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San Juan Island
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km2 (55.053 sq mi) and a population of 8,632 as of the 2020 census.
Washington State Ferries serves Friday Harbor, which is San Juan Island's major population center, the San Juan County seat, and the only incorporated town in the islands.
The name "San Juan" originates from the 1791 expedition of Francisco de Eliza, who named the archipelago Isla y Archipiélago de San Juan to honor his patron sponsor, Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo. One of the officers under Eliza's command, Gonzalo López de Haro, was the first European to discover San Juan Island. During the Wilkes Expedition, American explorer Charles Wilkes renamed the island Rodgers Island; the Spanish name remained on British nautical charts and over time became the island's official name.
The island saw seasonal use for salmon fishing. The island was also occupied by Native Americans, many of whom arrived seasonally for fishing. The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established the first permanent, non-native settlement on the island on December 13, 1853, in order to create a sheep farm. The Belle Vue Sheep Farm, set up by Chief Factor and Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island, James Douglas, was intended to assert British sovereignty over the disputed San Juan Islands.
Both the British and Americans asserted control of the island. A small force of American soldiers was sent to the island over concern for this issue and with Native American raids on American settlers. The territorial dispute over this island and the rest of the San Juan Islands heightened when an American settler shot an HBC pig, starting the Pig War in 1859. By November 1859, an agreement was reached for a joint British–American control of the island until the matter was resolved by negotiation. In 1861, the HBC decided to give up the sheep farm due to disruption of HBC sheep by Americans, the subsequent demoralization of HBC employees, and lack of British government support. In 1862, Chief Trader Charles John Griffin left the island and leased the Belle Vue Sheep Farm to Robert Firth, a shepherd, from 1864 to 1873.
The dispute was finally resolved in favor of the Americans in 1872.
The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic swept through the region, killing large numbers of indigenous people. Smallpox Bay, on the west side of San Juan Island, was named for victims of this epidemic.
San Juan Island is considered a "small town" community, in that it is relatively quiet rural living with few distractions or incidents aside from tourism. One notable resident would be Lisa "Ivory" Moretti, a retired female professional wrestler of World Wrestling Entertainment fame. In addition, many Hollywood stars and celebrities spend time on the island to avoid publicity and to seek some peace and quiet.
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San Juan Island
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km2 (55.053 sq mi) and a population of 8,632 as of the 2020 census.
Washington State Ferries serves Friday Harbor, which is San Juan Island's major population center, the San Juan County seat, and the only incorporated town in the islands.
The name "San Juan" originates from the 1791 expedition of Francisco de Eliza, who named the archipelago Isla y Archipiélago de San Juan to honor his patron sponsor, Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo. One of the officers under Eliza's command, Gonzalo López de Haro, was the first European to discover San Juan Island. During the Wilkes Expedition, American explorer Charles Wilkes renamed the island Rodgers Island; the Spanish name remained on British nautical charts and over time became the island's official name.
The island saw seasonal use for salmon fishing. The island was also occupied by Native Americans, many of whom arrived seasonally for fishing. The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established the first permanent, non-native settlement on the island on December 13, 1853, in order to create a sheep farm. The Belle Vue Sheep Farm, set up by Chief Factor and Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island, James Douglas, was intended to assert British sovereignty over the disputed San Juan Islands.
Both the British and Americans asserted control of the island. A small force of American soldiers was sent to the island over concern for this issue and with Native American raids on American settlers. The territorial dispute over this island and the rest of the San Juan Islands heightened when an American settler shot an HBC pig, starting the Pig War in 1859. By November 1859, an agreement was reached for a joint British–American control of the island until the matter was resolved by negotiation. In 1861, the HBC decided to give up the sheep farm due to disruption of HBC sheep by Americans, the subsequent demoralization of HBC employees, and lack of British government support. In 1862, Chief Trader Charles John Griffin left the island and leased the Belle Vue Sheep Farm to Robert Firth, a shepherd, from 1864 to 1873.
The dispute was finally resolved in favor of the Americans in 1872.
The 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic swept through the region, killing large numbers of indigenous people. Smallpox Bay, on the west side of San Juan Island, was named for victims of this epidemic.
San Juan Island is considered a "small town" community, in that it is relatively quiet rural living with few distractions or incidents aside from tourism. One notable resident would be Lisa "Ivory" Moretti, a retired female professional wrestler of World Wrestling Entertainment fame. In addition, many Hollywood stars and celebrities spend time on the island to avoid publicity and to seek some peace and quiet.
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