James Island (

Quileute The Quileute () are a Native American people in western Washington state in the United States, with 808 enrolled citizens in 2018. They are a federally recognized tribe: the ''Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation''. The Quileute people ...

: A-ka-lat - "Top of the Rock") is at the mouth of the

Quillayute River The Quillayute River (also spelled Quileute River) is a river situated on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. It empties to the Pacific Ocean at La Push, Washington. The Quillayute River is formed by the confluence of the Bogachiel River, Cala ...

near

La Push, Washington La Push is a small unincorporated community situated at the mouth of the Quillayute River in the Western Olympic Peninsula. It is the de facto capital and main population center of the Quileute Indian Reservation, which is home to the federally ...

. Local historians say it is named for Francis Wilcox James, a lighthouse keeper and friend of the Quileute Indians there, though the ''Origin of Washington Geographic Names'' attributes the name to Jimmie Howeshatta, a Quileute chief. A fortified village was on the island until the second half of the 19th century. After this it was farmed by mainland residents and tribal chiefs were buried there. At 160 feet (49 m) in height, the island has also been a lookout to spot whales. The island was once a

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...

, connected to the mainland. The

US Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

separated it by rerouting the Quillayute River. Today, the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, mi ...

operates an automated

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

and

foghorn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. ...

for boats using the harbor. In 1966, James Island was removed from the

Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex is an administrative grouping of six National Wildlife Refuges in Washington, managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It includes: * Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge (, ...

by the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...

. The Interior Department returned the island to the

Quileute people The Quileute () are a Native American people in western Washington state in the United States, with 808 enrolled citizens in 2018. They are a federally recognized tribe: the ''Quileute Tribe of the Quileute Reservation''. The Quileute people ...

because it was in the historic

Quileute Indian Reservation The Quileute Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation for the Quileute people located on the northwestern Olympic Peninsula near the southwestern corner of Clallam County, Washington, United States. The reservation is at the mouth of the Qui ...

.Removed by Public Land Order 4095, September 19, 1966, according t
Comprehensive Conservation Plan/Environmental Assessment, Chapter 1
page 1-8. No people outside of the Quileute tribe are allowed on the island.

References

Quileute Landforms of Clallam County, Washington Pacific islands of Washington (state) {{ClallamCountyWA-geo-stub