Fort Ward Park is a 137-acre marine park with 4,300 feet of saltwater shoreline on Rich Passage. Many of the structures in the park reflect the historic military significance of the area, but the park is well developed for day use. There is an underwater park for scuba divers, a two-lane boat ramp and a long, rocky beach along Rich Passage.
During the 1880s, the Endicott Board, convened by Secretary of War William C. Endicott made sweeping recommendations for new or upgraded coastal defense installations and weapons systems. As the twentieth century approached, American military strategists realized that heavy, fixed artillery required a very different training program than lighter, mobile field artillery.
Fort Ward was originally known as Beans Point and was established in 1890 as one of several U.S. Army Coastal Artillery Corps installations, including Fort Flagler, Fort Casey and Fort Worden, built to defend Puget Sound from enemy warships. Its primary objective was to protect the nearby Bremerton Naval Shipyard.
In 1903, the U.S. Army officially designated Beans Point as a seacoast fort and named it Fort Ward in honor of Colonel George H. Ward. Activity in and around the fort continued as new buildings were constructed and new troops arrived.
The coastal artillery batteries located at Fort Ward were:
- Battery Nash (1903–1918), three 8" DC, hidden along the bluff, now on private property;
- Battery Warner (1903–1925), two 5" P, now on private property and surrounded by modern homes;
- Battery Thornburgh (1903–1920), four 3" MP;
- Battery Vinton (1903–1920), two 3" MP.
Battery Vinton had two 3" model 1897 guns. These guns guarded an underwater mine field placed across Rich Passage. The guns were removed on July 19, 1920, never having been fired for defense, and were shipped to France.
In the 1920s, Fort Ward was placed on inactive status, but a small number of men were still stationed there. In 1928, the fort was essentially left abandoned. The fort remained abandoned for several years, until 1935, it served as a state-operated fresh air camp for inner city children from Seattle.