Stuart Island is one of the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are 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 ...

, north of

San Juan Island San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington (state), 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 United States ...

and west of

Waldron Island Waldron, also known as Waldron Island, is an unincorporated community in San Juan County, Washington, United States. Its population was 104 at the 2000 census. Waldron is in the San Juan Islands. It is designated as a Limited Development District ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. The island is home to two communities of full and part-time residents, a state park, a

one-room schoolhouse One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

, and two

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

s (Stuart Island Airstrip - 7WA5 with a grass runway, and Stuart Island West - 2WA3 with a dirt runway).

Facilities

Two sites, both part of Stuart Island State Park, are on

public land In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land (Australia, and Canada). The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countrie ...

s. One is located near the center of the island, and another is on the western coast, the site of the Turn Point Light Station, a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

guiding shipping in the busy waters of

Boundary Pass , image = Monarch Head (7604530136).jpg , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = View of Boundary Pass from Monarch Head, Saturna Island , image_bathymetry = Locmap-Haro-Boundary additional l ...

to the island's north. Turn Point Light Station is on land administered by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

's Spokane District, Wenatchee Resource Area,

Lopez Island Lopez Island is the third largest of the San Juan Islands and an unincorporated town in San Juan County, Washington, United States. Lopez Island is in land area. The 2000 census population was 2,177, though the population swells in the summer, ...

Office. The lighthouse and nearby "Lover's Leap" are popular hiking destinations accessible by county road. Sheltered

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

ages for boaters can be found in Reid Harbor and Prevost Harbor, with public state park facilities in each. There are no stores or other public commercial establishments on the island, aside from a wooden box, stocked by a local family with printed

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

s and other souvenir items; each souvenir comes with an envelope through which visitors return payment by mail, based on an

honor system An honor system or honesty system is a philosophical way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. Something that operates under the rule of the "honor system" is usually something that does not have strictly enfo ...

. The local schoolhouse closed in fall of 2007 due to lack of students, but reopened in 2008 with two students. Prevost Harbour

Satellite Island, which lies in Prevost Harbor on the northeast side of the island, is used by

YMCA Camp Orkila Camp Orkila is on the northwest shoulder of Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington, overlooking Presidents Channel, and the Canadian Gulf Islands. It has been in operation since 1906. It is operated by the Greater Seattle Area's YMC ...

as a basecamp for teen expeditions and for field trips by campers. Prevost Harbor is named for

James Charles Prevost James Charles Prevost (1810–1891) was an admiral in the British Empire, British Royal Navy. He was born in Bedhampton, Hampshire, England, the son of Rear-Admiral James Prevost and his first wife France née Haultain, and joined the navy in 1 ...

, captain of . Nearby

Prevost Island Prevost Island is an island in the southern Gulf Islands of the South Coast of British Columbia, Canada, located east of Ganges Harbour and midway between the southeastern extremity of Salt Spring Island (W) and the southern end of Galiano I ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

is also named after Prevost, while Satellite Island is named after his ship.

History

Stuart Island was named by

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 ...

during the

Wilkes 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 ...

of 1838–42, to honor Frederick D. Stuart, the

captain's clerk A captain's clerk was a rating, now obsolete, in the Royal Navy and the United States Navy for a person employed by the captain to keep his records, correspondence, and accounts. The regulations of the Royal Navy demanded that a purser serve at ...

of the expedition. Locmap-Haro-Boundary additional labels

References

External links

* {{Authority control San Juan Islands

Facilities

History

See also

References

External links