Point Wilson

{{Short description|Point on the Quimper Peninsula, Washington, U.S.}}

{{For|the location in Victoria, Australia|Point Wilson, Victoria}}

File:Point Wilson Washington aerial view.jpg

Point Wilson is at the end of the Quimper Peninsula, a northeast extension of the Olympic Peninsula and the northeasternmost point of Jefferson County, Washington, United States, approximately two miles north of the Port Townsend business district.

This low, broad sand-spit, extends over a half-mile into the water and marks the entrance to Admiralty Inlet from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Here, the main shipping channel narrows and makes a sharp turn to the south into Puget Sound.

Nearby shoals, heavy rip-tides, and persistent fogs influenced the placing of a lighthouse on Point Wilson in 1879. In 1913, the present Point Wilson Lighthouse was built by the United States Lighthouse Service. The point is also the site of a meteorological station.

The Chimakum Indians named this point Kam-kam-ho and the S'Klallam Indians called it Kam-Kum. Point Wilson was discovered by Europeans on July 5, 1790 by Juan Carrasco and Manuel Quimper.{{Cite book| last = Majors | first = Harry M. | title = Exploring Washington | publisher = Van Winkle Publishing Co | year = 1975 | pages = 24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CoWrPQAACAAJ| isbn = 978-0-918664-00-6}} Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy named Point Wilson on June 5, 1792, in honor of a colleague, Captain George Wilson.{{cite book |last= Roberts |first= John E. |title= A Discovery Journal: George Vancouver's First Survey Season - 1792 |year= 2005 |publisher= Trafford Publishing |isbn= 978-1-4120-7097-3 |page= 73}}