US