All Stories: 29
Stories
The Lopez Historical Museum – Be sure to stop in for some more Lopez History!
The Mission of the Lopez Island Historical Society is to collect, preserve, interpret, and share local history to increase awareness and appreciation of this resource for the benefit of future generations. The Lopez museum opened in 1980 and has…
A Beloved Historic Building, Still in Regular Use - Lopez Center Church
"Of all the historic structures on Lopez Island, none is more beautiful, nor more beloved, than Center Church. Now a candidate for the National Historic Registry, the old building serves as a focal point for the community, and stands as a…
3. Weeks Point Way
From this vantage point, you can see where Charley dug drain ditches in the 1860s or 1870s. Charley, known at the time as Siwash Charley, is one of the few Indigenous men on island we have record of. (Siwash, from Chinook Jargon, is considered a…
6. Weeks Water Tower – Uniquely Lopez and essential to everyday life
Walking around Lopez Village you might see two or three similar looking tall structures. There's one here, one by Vortex Juice Bar, and another -- can you find it? These historic building are water towers, over 100 years old. Oscar and Bertie…
7. The Homestead House
In the early 20th century, if someone said they were headed to “Lopez” it meant they were headed to the town Lopez, where the present day village is. At that time, Lopez boasted 3 or 4 communities, depending on how you count. Richardson, at the…
5. The Village House – A family home, now a beloved business center
The Village House, currently Isabel’s Espresso and Honey Bee Consignment, was first built across the street by brothers Oscar and Bertie Weeks. According to Oscar’s son Lincoln Weeks:
My dad (Oscar) moved the house off the lot to here and…
2. Hutch’s Trading Post: the First Store on Lopez – Public Shore Access on Weeks Point Way
Just a few steps from here, Hiram Hutchinson ran the first grocery store (or trading post) on Lopez Island. The store offered staple goods such as flour, sugar, coffee, gunpowder and tobacco. “Hi” or “Hutch,” as he was called, came to Lopez in the…
8. The Little Red Schoolhouse – School, Fire Hall, Diner and Library, this little building has seen it all!
Built in 1894 by Newton Jones and Jim Farnsworth, the Lopez Library began life as a schoolhouse, later serving as a restaurant and even a fire house. The lumber for the school arrived in July 1894 aboard the Schooner Port Admiral. Students went to…
Belle Vue Sheep Farm – The Sheep Farm Where the Pig War Began
Before there was American or English camp, there was the Belle Vue Sheep Farm. What was once a central point of the Pig War is now no more than a vast, open field with a white flagpole.
The farm was originally established by Chief Factor of the…
Operation Sea Wall – The 1961 Mock Invasion of San Juan Island
In 1961, over a century after the events of the Pig War, San Juan Island was once again the site of military action. Rather than a tense standoff between two nations, the occasion this time was a military exercise—named “Sea Wall”—conducted by the…
Native Americans on San Juan Island during the Joint Occupation – Admiration and Tension
We often look at the Joint Occupation of the San Juans (1860-1872) through the eyes of the British and American citizens and soldiers who faced off and vied for supremacy. But the original Native inhabitants, the Straits Salish Indians, maintained a…
The American Camp Monument – The “Grappling Hook” of San Juan's Past, Present and Future
“Erected October 21, 1904, by the Washington University State Historical Society as arbitrator William I of Germany decided the San Juan case October 21, 1872. First Officer in charge was Cap. George E. Pickett of the 9th U.S. Infantry. American…
The Friday Harbor Cannery House – The Legacy of Friday Harbor's Cannery
The Salsih Sea once teemed with salmon. Long before European settlers established themselves on the San Juan Islands, the Native Americans used the island for salmon fishing.
For thousands of years the Salish Coastal people established temporary…
Northern Straits Indians: Resourceful Fishermen of the San Juan Islands – Salmon Drying Racks and Other Fishing Stories
The Northern Straits Indians developed an extensive fishing technology to harvest the abundant fish of the straits, particularly the many varieties of salmon.
