New Book Detailing History of Port Washington Also Benefits Historical Society

When Arcadia Publishing asked Port Washington resident Rick Smith to take on the task of compiling a book on the area for its series "Images of America," Smith said he was hesitant.

But when nobody else stepped forward to tackle the project, he felt it was something that truly needed to be done — so he got to work, for "at least a year or so."

"If you're writing a novel, you can just use your imagination — but if you're writing a history book it takes a lot of research," he said.

The book, titled, "Images of America: Port Washington," is part of a nationwide series from Arcadia Publishing and Smith said the pictures do a great job of showing the differences in Port then and now.

"The density downtown was much greater than it is now," he said. "All those parking lots — those were all buildings … and the book shows that, it really shows the changes that have occurred."

Kathie Gordon, secretary for the Port Washington Historical Society, edited the entire book, helping Smith get the book to its final format.

Gordon said the book dives deep into the area's history, "from the very very beginning," touching on the natives, early settlers and voyagers to the area.

"(The book is) really just looking back on our history," she said. "It's a nicely written book."

Smith has also published books featuring Port Washington shipwrecks, boats that visited Port over the years, the fishing families of the area, and characters that he knew in Port — an experience that gave him a one-up when starting to research the book.

The book will be available to purchase at the Port Washington Historical Society, the lightstation and Portico Gift Shop for $21.99. Proceeds from the book will benefit the Historical Society.

The Historical Society will also be hosting a book launch and signing event from 6 to 8 p.m. April 8. The event will be at the former Wilson House in Port Washington. People should RSVP for the event by calling Kathi Gordon at 262-268-9734.