San Juan Island

San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km² (55.053 sq mi) and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census.

San Juan
Location of San Juan Island in the San Juans
San Juan
Geography
LocationPacific Northwest
Coordinates48°32′N 123°05′W
ArchipelagoSan Juan Islands
Area55.053 sq mi (142.59 km2)
Highest elevation1,080 ft (329 m)
Highest pointMount Dallas
Administration
United States
StateWashington
CountySan Juan County
Largest settlementFriday Harbor (pop. 2,162)
Demographics
Population6,894 (2010 [1])
Pop. density47.84/km2 (123.91/sq mi)

Washington State Ferries serves Friday Harbor, which is San Juan Island's major population center, the San Juan County seat, and the only incorporated town in the islands.

History

The name "San Juan" originates from the 1791 expedition of Francisco de Eliza, who named the archipelago Isla y Archipiélago de San Juan to honor his patron sponsor, Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo. One of the officers under Eliza's command, Gonzalo López de Haro, was the first European to discover San Juan Island. During the Wilkes Expedition, American explorer Charles Wilkes renamed the island Rodgers Island; the Spanish name remained on British nautical charts and over time became the island's official name.[2]

The island saw seasonal use for salmon fishing. The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established the first permanent, non-native settlement on the island on December 13, 1853, with the intention of creating a sheep farm. The island was also occupied by Native Americans, many of whom arrived seasonally for fishing. Both the British and Americans asserted control of the island. A small force of American soldiers was sent to the island over concern for this issue and with Native American raids on American settlers. The territorial dispute over this island and the rest of the San Juan Islands heightened when an American settler shot an HBC pig, starting the Pig War in 1859. The dispute was finally resolved in favor of the Americans in 1872.[3]

Island life

San Juan Island has a number of weekly newspapers,[4] and two online daily news sites: the San Juan Islander[5] and the Island Guardian,.[6] The Island is dotted with numerous farms, and is a tourist-driven economy. The island hosts two substantial marinas, one in Friday Harbor, the other in Roche Harbor. One often sees tall ships and large yachts in the marinas.

The Island has a hospital, the Peace Health Peace Island Medical Center.[7]

Transportation to the Island is by boat, Washington State Ferries, seaplane or by conventional aircraft. If traveling by seaplane, Friday Harbor is serviced by Northwest Seaplanes and Kenmore Air, both longtime operators in the area. The Friday Harbor Airport is on the outskirt of town. Outside of Friday Harbor, the only major commercial establishment resort is the village of Roche Harbor, located on the northwest side of the island.

San Juan Island NHP English Camp
San Juan Island NHP American Camp

Other landmarks are the old English and American Camps at opposite ends of the island, which together comprise the San Juan Island National Historical Park, which commemorates the 1859 Pig War. Interpretive centers and reconstructed buildings, formal gardens, etc. recall the history of early European settlement in the area.

Friday Harbor ferry landing

The University of Washington runs Friday Harbor Laboratories, a marine research lab and campus[8] outside Friday Harbor. The campus has been extant since 1909 and has dormitories, a food service, and classrooms for holding lectures.

San Juan Island is considered a "small town" community, in that it is relatively quiet rural living with little distractions or incidents aside from tourism. One notable resident would be Lisa "Ivory" Moretti, a retired female professional wrestler of World Wrestling Entertainment fame. In addition, many Hollywood stars and celebrities spend time on the island to avoid publicity and to seek some peace and quiet.

It has a number of attractions including The Whale Museum; a contemporary Art Museum building completed in 2015; the San Juan Community Theatre; the Sculpture Park (near Roche Harbor); the San Juan Historical Museum; and Lime Kiln Point State Park where visitors can watch orca pods swim by. Lime Kiln Park is so named because it housed a lime kiln and is home to the historic Lime Kiln Light. Camping is also available around the island.

Lime Kiln Lighthouse
Friday Harbor

Schools

Public schools are operated by the San Juan Island School District #149. It operates four schools: Friday Harbor Elementary School, Friday Harbor Middle School, Friday Harbor High School, Griffin Bay Schools (alternative high school, parent-partner home school program, online courses, and virtual school), and Stuart Island School (K-8). There are also two privately operated schools.[9]

Ecology

The waters surrounding San Juan Island are home to a variety of species including red sea urchins[10] and pinto abalone.[11] Though no commercial fishing of abalone has ever been allowed in this area, recreational fishing of abalone was outlawed in 1994.[11] The National Marine Fisheries Service listed pinto abalone as a Species of Concern in 2004.[11]

In 2015, San Juan Island became a protected location under The Antiquities Act. On March 25 of that year, former President Barack Obama included San Juan Island and approximately 75 other sites located in the Salish Sea into the San Juan Islands National Monument.

Attractions

There are a few small, family-run aquaculture farms in the San Juan Islands including Westcott Bay Shellfish Co, where visitors can buy oysters, clams and mussels and see shellfish farming operations.[12] Whale watching[13] and night-time bioluminescence tours depart from Friday Harbor.[14]

References
  1. "San Juan Islands Chamber of Commerce".
  2. Phillips, James W. (1971). Washington State Place Names. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-95158-3.
  3. "Letter from Mr. Crosbie to General Cass" (PDF). A report relative to the occupation of the island of San Juan. April 23, 1860. pp. 1–8.
  4. "San Juan Journal". Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2008-06-17.
  5. "San Juan Islander".
  6. "Island Guardian".
  7. "Peace Health Peace Island Medical Center".
  8. Friday Harbor Labs
  9. Schools in Jan Juan Island, retrieved 2012-04-03
  10. Whippo, R; Lowe, A; Britton-Simmons, K (2011). "Effects of the Red Sea Urchin on Benthic Invertebrate Communities: A Link to Spatial Subsidies". In: Pollock NW, ed. Diving for Science 2011. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences 30th Symposium. Dauphin Island, AL: AAUS; 2011. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  11. Hester, JB; Walker, JM; Dinnel, PA; Schwarck, NT (2011). "Survey of Previously Outplanted Pinto (Northern) Abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) in the San Juan Island Archipelago, Washington State". In: Pollock NW, ed. Diving for Science 2011. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences 30th Symposium. Dauphin Island, AL: AAUS; 2011. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  12. Pacific Northwest. "Home". Westcott Bay Shellfish.
  13. "San Juan Islands Kayak Tours - Kayaking San Juan Islands". Sea Quest Kayak Expeditions. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  14. "Bioluminescence Kayaking San Juan Island, WA". Discovery Sea Kayaks. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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