San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands is an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

in northwestern

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It has a land area of 142.59 km² (55.053 sq mi) and a population of 8,632 as of the 2020 census.

Washington State Ferries Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a public ferry system in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and operates 10 routes serving 20 terminals within Puget ...

serves Friday Harbor, which is San Juan Island's major population center, the San Juan County

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

, and the only incorporated town in the islands.

History

The name "San Juan" originates from 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 Vancouv ...

, 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 ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

. One of the officers under Eliza's command,

Gonzalo López de Haro Gonzalo López de Haro (bef. 1788 in Puebla – 1823) was a Spanish naval officer and explorer, notable for his expeditions in the Pacific Northwest in the late 18th century. Background In 1788 two ships were sent north to investigate Russian ...

, was the first European to discover San Juan Island. During the Wilkes Expedition, American explorer

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and List of explorers, explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865 ...

renamed the island ''Rodgers Island''; the Spanish name remained on British nautical charts and over time became the island's official name. The island saw seasonal use for

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

fishing. The island was also occupied by Native Americans, many of whom arrived seasonally for fishing. The

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

(HBC) established the first permanent, non-native settlement on the island on December 13, 1853, in order to create a sheep farm. The Belle Vue Sheep Farm, set up by Chief Factor and Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island, James Douglas, was intended to assert British sovereignty over the disputed San Juan Islands. 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. By November 1859, an agreement was reached for a joint British–American control of the island until the matter was resolved by negotiation. In 1861, the HBC decided to give up the sheep farm due to disruption of HBC sheep by Americans, the subsequent demoralization of HBC employees, and lack of British government support. In 1862, Chief Trader Charles John Griffin left the island and leased the Belle Vue Sheep Farm to Robert Firth, a shepherd, from 1864 to 1873. The dispute was finally resolved in favor of the Americans in 1872. The

1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic was a smallpox outbreak that started in Victoria on Vancouver Island and spread among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and into the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, ki ...

swept through the region, killing large numbers of indigenous people.

Smallpox Bay Smallpox Bay is a bay on the west side of San Juan Island in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Smallpox Bay was named for the fact that a group of indigenous victims of the 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic died there and the ...

, on the west side of San Juan Island, was named for victims of this epidemic.

Island life

San Juan Island is considered a "small town" community, in that it is relatively quiet rural living with few distractions or incidents aside from tourism. One notable resident would be Lisa "Ivory" Moretti, a retired female professional wrestler of

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

fame. In addition, many Hollywood stars and celebrities spend time on the island to avoid publicity and to seek some peace and quiet.

Historical sites

A pair of landmarks, the old English and American Camps, are at opposite ends of the island, which together comprise the

San Juan Island National Historical Park San Juan Island National Historical Park, also known as American and English Camps, San Juan Island, is a US National Historical Park owned and operated by the National Park Service on San Juan Island in the state of Washington. The park i ...

, which commemorates the 1859 Pig War. Interpretive centers and reconstructed buildings, formal gardens, etc. recall the history of early European settlement in the area.

Infrastructure

The Island has a hospital, the Peace Health Peace Island Medical Center. Transportation to the Island is by boat,

, seaplane, or by conventional aircraft. If traveling by seaplane, Friday Harbor is serviced by Northwest Seaplanes and

Kenmore Air Kenmore Air Harbor, Inc., doing business as Kenmore Air, is an American airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Kenmore Air Harbor in Kenmore, Washington, United States, north of Seattle. It operates scheduled and charter seaplane and l ...

, both longtime operators in the area. The

Friday Harbor Airport } Friday Harbor Airport is a public use airport located just southwest of the town center of Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is owned by the Port of Friday Harbo ...

terminal is 1.3 miles from the Ferry Landing. Outside of Friday Harbor, the only major commercial establishment

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

is the village of Roche Harbor, located on the northwest side of the island.

Media

San Juan Island has a number of weekly newspapers and two online daily news sites: the San Juan Islander and the Island Guardian.

Tourism

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. Both count tall ships and large yachts as frequent visitors. It has several 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 The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

pods swim by.

Schools

Public schools are operated by th
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. The

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

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

Ecology

The waters surrounding San Juan Island are home to a variety of species including red sea urchins and pinto abalone. Though no commercial fishing of abalone has ever been allowed in this area, recreational fishing of abalone was outlawed in 1994. The

National Marine Fisheries Service The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the ste ...

listed pinto abalone as a Species of Concern in 2004. In 2015, San Juan Island became a protected location under The Antiquities Act. On March 25 of that year, former President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

included San Juan Island and approximately 75 other sites located in the

Salish Sea The Salish Sea ( ) is a List of seas on Earth #Terminology, marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean located in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia and the States of the United States , U.S. state of Washingto ...

into the San Juan Islands National Monument.

Parks and recreation

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. 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. Whale watching and night-time

bioluminescence Bioluminescence is the emission of light during a chemiluminescence reaction by living organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in multifarious organisms ranging from marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some Fungus, fungi, microorgani ...

tours depart from Friday Harbor.

Notable people

*Guthrie Burnett-Tison, performing artist *Singer

Jake Shears Jason Sellards (born October 3, 1978), known professionally by the stage name Jake Shears, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist of New York City pop-rock band Scissor Sisters, who achi ...

grew up partly on the island.

References

External links

San Juan Islander - daily news siteSan Juan Island Chamber of CommerceSan Juan Island Heritage
Historical collections from the San Juan Island Library District and local partners.
American Biography A New Cyclopedia VOL 5 Page 28
San Juan Island and Northwest Boundary Survey by Archibald Campbell led to it being in the USA instead of Canada {{Authority control San Juan Islands Lime kilns in the United States Places with bioluminescence