About Us

In the late 1800’s, Samuel Hadlock helped develop a site in Port Hadlock, Washington, to be known as the Washington Mill Company. William J. Adams, who was the grandfather of Ansel Adams, owned and operated the company. The present site of the former mill is the Wooden Boat School on S. Water Street, Port Hadlock. In 1907, the Washington Mill Company closed, laying off numerous workers as a result of the proposed railroad for the region not being built, and was instead built on the east side of Puget Sound.

In 1909, hope beamed when Charles H. Adams began construction or the Classen Chemical Company’s Alcohol Plant. The Washington Mill Company was able to reopen the mill and was the supplier for the sawdust and raw material needed to distill the alcohol. The Alcohol Plant opened in June 1911. Based on the works of Louis Pasteur, they processed alcohol from sawdust using the Berigus Process.

The Alcohol Plant shipped all of its product to San Francisco and early on ran into financial problems. With the heavy competition for alcohol product in 1913, Western Distilleries (C&H Sugar) bought up all the available stock options, taking control of the company. This caused a significant loss of capital resulting in The Alcohol Plant closing forever in 1913.

For decades the Alcohol Plant stood vacant and fell into disrepair. In 1948 Ansel Adams and his son Michael visited the property to decide what to do with it. It would be another 30 years before an investor would acquire the Old Alcohol Plant with a vision.

In April, 1979 retired Buick dealer John Ray Hanson purchased the property and during the next nine years and $4 million dollars transformed the former Alcohol Plant into a hotel and marina.

In May, 1996, John Ray Hansen sold the property to Paul Christensen of Realvest Corporation of Vancouver, WA. Paul’s dream was to create the Inn at Port Hadlock and in 2006, the Inn at Port Hadlock opened.

Subsequently, the property was foreclosed upon and later purchased by the current owners, Inn Properties, LLC in December of 2014. After much renovation to bring life back to the Hotel, it opened again on July 1, 2016. An important aspect of the new ownership is the Mission the owners represent. The Tower Building of the hotel provides temporary housing to community members in need as they improve their quality of life, and transition into permanent living situations. This non-profit entity is called Bayside Housing & Services. All the current owners are involved with Bayside’s mission and are committed to supporting those in need. As guests of the Old Alcohol Plant Hotel and Restaurant, you are assisting with this mission. We appreciate your support.

As a Tribute to the History of the Adams Family, we have dedicated a wall to the works of Ansel Adams.