Without a parade this year, we’ve been thinking of festive 4th of July celebrations from years past. Here is a photo from the 1981 parade, shining the spotlight of history on the Islanders Bank float that year. It’s tradition for Islanders Bank to enter a float in the parade, and this one was noteworthy because  Continue Reading

The National Park Service has been busy making progress on construction of the new visitor center out there. Here’s the latest from their construction blog… Update: Site Observation Update Week of June 16th This week’s work has no discernable theme apart from a great deal of focus outdoors. With superb weather, we began work on  Continue Reading

This article was written by Mike Vouri, local author and former NPS Historian… The heat was already stifling at 11 a.m. in late July 2004 when I encountered four Canadian reenactor colleagues taking a breather in the shade at the corner of Little and Douglas roads. Clad in the scarlet and blue wool uniforms of  Continue Reading

SJI Historical Museum is back with their History Column for June… Although it’s now been a little over 100 years since the outbreak of the Spanish Flu, many of us grew up hearing a grandparent’s stories of family experiences with the double punch of world war and an influenza pandemic known as the Spanish Flu.  Continue Reading

Here’s this month’s history column from the San Juan Historical Society and Museum…Remember when we could happily pose this close to each other in a crowd of people, just like the Hemphill family and friends did around 1910 in the photograph above? As everyone knows, we currently live in a time defined by a novel coronavirus,  Continue Reading

We hear from John Miller in response to the Update’s recent history column, From Camas to Oysters (and “Please pass the peas.”) featuring a label from the San Juan Islands Cannery. John shared with us two labels from San Juan Canning Co…

Here’s this month’s history column from the San Juan Historical Society and Museum… Our March history columns generally feature one or more of our community’s women, as March 8 is International Women’s Day and the entire month is known as Women’s History Month. This year marks two significant, national level Centennials in our history where  Continue Reading

Island Senior is a regular column on the San Juan Update written by Peggy Sue McRae… There will be no lunch served at the Mullis Center on Monday. Presidents Day is a federal holiday; banks and the post office are also closed. Before the Uniform Federal Holidays act of 1971 we observed Abraham Lincoln’s birthday  Continue Reading

  Here’s this month’s history column from the San Juan Historical Society and Museum… Since February is a month known for Valentine’s Day decorations in store windows and rows of sweetheart cards for sale, we thought we would see what has been preserved in the San Juan Historical Museum’s archives from festive holidays of yesteryear. The classic  Continue Reading

Don’t forget – this is happening today – The first Know Your Island Walk of the new year will be on Saturday, January 25, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, starting at American Camp’s Redoubt. Mike Vouri, retired National Park historian, will lead this walk — as he did the very first walk in the series  Continue Reading

The first Know Your Island Walk of the new year will be on Saturday, January 25, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, starting at American Camp’s Redoubt. Mike Vouri, retired National Park historian, will lead this walk — as he did the very first walk in the series in January 2011. The Redoubt, a military defensive  Continue Reading

Here’s this month’s history column from the San Juan Historical Society and Museum… When this editorial cartoon appeared in the November 24, 1949 issue of the Friday Harbor Journal, no one could have foreseen what was to come. It heralded the beginning of one doozy of a severe winter from Old Man Winter or more scientifically,  Continue Reading

It’s happening in Port Townsend in 2020, from July 7th to 10th… The Washington Trust is pleased to announce that the application for our annual Youth Heritage Project is now open. This year’s program will focus on the recently designated Maritime Washington National Heritage Area, exploring the rich maritime history of Port Townsend and experiencing  Continue Reading

Boyd Pratt launched his newest book, “Island Farming: History and Landscape of Agriculture in the San Juan Islands,” at the Grange Hall to a large, enthusiastic crowd of farmers, Grange members, and others on Friday evening. He highlighted three themes from the book – bygone farmers, fruit-growing, and sheep-raising – but there are a multitude  Continue Reading

This year has been a year of roof replacements at the San Juan Historical Museum. Recently, the roof of the James King family home was replaced. The prior wood shingle roof had reached the end of its useful life and the time had come to undertake the project which was done by Bobby Ross Construction.  Continue Reading

Lynn Danaher shares this invitation with you… Due to our long-standing friendships with some of the residents, we have been invited by the Pitcairn islanders themselves to spend a month on Pitcairn exploring petroglyph sites and conducting forensic archaeology.  We will be the first to test for DNA at a historical burial site in Adamstown,  Continue Reading

Island Farming: History And Landscape Of Agriculture In The San Juan Islands by Boyd C. Pratt A free-ranging pig that caused an international war; a year’s crop of ginseng that paid off the mortgage; and a breachy cow that led to bloody murder. Farming in the San Juan Islands has always presented challenges and opportunities.  Continue Reading

Here’s this month’s history column from the San Juan Historical Society and Museum… This image was labeled “Hotel de Haro Christmas 1924” when it came to the San Juan Historical Society and Museum. We know little else about it, save for what we can see here. It’s hard to miss that big tree, which we know was  Continue Reading

Mike Vouri – Hadrian’s Wall In July 2019 San Juan Islanders Mike Vouri and Jerry McElyea hiked the 84-mile path that traces the line of Hadrian’s wall, a massive fortification erected by the Roman Emperor Hadrian beginning in 122 AD. Vouri will discuss not only the purpose of the wall and the means and methods  Continue Reading

Time for the November history column from the San Juan Historical Society and Museum… This month’s story was inspired by the smallest of items in the November 26, 1909 issue of the San Juan Islander newspaper. It was just 33 words. “The largest turkey raised on the islands this season was on exhibition on Wednesday  Continue Reading

Coming up this Friday, Oct. 25, is an informative talk by local historian architect, Boyd Pratt.  The topic is the island’s past,  “What Was Here Before You Were?”  This talk will cover early to later use of island land and locations of past endeavors.  It will be quite interesting for old timers and newcomers alike.  Continue Reading

Here’s this month’s history column from the San Juan Historical Society and Museum… Local history sometimes includes tales of a decidedly unearthly – or at least spooky – nature. Perhaps the most well-known of this island’s spooky tales are about the Cry Baby House. Once a homestead landmark at False Bay, this house is pictured here in  Continue Reading