A previous owner had stripped the living-room fireplace, painted long ago. Completing the job is on Sharon Stanley's "to do" list. The fir floors are worn in places, but have their original finish.

Sharon Stanley exudes warmth and ease from the minute she greets people. If the urge to salute her is overwhelming, it is likely the energy of the ghosts of U.S. Army colonels who once called her home their quarters. Stanley owns and happily lives in one half of a double house that served the domestic and entertaining needs of officers at Fort Ward on Bainbridge Island.

In 1890, the Washington State Legislature approved a deal allowing the federal government to buy land for "fortifications, lighthouses or other needed public buildings." In 1892, the government purchased the Ward property — 375 wooded acres at Bean's Point near the south end of Bainbridge — and by the turn of the century the Army had built four gun batteries, some interim buildings and a wharf.

The understated Classic Revival style of the colonels' residence at Fort Ward was commonly chosen for officers' quarters in the forts built in the Pacific Northwest at the turn of the 20th century.

By 1907, the first troops were stationed at Fort Ward and, by 1911, 27 buildings had been completed. Ironically, Fort Ward was placed on inactive status that year, and virtually abandoned through World War I and much of the Depression. In 1935, the state used it for a children's camp.

During World War II, the Navy took charge of Fort Ward, establishing a radio station and a communications school. After Pearl Harbor, "nets" with sunken mines attached were strung from the fort across Rich Passage to discourage attack on the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in nearby Bremerton.

The columned veranda off the dining room is a popular eating, reading and socializing space. An earlier tenant did much of the planting on the grounds. Stanley says, "For me, this garden is magic. The color comes in extravagant ways in spring and fall."

When armed defense was no longer deemed necessary, in 1947, the Army moved into Fort Ward and used the site intermittently until the late 1950s. The state eventually established a park at the site, and most of the former military structures were converted to residential use. Original buildings survive today, including the Post Exchange, gymnasium, bakery and officers' residences.

Sharon Stanley is one of the lucky few able to purchase a piece of this past. A psychologist specializing in trauma, she had been living in Victoria, B.C., but relocated to Seattle in early 2003, moving into a studio apartment on Queen Anne Hill. But her wish to find a larger, quieter place where she could also work led her to Bainbridge.

Stanley's "town house" has a living room, dining room, study and crowd-friendly kitchen on the main floor, three bedrooms and bath on the second floor. A third floor, which originally housed the colonel's "batman" or aide, has two bedrooms and a bath. The rooms are large and well-proportioned, with ceilings nearly 12 feet high.

The bedroom, with south- and west-facing windows, is light and airy. The white wicker furniture reinforces the country feel of the space. Stanley bought the statue in Jordan on a recent business trip.


A large pocket door can still be pulled between living and dining room “ the owner's favorite room for gathering people. "When the sun comes in during the day “ this is south facing “ it's glorious."

What attracted her to the building are its many original features: multipaned windows, a traditional fireplace, a handsome stair that rises to the second floor, pantries, even a built-in ironing board. What's more, the house is surrounded by the privacy of lawn, flowers and trees.

"It's peaceful and restful for seeing patients," Stanley says, "and for my own family and myself."

Lawrence Kreisman is program director of Historic Seattle and author of "Made to Last: Historic Preservation in Seattle and King County."