Ketron Island is an island and 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 Pierce County,

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 ...

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 island had a population of 24 persons according to the 2000 census, and 17 persons at the 2010 census. Ketron Island is located in southern

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 ...

just off the shoreline from Steilacoom. It lies between the mainland near the city of Steilacoom and Anderson Island near the extreme south end of Puget Sound. The island has a land area of .

History

The British explorer and navigator George Vancouver camped on Ketron Island in May of 1792. The island was originally named "Kittson Island" 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 1838–1842, but was misspelled "Ketron" by his cartographers. The island was named for William Kittson, an employee of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

, who supervised the construction of

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 ...

in 1833 and served as its chief factor. The entire island was bought by an entrepreneur in 1946 with plans to build 200 homes, but this attempt was abandoned due to the cost of a sewer system. On August 10, 2018, an empty

Horizon Air Horizon Air Industries, Inc., operating as Horizon Air, is an American regional airline based in SeaTac, Washington, United States. Horizon Air and its sister carrier Alaska Airlines are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, and all Horizon-opera ...

Q400 was

stolen Stolen may refer to: * ''Stolen'' (2009 Australian film), a 2009 Australian film * ''Stolen'' (2009 American film), a 2009 American film * ''Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story'' (2010 film), a film based on the real life kidnapping of baby Kahu Durie ...

from

Seattle–Tacoma International Airport Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , branded as SEA Airport and also referred to as Sea–Tac (), is the primary commercial airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is in the city of SeaTac, which ...

and

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...

on the southern tip of Ketron Island, killing the sole occupant, Richard Russell.

Transportation

Ketron is accessible only by ferry. The Steilacoom/Anderson Island/Ketron Island run is the only one operated by Pierce County.Pierce County's Ferry fleet
The ferry service to Ketron is available four times per day. The ferry runs between 5:45 AM to 8:00 PM Monday through Sunday. The ferry ''Steilacoom II'' was put into service in January 2007 to work side by side with the aging ferry ''Christine Anderson''. The ''Steilacoom II'' still serves with the ''Christine Anderson'' to transport islanders from both Ketron and Anderson Island.

Education

The island is served by the

Steilacoom Historical School District Steilacoom Historical School District No. 1 is a public school district in Steilacoom, Washington, United States. It serves the city of Steilacoom, the communities of DuPont and Anderson Island, and portions of Lakewood and unincorporated Pierce ...

Steilacoom High School Steilacoom High School (or SHS) is a public high school in Steilacoom, Washington, United States and is part of the Steilacoom Historical School District. It is the oldest, and to date the only, high school in the school district. Prior to its est ...

is the district's comprehensive high school.

References

External links

{{authority control Census-designated places in Pierce County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state)