BREMERTON

city, Kitsap county, western Washington, U.S., on Port Orchard Bay across Puget Sound from Seattle (connected by ferry). William Bremer laid out the site in 1891 and promoted the establishment of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Incorporated in 1901, it expanded as the northern home of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and consolidated with Manette (East Bremerton), annexing Charleston (West Bremerton) in 1927. There are lumber and dairy industries, and Olympic Technical Community College was established there in 1946. Bremerton is a gateway to the recreational areas of the Olympic Peninsula. The battleship USS Missouri, site of Japan's surrender to the United States and its allies (Sept. 2, 1945), terminating World War II, is anchored adjacent to the naval shipyard and is opened to visitors. The Navy's Polaris Missile Facility, Pacific, is in Bremerton. Pop. (1990) city, 38,142; Bremerton MSA, 189,731.