Anderson Island and Puget Sound from Steilacoom

Anderson Island is the southernmost island in

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 m ...

and a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

Pierce County, Washington Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County, and the 60th-most populous ...

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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It is accessible by boat or a 20-minute ferry ride from Steilacoom. Anderson Island is just south of

McNeil Island McNeil Island is an island in the northwest United States in south Puget Sound, located southwest of Tacoma, Washington. With a land area of , it lies just north of Anderson Island; Fox Island is to the north, across Carr Inlet, and to the ...

. To the northwest,

Key Peninsula The Key Peninsula ("The KP" or "The Key" to some locals) is a finger of land in Puget Sound, Washington, United States. It is approximately long and extends south from the Kitsap Peninsula. It is part of Pierce County, Washington. Some of its ...

is across Drayton Passage. The south basin of Puget Sound separates the island from the mainland to the southeast, while to the southwest the Nisqually Reach of Puget Sound separates the island from the mainland.

Geography

Anderson Island has a land area of , and reported a population of 1,037 persons as of the 2010 census. The island has been a retirement destination since the late 1960s, with a median age of 54 years (for comparison, the median age of Washington state as a whole is 37 years). The population booms every summer to approximately 4,000. The Island is also home to a sizable population of deer.

History

The island was part of the territory of the

Steilacoom people The Steilacoom were a Native American tribe who lived in the Puget Sound area of Washington state in the United States. They were a Coast Salish people. Other tribes in the Puget Sound region include the Nisqually and Puyallup peoples. Name ...

, a

Coast Salish The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...

tribe. The island was named in 1841 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 ...

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 ...

. Given a warm reception at

Fort Nisqually Fort Nisqually was an important fur trading and farming post of the Hudson's Bay Company in the Puget Sound area, part of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department. It was located in what is now DuPont, Washington. Today it is a living h ...

by Mr. Anderson and Captain McNeill, and assistance to aid his operations, Wilkes repaid their kindness by naming the two nearby islands after these two men. In 1870, Andrew N. Christensen, a Dane, and his brother, Christian F. Christensen, were the first European settlers to stay at the island. Andrew's wife had a strong hand in the development of the island community. Christian was the only Christensen brother to reside permanently on Anderson Island. The primary industry was the sale of wood to the wood-burning steamers that came into Amsterdam Bay. Other early industries included brick making, farming and fishing. The onl
General Store
on the island is run by a local resident of the island. In 2004, National Recreational Properties, Inc. of

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

purchased more than 400 vacant lots on the island, paying roughly $4,000 to $7,000 per lot. They created an infomercial and sold to out-of-state investors, mostly from California. Residents speculated that the lots would be sold for about $25,000. Eventually more than 300 lots were sold, most selling for over $40,000.

Ferry

Accessible only by ferry or private boat, Anderson Island is served by the Steilacoom / Anderson Island / Ketron Island run, the only ferry run belonging to Pierce County. The ferry ''Steilacoom II'' was put into service in January 2007 to work with the aging ferry ''Christine Anderson''. The ferry runs many times per day, starting at 4:45 in the morning from Steilacoom, WA, and departing Anderson Island at 10:50 pm. In 2020, Anderson Island Citizen Advisory Board worked with Pierce County to extend the hours to accommodate the ever increasing need for additional ferry service. Prior to then, Sunday through Thursday service ended at 8:40 p.m. During peak times such as summer and holidays, both ferries run. However the wait to get on the ferry can often still exceed three or more hours for special events and weekends.

Government

The Anderson Island Citizens Advisory Board (AICAB) is a governing advisory board reporting to the Pierce County Council, established by the Pierce County Council in 2004. Examples of its past actions include banning of boats with internal combustion engines from Lake Josephine, road repair and speed recommendations, as well as other matters common to governing Anderson Island. Fire District #27 and the Anderson Island Parks District are taxing districts that serve only Anderson Island. Tanner Electric Co-op provides electrical power to Anderson Island via a submarine cable. It extends across Nisqually Reach on the south end of the island and was replaced in 2010. Law enforcement is provided by the Pierce County Sheriff's office.

Education

The Steilacoom Historical School District serves Anderson Island. Children in grades K–3 attend school on the island, while children in grades 4–12 commute to the mainland each day. The Anderson Island School is designated a "remote and necessary" school by the State of Washington, and is one of the few remaining such schools in the state. Steilacoom High School is the comprehensive high school of the district.

Media and Further Reading

''The Island Sounder'', published by the Anderson Island Association, is the island's monthly newsletter. ''The News Tribune'' from Tacoma is available to subscribers. In the movie '' WarGames'', the scenes where David Lightman and Jennifer Mack meet Dr. Stephen Falken in Goose Island, Oregon were filmed at Anderson Island.''War Games'' movie locations
IMdB Heckman, Hazel, ''Island in the Sound'', University of Washington Press (1967). Drawings by Helen Hiatt. Heckman, Hazel, ''Island Year'', University of Washington Press (1972). Drawings by Laurie Olin.

References

External links

Anderson Island Real EstateAnderson Island Community ClubAnderson Island WeatherSteilacoom School District
{{authority control Islands of Washington (state) Islands of Pierce County, Washington Islands of Puget Sound Populated places on Puget Sound Unincorporated communities in Washington (state) Unincorporated communities in Pierce County, Washington