Salmon was the most important staple of the Native diet and plentiful with five annual…
Rabbit Invasion on San Juan Island – How a Cute Invasive Species Caused Decades of Destruction on San Juan Island
Rabbits have a reputation in San Juan Island Historical National Park due to their population explosion. The European rabbits are a non-native, invasive species and accounts of their introduction differ, but generally agree they were first…
English Camp Monument
On October 21, 1872, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany issued his finding: The international boundary line between the United States and British Canada would follow Haro Strait, and the San Juan Islands belonged to the United States. Both parties accepted…
Officer Quarters at American Camp – The Men of American Camp and A Look at How They Lived
American Camp was constructed at a strategic location on San Juan Island that allowed the American military to watch Griffin Bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca for incoming English Navy vessels. While good for surveillance, the location of the camp…
The Unknown Mrs. Pickett – The soon-to-be famous George Pickett married a Native woman in 1857--but we do not know a lot about her, not even her name
George Pickett arrived in the Pacific Northwest a widower, his first wife having died in childbirth when he was stationed in Texas. He was stationed at Fort Bellingham when, in 1857, he married the second Mrs. Pickett, a Haida teenager. Such a…
Cutting Through Crime – The United States Revenue Cutter Service in the San Juan Islands
The San Juans, with its many islands and hidden, sheltered bays, located between Canada and the United States, have long attracted smugglers. And for almost as long, federal authorities have sought to enforce the law on these waters.
Congress…
Eyes to the Sky – Plane-Spotters in the San Juan Islands During WWII
The boldness of the Japanese surprise attack in 1941 shocked Americans, and some wondered if the West Coast itself was vulnerable. In the days before radar, only human observation could detect an incoming aerial assault. The US government mobilized…
Life at Camp Moran – No Girls Allowed
Working for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had its advantages and Camp Moran was no exception. The CCC wanted to give the men every opportunity to improve themselves, both physically and mentally. Life in camp included recreation like…
The Construction of Moran State Park – The CCC provided jobs and creating infrastructure
At Moran State Park, the roads, trails, and the tower on Mt. Constitution did not just appear. They were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. But who were the Civilian Conservation Corps?
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established…
"Kanakas" settlers of the San Juan Islands – How Hudson Bay Company influenced resettlement of the San Juan Island by Native Hawaiians
During the first half of the 1800s, the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) expanded their fur-trading empire establishing forts, farms, and warehouses in the Pacific Northwest. At this time the HBC shipping routes extended throughout the British empire, and…
Who is the Namesake of Friday Harbor? – What is the historical memory of Peter Friday and Joe Friday
In 1859 the British survey ship HMS Plumper was scouting the San Juan Islands during the joint occupation of the Islands by the British and the United States. Oarsmen from the HMS Plumper took a skiff into what they would later call "Friday…
Savannah on the Hill – The Garry Oaks and Their Story
Garry oaks use to line the coasts of the Pacific Northwest including the San Juan Islands. However, centuries of environmental change has reshaped the landscapes these oaks inhabit. Due to overlogging, the oaks have over time dwindled to a scarce…
The Changing Locations of American Camp – American Camp and the Hudson's Bay Company
In 1853, the steamer HMS Beaver brought the first shipment of sheep to a farm located at the southern point of San Juan Island named Belle Vue Sheep Farm. Established by Charles Griffin, Belle Vue Sheep Farm was the perfect location to raise sheep…
Built Up to Dig In – America's Plan to Fight the British
Americans began to fortify San Juan Island even before the Joint Occupation Agreement of 1859. Anticipating war with Britain, they chose the site of Camp San Juan accordingly. Set on a high exposed hill overlooking Griffin Bay and the Strait of Juan…
The Hanging of "Kanaka Joe" – A savage crime led to an equally savage punishment on the frontier.
In June of 1873 settlers James and Selina Jane Dwyer were murdered on their homestead at Kanaka Bay on San Juan Island. James was shot as he worked in his fields. His pregnant wife was sewing baby clothes in their little cabin when the killer found…
Too Many Deer – Environmental history and Odocoileus hemionus
Humans have inhabited the San Juan Islands for at least 13,000 years. The first peoples didn’t appear to rely on fishing, rather they hunted land animals like deer. The Columbian black-tail deer are San Juan’s largest native land mammal, making them…