San Juan Island Feature
Mapped Location
San Juan Island: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on San Juan Island
- Feature Type: Feature
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for San Juan Island
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| San Juan Island | Official |
Origin Notes and History of San Juan Island
References to San Juan Island that document the origin of its place name
BELLEVUE ISLAND, one of the former names of San Juan Island.
SAN JUAN COUNTY, named for one of the largest islands in Washington Sound, which should be known as San Juan Archipelago. Following the boundary treaty of 1846, a dispute arose between the British and American Governments for the possession of this group of islands, which dispute was settled by Emperor William I., of Germany, as arbitrator on October 21, 1872. On receiving information of that award the Territorial Legislature of Washington organized the archipelago into San Juan County on October 31, 1873.
SAN JUAN ISLAND, the western part of San Juan County, received its name in 1791 from the Spanish explorer Eliza, who realized that there were several islands in the group and wrote on his chart "Isla y Archiepelago de San Juan." (United States Public Documents, Serial No. 1557, chart K.) The Spanish map remained only in manuscript for many years. The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, respected the names given by Vancouver in 1792 but apparently knew nothing of the "San Juan" name. The large island was named "Rodgers" in honor of Commodore John Rodgers who commanded the President in the combat with the Little Belt, which was also commemorated in the attempted naming of the adjacent waterways. See President Channel and Little Belt Passage. The whole group was called "Navy Archipelago," the report saying: "Navy Archipelago is a collection of 25 islands, having the Straits of Fuca on, the south, the Gulf of Georgia on the north, the Canal de Arro on the west and Ringgold's Channel on the east. They have been named from distinguished officers late of the U.S. naval service, viz., Rodgers, Chauncey, Hull, Shaw, Decatur, Jones, Blakeley, Perry, Sinclair, Lawrence, Gordon, Percival, and others." (Hydrography, Volume XXIII., page 306, and Atlas, chart 77,) Captain Henry Kellett, of the Royal Navy, in 1847, restored the Spanish name of San Juan for the island but gave no name for the archipelago. (British Admiralty Chart 1911.) The Hudson's Bay Company gave a local name of "Bellevue" to the island. (Pacific Coast Pilot page 556.) When the United States Coast Survey began work among the islands in 1853, the archipelago was named Washington Sound. (Pacific Coast Pilot, page 556.) The confusion of names for the island is shown by the official charting of "Bellevue or San Juan Island." (United States Coast Survey Report for 1854, chart 51.) The maps by the Surveyor General of Washington Territory for 1857 and 1859 show the same dual names. (United States Public Documents, Serial Nos. 877 and 1026.) Later the American geographers dropped the name "Bellevue" and accepted the Spanish name as restored on the British charts.
A Selected Bibliography of San Juan Island, Feature
A compilation of essential readings detailing the history, geography, and culture of the region.
Is it a house? archaeological excavations at English Camp, San Juan Island, Washington by Amanda K. Taylor, Julie K. Stein, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Prehistoric houses on the Northwest Coast were built from wood, often within piles of discarded shells, leaving little archaeological evidence from which to confirm their presence. Is It a House? uses multiple lines of evidence to investigate whether the U-shaped depression surrounded by shells at the English Camp site on San Juan Island was originally a house constructed by native peoples. Each chapter addresses a different kind of evidence, including artifacts, sediment, faunal remains, and stratigraphy. The quantitative and qualitative analyses used to examine the evidence reveal new directions and insights for identifying houses in similar contexts. The editors introduce the research in the context of current and past Gulf of Georgia (Coast Salish) archaeology, and end by synthesizing the research evidence.
x, 170 pages : illustrations, maps ; 28 cm.
