Dr. Samuel M. McCurdy was born in 1805 near Londonberry, Ireland and received his medical degree in Dublin. He came to the United States in 1836 and practiced in Maine and New Brunswick. In 1840, he married Catherine Boyd, who was the first woman Seminary teacher in the area. He then journeyed in 1850 to California, finally settling by 1854 in Port Townsend. Serving as medical officer in the Indian Wars of 1855-56, he treated over 600 Indians afflicted with smallpox. Following the war, his wife and six children were able to immigrate from the east. Dr. McCurdy established the Marine Hospital, the first north of San Francisco. Eventually leaving medicine, he co-published the Port Townsend Register (newspaper) in 1859 and was even elected sheriff and served as US Commissioner.

When the McCurdy house was first built in 1868, the Dr. and his wife owned the entire block. A popular builder of the area, Horace Tucker, constructed both this house and the adjacent Rothschild House as mirror images of each other. In the 1950’s, the latter became the smallest state park in Washington and is available for tours during the summer season. It is quite a unique experience to view it still virtually unchanged as it was built and then return here to see the portions of the original structure in this home that still remain today.