![Guemes Island locator map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Guemes_Island_locator_map.svg)
Guemes Island is a small island in western
Skagit County
Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,523. The county seat and largest city is Mount Vernon. The county was formed in 1883 from Whatcom County and is named for the Skagit Ind ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It is located north of
Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island is an island in Skagit County, Washington, located about north of Seattle. To the east, it is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel, and from Whidbey Island to the south by Deception Pass. The island is named af ...
and the city of
Anacortes, and is accessible by private boat and by the
Guemes Island ferry
The Guemes Island ferry, the ''M/V Guemes'', carries passengers and vehicles across Guemes Channel between Anacortes, Washington and Guemes Island. The ferry is operated by the Skagit County Public Works Department's Ferry Division.
History
Th ...
operated by Skagit County.
Guemes Island was named after the
Viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
of
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
,
Juan Vicente de Güemes, who commissioned an expedition that revealed the islands to Spain in 1794.
Island life
Guemes Island has a rural character with limited facilities.
Some of the island’s beaches are public but most beaches' access is private. There are also two parks: one in the middle of the island known as Schoolhouse Park, and another, Young's Park, located on North Beach near The Guemes Island Resort.
The community located on Guemes Island is generally referred to as "Guemes".
History
Guemes Island is within the historical territory of the
Samish
The Samish are a Native American people who live in the U.S. state of Washington. They are a Central Coast Salish people. Through the years, they were assigned to reservations dominated by other Tribes, for instance, the Swinomish Indians of th ...
Nation. It was a traditional location for Samish winter villages. The
Samish language
North Straits Salish is a Salish language which includes the dialects of
*Lummi (also known as W̱lemi,Ćosen, Xwlemiʼchosen, xʷləmiʔčósən) ''(†)''
* Saanich (also known as Senćoten, sənčáθən, sénəčqən)
*Samish (also known as ...
name for the island is ''Qweng qwengila'', which means "many dogs", referring to
Salish Wool Dog
The Salish Wool Dog or Comox dog is an extinct breed of white, long-haired, Spitz-type dog that was developed and bred by the Coast Salish peoples of what is now Washington state and British Columbia. The small, long-haired wool dog and the coyot ...
s, also called Samish Woolley Dogs.
Around 1873, the Samish, displaced from their original village by U.S. government policy that made land available to newcomers, established a new village on Guemes near Potlatch Beach. Because they occupied the only natural spring on the island, the Samish were forced off the island by their neighbors in 1912.
Guemes Island was named by the Spanish explorer
José María Narváez
José María Narváez (1768 – August 4, 1840) was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and navigator notable for his work in the Gulf Islands and Lower Mainland of present-day British Columbia. In 1791, as commander of the schooner ''Santa S ...
as ''Isla de Güemes'' during the 1791 expedition of
Francisco de Eliza
Francisco de Eliza y Reventa (1759 – February 19, 1825) was a Spanish naval officer, navigator, and explorer. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest. He was the commandant of the Spanish post in Nootka Sound on Vancou ...
, in honor of the Viceroy of Mexico,
.
In 1841
Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842).
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he commanded ' during the ...
of the
United States Exploring Expedition
The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...
gave the name "Lawrence Island" to Guemes Island, to honor the American naval officer
James Lawrence
James Lawrence (October 1, 1781 – June 4, 1813) was an officer of the United States Navy. During the War of 1812, he commanded in a single-ship action against , commanded by Philip Broke. He is probably best known today for his last words, ...
. He also gave the name "Hornet Harbor" to Guemes Channel, for the
USS ''Hornet'', which Lawrence commanded during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. To the waterway north of the island, part of
Bellingham Bay
Bellingham Bay is a bay of the Salish Sea located in Washington State in the United States. It is separated from the Strait of Georgia on the west by the Lummi Peninsula, Portage Island, and Lummi Island. It is bordered on the east by Bellingha ...
, Wilkes gave the name "Penguin Harbor", for the British vessel ''Penguin'', captured by Lawrence. These names disappeared after 1847, when the British Captain
Henry Kellett
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett, (2 November 1806 – 1 March 1875) was a British naval officer and explorer.
Career
Born at Clonacody in Tipperary County, Ireland, on 2 November 1806, Kellett joined the Royal Navy in 1822. He spent three yea ...
reorganized the British Admiralty charts, in the process removing the "pro-American" names given by Wilkes and affirming pro-British names and Spanish names.
Guemes Island was also commonly known locally as Dog Island in the early 20th century, from the large number of
Salish Wool Dog
The Salish Wool Dog or Comox dog is an extinct breed of white, long-haired, Spitz-type dog that was developed and bred by the Coast Salish peoples of what is now Washington state and British Columbia. The small, long-haired wool dog and the coyot ...
s living wild on the island.
Politics
In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Democrat
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
received 69.64% of the vote, Republican
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
22.2%, and others 8.16% in the precinct that includes Guemes Island.
Demographics
The following Census statistics represent a block group that also contains the neighboring islands of
Cypress Island
Cypress Island is the westernmost part of Skagit County, Washington and is about halfway between the mainland and offshore San Juan County. It is separated from Blakely Island to the west by Rosario Strait and from Guemes Island to the east by ...
,
Sinclair Island, and
Vendovi Island Vendovi Island is an island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. Located in Skagit County, Washington, United States, Vendovi Island lies across Samish Bay from mainland Skagit County, between Guemes Island and Lummi Island
Lummi Isla ...
. As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 605 people, 292 households, and 180 families residing in the block group There were 626 housing units. The racial makeup of the block group was 95.70%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 1.16%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.83%
Native American, 0.00%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.00%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.99% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.32% from two or more races. 1.32% of the population were
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race.
There were 292 households, out of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 39.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.38.
In the block group, the population was spread out, with 16.0% under the age of 18, 2.6% from 18 to 24, 11.6% from 25 to 44, 41.3% from 45 to 64, and 27.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53 years. For every 100 females, there were 119.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.8 males.
The median income for a household in the block group was $40,039, and the median income for a family was unavailable. Income by sex was also unavailable, as was
per capita
''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". The term is used in a wide variety of social sciences and statistical research contexts, including government statistic ...
income. 8.1% of the population was below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
. Family poverty statistics were unavailable. Out of the total population, 36.1% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Magnetic disturbance
Nautical and aeronautical charts note a magnetic disturbance off the southeastern tip of Guemes Island. The disturbance affects compasses enough to cause as much as 2° discrepancy from average local variation.
References
External links
*Map:
{{authority control
Islands of Washington (state)
Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area
Pacific islands of Washington (state)