Puget Island is a 7.5 sq mi(4,785 acre; 19.365 km) island and

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 counte ...

(CDP) in the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...

in Wahkiakum County,

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 island was named for

Peter Puget Peter Puget (1765 – 31 October 1822) was an officer in the Royal Navy, best known for his exploration of Puget Sound, which is named for him. Midshipman Puget Puget's ancestors had fled France for Britain during Louis XIV's persecution of the ...

, a lieutenant in the

Vancouver Expedition The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continen ...

of exploration, which first mapped the island in 1792. The Julia Butler Hansen Bridge (built in 1938) carries State Route 409 across the Cathlamet Channel to connect the island to the town of

Cathlamet, Washington Cathlamet is a town located along the Washington State Route 4, Ocean Beach Highway in Wahkiakum County, Washington, Wahkiakum County, Washington (state), Washington, United States, where it is the county seat. The population was 560 at the 2020 ...

. Route 409 crosses the island to its southern shore, where it connects with the county-operated Wahkiakum County Ferry, ''Oscar B'', providing service to Westport, Oregon. The 2020 census reported a population of 922 persons. Puget Island's Robert W. Little Preserve is home to a population of endangered Columbian white-tailed deer.

History

Puget Island was settled in 1884 by the Ostervold family. In addition to running dairy farms, farmers on the island grew mint from 1917 to the late 1940s. The next major crop grown on Puget Island was cucumbers, primarily for pickling, until the crops were damaged by mosaic disease. In the 1990s, sheep, dairying, and cottonwood were the main agricultural pursuits.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 922 people, 488 housing units, and 455 families. There were 833

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

people, 1

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 13 Native Americans, 2

Asians "Asian people" (sometimes "Asiatic people")United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purposes. is an umbrella term ...

, 7 people from some other race, and 66 people from two or more races. There were 34 people from Hispanic or Latino origin. The ancestry in Puget Island was 21.5% English, 8.7%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 7.1% Irish, 4.9% Norwegian,1.8%

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, 1.8% French, and 0.9%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. The median age was 60 years old. A total of 37.5% of the population were older than 65, with 22.5% being from 65 to 74 years, 12.7% being from 75 to 84 years, and 2.2% being 85 or older. The median household income was $56,929, with families having $58,401, and non-families having $56,087. A total of 10.6% of the population were in poverty, with 9.3% of people between the ages of 18 and 64 being in poverty, and 17.4% of people over 65 being in poverty.

References

External links

Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of GovernmentsWahkiakum Ferry, Oscar BPuget Island: Blocks 5001 thru 5025, Census Tract 9501, Wahkiakum County, Washington
United States Census Bureau Census-designated places in Washington (state) Census-designated places in Wahkiakum County, Washington Islands of the Columbia River in Washington (state) Landforms of Wahkiakum County, Washington {{US-island-stub