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
The Pig War the last Canada-US border conflict by Rosemary Neering
On May 15, 1859, an American settler on San Juan Island shot a pig belonging to the Hudsons Bay Company. This seemingly insignificant act was the spark that almost set aflame the strangest of many confrontations between Britain and the United States on the northwest coast of North America. On one side of the border dispute over the strategically located San Juan Islands was Governor James Douglas, determined to protect the interests of the Hudsons Bay Company and prove the military superiority of Britain. On the other side was General William Selby Harney, spoiling for a fight and believing in Americas manifest destiny to rule the continent. In this lively account of the conflict that became known as the Pig War, Rosemary Neering traces the events that led to the standoff in the San Juans and brings to life the memorable characters who played leading roles in the drama. The book is an excellent travel companion to anyone visiting the San Juans and the original American and British camps that are open to the public.
142 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 22 cm.
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
The Pig War and other experiences of William Peck soldier 1858-1862, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers : the journal of William A. Peck, Jr. by William A. Peck, C. Brewster Coulter, Bert Webber
Edited by C. Brewster Coulter and Bert Webber, The Pig War and Other Experiences of William Peck, Soldier 1858-1862 presents the remarkable personal journal of a U.S. Army engineer stationed in the Pacific Northwest during a tense geopolitical standoff. The book chronicles Private William A. Peck's daily life, military duties, and keen observations surrounding the infamous 1859 San Juan Island boundary dispute between the United States and Great Britain. Through these rare primary documents, the text captures the stark isolation, raw camp conditions, and quiet diplomacy that characterized an uneasy international borderlands garrison. A keen insight drawn from the work is how military journals humanize imperial brinkmanship; by filtering an international crisis through the mundane daily chores and reflective musings of an ordinary soldier, the narrative reveals that historical flashpoints are often lived not as grand historical dramas, but as tedious, freezing waits in remote wilderness outposts.
x, 236 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
The Ferryboat islands a practical guide to Washington States's San Juan Islands by Gordon Keith
Gordon Keith’s The Ferryboat islands: a practical guide to Washington States's San Juan Islands navigates the complex marine geography and rocky archipelagos scattered between the Rosario and Haro Straits in the northern Salish Sea. Set against the isolated, deep-water harbors of Lopez, Orcas, San Juan and Shaw, the text details how early homesteading families and maritime laborers relied on the evolving ferry systems to bridge the formidable aquatic distances between their remote agricultural and fishing claims. By tracing the transition from dispersed pioneer anchorages to highly interconnected island neighborhoods, the narrative illustrates how a shared reliance on these vital marine transit routes fostered tight-knit regional kinship and cooperative commerce. Ultimately, this maritime history demonstrates how collaboratively navigating the seasonal tides and rugged coastlines of the archipelago was essential to forging the resilient, cohesive community identity that unites the modern island networks.
xx, 204 pages : illustrations, maps ; 21 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
San Juan Island coastal place names and cartographic nomenclature by Bryce Wood, Washington State Historical Society
San Juan saga a unique history of the San Juan Islands and the Pig War told in words and pictures from the long-running historical pageant by Emelia L. Bave
San Juan saga: a unique history of the San Juan Islands and the Pig War examines the strategic military occupation and precarious pioneer settlement of a deeply contested, heavily forested archipelago situated at a critical aquatic chokepoint of the Salish Sea. Bave details how the region's formidable physical barriers—specifically the treacherous tidal currents of the Haro and Rosario straits, the rugged, rocky shorelines, and the severe aquatic isolation from mainland authorities—strictly dictated the margins of international diplomacy and early homesteading. By mapping the tense military standoff and the arduous daily labor of isolated settlers navigating this fractured marine topography, the narrative highlights the immense logistical endurance required to maintain sovereign claims within this demanding maritime environment. The profound geographic ambiguity of the navigable water routes initially forced both British and American forces into a strict reliance on the deepwater marine highway for troop deployment and basic survival, completely anchoring their strategic encampments to the precise, defensive contours of the island's sheltered bays and sweeping, wind-battered prairies. Ultimately, this theatrical and historical record serves as a deeply localized spatial history, demonstrating how the complex aquatic geography and immense navigational significance of this Pacific Northwest frontier fundamentally shaped the fiercely resilient, highly contested character of the San Juan archipelago.
x, 25 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Non-circulating [ 1 ]
Last updated: 2025-09-23