Welcome Karl! The Town of Friday Harbor Historic Preservation Review Board recently filled one of the two recent vacancies. Our newest member is Karl Eberhard who has a wealth of experience in architecture and municipal historic preservation programs and citizen preservation advisory boards. Just one more…. The good news is that there is one more  Continue Reading

The Board of Trustees and staff of the San Juan Historical Society and Museum thank the San Juan Island Community Foundation and generous donors for their financial support. During this year’s County Fair through a matching grant program, we were able to secure funds to help preserve island treasurers. The donations received have made it  Continue Reading

Friday Harbor, WA – On September 4, 2021 unknown individuals damaged public lands and destroyed public property at the American Camp Unit of San Juan Island National Historical Park. The park needs your help to identify and apprehend these lawbreakers. Any tips will be treated as confidential. The damage to the park was extensive including  Continue Reading

Greetings! I am writing to keep you informed about the accessibility planning process at San Juan Island National Historical Park. Our Self-Evaluation Transition Plan is still available for comment until the end of September 2021 at this link. We also will be hosting an open house to explain the planning process and answer questions from  Continue Reading

Change is inevitable. But some things are worth preserving because they tell a story. Our story. The Town of Friday Harbor is looking for islanders who appreciate Friday Harbor’s history and historic sites, who value Friday Harbor’s unique sense of place, and who enjoy architecture and public service. The Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) currently  Continue Reading

The mission of the San Juan Historical Society and Museum for the past 60 years has been to share and interpret the story of the peoples of San Juan Island. One way of doing that is through preservation of historical photographs of the island community. In recent years over 4,000 photographs have been researched, digitally  Continue Reading

Change is inevitable, but some things are worth preserving because they tell a story, our story. The Town of Friday Harbor is looking for an islander who appreciates Friday Harbor’s history and historic sites, values Friday Harbor’s unique sense of place, has experience and skills related to preservation, and who enjoys public service. Five citizen  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Environmental Stewardship Department San Juan County’s Environmental Stewardship Department wants to hear and share your fishing stories. We are collaborating with an organization called Salmon Nation that recognizes the fight for wild salmon is about much more than fish — it’s about culture, livelihoods and the viability of our natural and  Continue Reading

“Island Senior” is a regular column on the San Juan Update written by Peggy Sue McRae. When I refer to myself as a hippy, I am not bragging. It is aspirational. To this day I aspire to live up to the promise of my love beads and peace signs.  That is why it caught my  Continue Reading

From the San Juan Historical Society and Museum Father’s Day this year will be on June 20. When thinking about a historical photograph to go with a June history column, this four-generation portrait, seen above and shared by the Guard family, came to mind as a great example of the passage of time in a  Continue Reading

From the Town of Friday Harbor The Town of Friday Harbor presents “A Kepi in the Tide: Writing Historical Fiction” 10:30 a.m., Thursday, May 27. Author and genealogist John Ickes is a distant relative of early San Juan Island artist Marjorie Walker (1906-1992). His historical research contributed to the understanding of Marjorie’s life and the online  Continue Reading

From the Town of Friday Harbor The Town of Friday Harbor presents the online discussion “Architecture of the Recent Past: What Park Street is Telling Us” at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 20. Recent Past architecture (1940-80) is ubiquitous, typically under-appreciated, and typically not considered historic by most observers. From modest FHA cottages and iconic Ranch  Continue Reading

By Stephanie Buffum, coordinator, San Juan Islands Stop-over Many thanks to over 300 islanders, students, and community leaders who attended May 10-11 House of Tears Carvers’ totem pole blessings on San Juan Island/Whelalq, Shaw Island/Sqemenen, Orcas Island/Swalex and Lopez Island/Swaletch. Lummi Nation members from the House of Tears Carvers Se Sealth (Jewell Praying Wolf James),  Continue Reading

Join Historian Mike Vouri and members of the Old Military Road Trail committee at 10:30 a.m., Saturday May 15 as they explore the southern starting point of the Military Road that once ran between American and English Camps. Learn how the old road was initially cut by laborers employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company to  Continue Reading

Attend eight local historical events through May   From the San Juan Historical Society and Museum The American experience is composed of many local histories, common or unique. When we say “History Lives Here,” it is to bring attention to our island community’s often somewhat hidden, or at least not broadly remembered, rich local history.  Continue Reading

From Sandy Strehlou, historic preservation coordinator, Town of Friday Harbor An online event called “There’s a Story Here: Exaggeration Postcards Imagined” will be held at 5 p.m., May 4 in celebration of History Lives Here 2021. Before Photoshop, innovative photographers used photographic manipulation to create a novel and inexpensive genre of souvenirs known as “exaggeration”  Continue Reading

By Hayley Day, San Juan Update A Lummi Nation totem pole is conducting a cross-country trip to bring awareness to protecting Indigenous people’s land and waters, reports the Associated Press.  The journey, called the Red Road to DC, starts in Bellingham in May and will end in Washington D.C. in June. According to a press  Continue Reading

From the San Juan Historical Society and Museum Before there were family vacation cabins or second homes for retirees from the mainland, there was a different kind of part-time resident on San Juan Island. They came for the lucrative fishing seasons and set up camp on westside beaches, among other places. Some of these were  Continue Reading

Contributed Photo/San Juan Historical Museum. Fishing boats in Friday Harbor. From the Town of Friday Harbor The Town of Friday Harbor is looking for a new board member to preserve history, as well as organizations to share local historical stories. Board The Town of Friday Harbor Historic Preservation Review Board is looking for a new  Continue Reading

From the San Juan Historical Society and Museum It’s Women’s History Month and the tradition of this history column is to feature a person or organization in keeping with the topic. This year, in recognition of International Women’s Day on March 8, the United Nations has chosen the theme of “Women in leadership: Achieving an  Continue Reading

Patos Lighthouse – Contributed Photo From Arcadia Publishing Since 1893, a light has been shining from Patos Island, the northernmost island in Puget Sound. Built to guide ships through treacherous waters, the lighthouse was also a happy home for many, including Edward Durgan and his family in the early 1900s. Boundary waters smugglers and rumrunners  Continue Reading

From the San Juan Historical Society and Museum In the month she turned 19, Deborah Julia Kelly and her sweetheart Elijah Hamlin Nash traveled by steamship from San Juan Island to Seattle and took out a marriage license on Valentine’s Day 1896. They were married the following Sunday on Feb. 16 at Plymouth Church in  Continue Reading