Marrowstone is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...
(CDP) in
Jefferson County, Washington,
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 territori ...
. The population was 844 at the
2010 census. All Marrowstone addresses are in Nordland, Washington, and the
ZIP code for Marrowstone Island is 98358.
Marrowstone takes its name from Marrowstone Point, the northernmost point on Marrowstone Island. It was given the name "Marrow-Stone Point" in 1792 by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
,
George Vancouver, in describing the area's hard, clay-like soil.
History
A post office called Nordland has been in operation since 1898. The community derives its name from Peter Nordby, the original owner of the town site.
Geography
![Marrowstone pt lt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Marrowstone_pt_lt.JPG)
Marrowstone is located at (48.058323, -122.687943).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the CDP has a total area of 6.3 square miles (16.4 km
2), all of it land.
Prominent land features include:
* Marrowstone Point, at the northern end of Marrowstone Island;
* Kinney Point, at the southern end of the island;
* Nodule Point, on the east side, mid island;
* Mystery Bay, an inlet on the western side of Marrowstone Island;
* Griffiths Point, on the western side of Mystery Bay;
* East Beach, a sandy beach at the northern end of East Marrowstone Road; and
* Scow Bay/Kilisut Harbor, which separates Marrowstone Island from its western neighbor, Indian Island, a
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
ammunition depot.
A narrow causeway connects the southwestern end of Marrowstone Island with the southern end of Indian Island. A short bridge joins the western side of Indian Island to the mainland of
Jefferson County.
Fort Flagler
Fort Flagler State Park is a public recreation area that occupies the site of Fort Flagler, a former United States Army fort at the northern end of Marrowstone Island in Washington. The state park occupies at the entrance to Admiralty Inlet and ...
, a
Washington state park
Washington State Park is a public recreation area covering in Washington County in the central eastern part of the state of Missouri. It is located on Highway 21 about northeast of Potosi or southwest of DeSoto on the eastern edge of the O ...
, is situated on 784 acres (314 hectares) at the northern end of Marrowstone Island. It overlooks
Port Townsend
Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census.
It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition to ...
Bay and
Admiralty Inlet
Admiralty Inlet is a strait in the U.S. state of Washington connecting the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Puget Sound. It lies between Whidbey Island and the northeastern part of the Olympic Peninsula.
Boundaries
It is general ...
, the entrance to
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
. Fort Flagler was one of three forts, along with
Fort Worden
Fort Worden Historical State Park is located in Port Townsend, Washington, on originally known as Fort Worden, a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps base constructed to protect Puget Sound from invasion by sea. Fort Worden was named after U ...
(near Port Townsend) and
Fort Casey
Fort Casey State Park is located on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington state. It is a Washington state park and a historic district within the U.S. Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve.
Admiralty Inlet was considered so strate ...
(on Whidbey Island), that guarded the entrance to Puget Sound.
Mystery Bay State Park
Mystery Bay State Park is an Washington marine state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically establish ...
is another state park on Marrowstone Island, located on 10 acres (4 hectares) of Mystery Bay shorefront about a half-mile north of the Nordland General Store. It is primarily for boaters.
Kinney Point State Park comprises at the south end of the island. Accessible only by boat, it is part of the
Cascadia Marine Trail.
Flagler Road (SR 116) runs along the western edge of Marrowstone Island, which is primarily low-lying. East Marrowstone Road runs along the eastern edge of the island, which consists largely of sandy bluffs, with the exception of the area near East Beach.
The Nordland General Store is Marrowstone's only source of
groceries
A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...
. It is arguably the focal point of Marrowstone; on maps the town of Nordland (the address of all Marrowstone residents) is usually located at the site of the Nordland General Store. It can be found just across Flagler Road from Mystery Bay, near the center of Marrowstone Island. It was severely damaged by fire and forced to close in November 2020.
Demographics
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 in ...
of 2010, there were 844 people, 432 households, and 260 families residing in the CDP. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...
was 133.5 people per square mile (51.5/km
2). There were 611 housing units at an average density of 96.6/sq mi (37.4/km
2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.4%
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 o ...
, 0.4%
Native American, 0.8%
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 ...
, 0.1% 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 2.1% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...
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 were 0.9% of the population.
There were 432 households, out of which 10.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were
married couples living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.0% 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 2.37.
In the CDP, the population skewed older with 90.5% 18 and over, 46.3% over 62, and 36.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 60.5 years. For every 100 males there were 98.1 females.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $48,533, and the median income for a family was $54,397. Males had a median income of $45,000 versus $26,607 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the CDP was $31,146. None of the families and 0.0% of the population were living 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 ...
.
Cultural events
Strawberry Festival
For approximately 100 years, Marrowstone has held its annual Strawberry Festival in June. Residents and visitors enjoy strawberry shortcake at the Nordland Garden Club Building.
Strawberries were once grown all over Marrowstone and can be found growing wild on the island.
Tractor Days Parade
Every Memorial Day weekend, island residents bring their tractors to parade them in front of the Nordland General Store.
Marrowstone Island Community Association
The Marrowstone Island Community Association hosts the Strawberry Festival each year. It meets about 7 times throughout the year at the Nordland Garden Club Building.
Early Home of Marrowstone Music Festival
The
Seattle Youth Symphony's Marrowstone Music Festival - now called Marrowstone Summer Music and held on the campus of
Western Washington University
Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...
, in
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (loc ...
– was held at
Fort Flagler
Fort Flagler State Park is a public recreation area that occupies the site of Fort Flagler, a former United States Army fort at the northern end of Marrowstone Island in Washington. The state park occupies at the entrance to Admiralty Inlet and ...
on the northern end of Marrowstone Island from 1958 until 1989. Until 1975, it was called the Pacific Northwest Music Camp.
Home to modern Eleusianian Mysteries
The
neo-pagan Aquarian Tabernacle Church
The Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) is a Wiccan church located in Index, Washington. It is one of the first Wiccan organisations to receive full legal recognition as a church in the United States and Australia. The church has an umbrella 501c(3 ...
performs a modern
Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are th ...
play at Fort Flagler over
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
weekend each year.
References
External links
Fort FlaglerMarrowstone Island Information Portal
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Jefferson County, Washington
Census-designated places in Washington (state)
Headlands of Washington (state)
Populated places on Puget Sound
Landforms of Jefferson County, Washington