Doe Bay, Washington

Doe Bay, Washington
Unincorporated community
Doe Bay Show map of Washington (state) Doe Bay Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 48°38′28″N122°46′52″W / 48.64111°N 122.78111°W / 48.64111; -122.78111
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	San Juan
First Settled	1870s
Elevation [1]	30 ft (9 m)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
GNIS feature ID	1511639 [1]

Doe Bay, Washington is a small unincorporated community in San Juan County, Washington, United States. Doe Bay sits on the south-eastern shore of Orcas Island. ^[2]

Doe Bay is about 19.1 miles (30.7 km) by road from Orcas Village, about 11 miles (18 km) by road from Eastsound, and a short 3.6 miles (5.8 km) from Olga.

Deer Harbor, a community on the opposite side of the island from Doe Bay, is about 20.6 miles (33.2 km) by road. It is also very near Moran State Park. It hosts an annual music festival.

History

Pre-European history

Before the arrival of the European settlers, the area was a traditional sanctuary for various Coast Salish tribes. ^[3]

Recent history

In the early 1870s, John Gottleib Viereck (a migrant of German origins), Jennie Kahlan (a woman of Tsimishian origins), alongside their seven children settled the area of what is today known as Doe Bay. Many immigrants soon followed them, seeing the prospect of limited governance in the area as a promising characteristic. ^[3]

The settlement grew between 1890 and 1910 with the apperances of many orchards and farms in the area, ^[3] and in 1908, the local post office was created. ^[4]

Up until 1914, the entirety of Orcas, including Doe Bay, grew as an agricultural hub, and thus structured themsleved around an agricultural economy, however, World War I stopped sales of U.S. fruit to foreign markets, thus heavily damaging the local economy, reducing the local active farms. ^{[3] [5]}

Starting from 1922, Doe Bay became a touristic hub, changing its economy once again, using the proximity to natural highlights such as the Moran State Park to boost its tourism. This has been the policy that the community has used for the last few decades. ^[3]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Doe Bay, Washington
2. Pfeuffer, Charyn. "Up in the Air (January 2017)". Sunset. Sunset Publishing Corporation.
3. Edington, Jen. "Doe Bay History". Doe Bay Resort & Retreat. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
4. "Revisiting Washington — Doe Bay". revisitwa.org. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
5. Doe Bay history, Doe Bay: Historical Images and Favorite Recipes.