Six months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States military began construction of Fort Ebey at the westernmost point of Whidbey Island. Overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the fort was to stand as the first line of defense for Puget Sound, home to shipyards and Boeing plants crucial for the war effort. Fort Ebey’s primary ordnance, Battery 248, was a twelve-room bunker with a six-inch, rapid fire, Barbette-mounted gun at either entrance. Sights trained on the open ocean, these twin guns were capable of launching a one hundred-pound shell nearly sixteen miles. The guns were mounted February 1st, 1944, and when the war ended eighteen months and one day later, they were scrapped for parts, having been fired exactly zero times. The federal government sold Fort Ebey to Washington State, which declared it a public park in 1981.
Fort Ebey State Park has miles of woodland trails, and its beachfronts strewn with glacial till make for gorgeous sunset walking—perfect for a date, especially when followed by dinner at Oystercatcher, a ten-minute drive away.
If you’re less romantically inclined, however, the dark, claustrophobic halls of the Battery have not been locked, and are perfect for thrill seekers and ghost hunters—especially at night. Some day, following a grisly murder (or just a tumble in the dark), Battery 248 will be sealed from public access. Get out and see it while you can.
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