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Guemes Island is a small island in western Skagit County, Washington, United States. It is located north of Fidalgo Island and the city of Anacortes, and is accessible by private boat and by the Guemes Island ferry operated by Skagit County.
Guemes Island was named after the Viceroy of New Spain, Juan Vicente de Güemes, who commissioned an expedition that revealed the islands to Spain in 1794. [1]
Guemes Island has a rural character with limited facilities.
Some of the island’s beaches are public but most beaches' access is private. There are also two parks: one in the middle of the island known as Schoolhouse Park, [2] and another, Young's Park, [3] located on North Beach near The Guemes Island Resort.
The community located on Guemes Island is generally referred to as "Guemes".
Guemes Island is within the historical territory of the Samish Nation. It was a traditional location for Samish winter villages. The Samish language name for the island is Qweng qwengila, which means "many dogs", referring to Salish Wool Dogs, also called Samish Woolley Dogs. [4] Around 1873, the Samish, displaced from their original village by U.S. government policy that made land available to newcomers, established a new village on Guemes near Potlatch Beach. Because they occupied the only natural spring on the island, the Samish were forced off the island by their neighbors in 1912. [5]
Guemes Island was named by the Spanish explorer José María Narváez as Isla de Güemes during the 1791 expedition of Francisco de Eliza, in honor of the Viceroy of Mexico, Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo. [6] [7]
In 1841 Charles Wilkes of the United States Exploring Expedition gave the name "Lawrence Island" to Guemes Island, to honor the American naval officer James Lawrence. He also gave the name "Hornet Harbor" to Guemes Channel, for the USS Hornet, which Lawrence commanded during the War of 1812. To the waterway north of the island, part of Bellingham Bay, Wilkes gave the name "Penguin Harbor", for the British vessel Penguin, captured by Lawrence. These names disappeared after 1847, when the British Captain Henry Kellett reorganized the British Admiralty charts, in the process removing the "pro-American" names given by Wilkes and affirming pro-British names and Spanish names. [8]
Guemes Island was also commonly known locally as Dog Island in the early 20th century, from the large number of Salish Wool Dogs living wild on the island. [9]
The following Census statistics represent a block group that also contains the neighboring islands of Cypress Island, Sinclair Island, and Vendovi Island. As of the census [10] of 2000, there were 605 people, 292 households, and 180 families residing in the block group. There were 626 housing units. The racial makeup of the block group was 95.70% White, 1.16% African American, 0.83% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.99% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. 1.32% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 292 households, out of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 39.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.38.
In the block group, the population was spread out, with 16.0% under the age of 18, 2.6% from 18 to 24, 11.6% from 25 to 44, 41.3% from 45 to 64, and 27.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53 years. For every 100 females, there were 119.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.8 males.
The median income for a household in the block group was $40,039, and the median income for a family was unavailable. Income by sex was also unavailable, as was per capita income. 8.1% of the population was below the poverty line. Family poverty statistics were unavailable. Out of the total population, 36.1% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Nautical and aeronautical charts note a magnetic disturbance off the southeastern tip of Guemes Island. The disturbance affects compasses enough to cause as much as 2° discrepancy from average local variation. [11]
Deception Pass is a strait separating Whidbey Island from Fidalgo Island, in the northwest part of the U.S. state of Washington. It connects Skagit Bay, part of Puget Sound, with the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A pair of bridges known collectively as Deception Pass Bridge cross Deception Pass. The bridges were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The San Juan Islands is an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of San Juan County.
Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Lower Mainland of British Columbia to the north, Okanogan County to the east, Skagit County to the south, San Juan County across Rosario Strait to the southwest, and the Strait of Georgia to the west. Its county seat and largest population center is the coastal city of Bellingham, comprising the Bellingham, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and as of the 2020 census, the county's population was 226,847.
Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,523. The county seat and largest city is Mount Vernon. The county was formed in 1883 from Whatcom County and is named for the Skagit Indian tribe, which has been indigenous to the area prior to European-American settlement.
San Juan County is a county located in the Salish Sea in the far northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,788. The county seat and only incorporated city is Friday Harbor, located on San Juan Island. The county was formed on October 31, 1873, from Whatcom County and is named for the San Juan Islands, which are in turn named for Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo, the Viceroy of New Spain.
Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 86,857. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor.
Coupeville is a town on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington, United States.
Anacortes is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. Anacortes' population was 17,637 at the time of the 2020 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Birch Bay is a protected bay of the east shore of the Salish Sea, between Semiahmoo Bay and Lummi Bay; approximately 100 miles (160 km) north of Seattle and 35 miles (56 km) south of Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Camano Island is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Susan and Davis Slough to the east. The island has one road connection to the mainland, via State Route 532 over the Camano Gateway Bridge at the northeast end of the island, connecting to the city of Stanwood.
Samish Island is an unincorporated community in Skagit County, Washington, United States. It lies on an island 48°34′25″N122°31′48″W with the same name, which is located off the northwest coast of the Washington mainland. It is connected to the mainland by land reclaimed through a system of dikes created in the early 20th century.
The Samish are a Native American people who live in the U.S. state of Washington. They are a Central Coast Salish people. Through the years, they were assigned to reservations dominated by other Tribes, for instance, the Swinomish Indians of the Swinomish Reservation of Washington and the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation. They are also enrolled in the Samish Indian Nation, formerly known as the Samish Indian Tribe, which regained federal recognition in 1996.
Padilla Bay is a bay located in the U.S. state of Washington, between the San Juan Islands and the mainland. Fidalgo Island and Guemes Island lie to the west of Padilla Bay. Guemes Channel, between the islands, connects Padilla Bay to Rosario Strait. Samish Island lies to the north of Padilla Bay, beyond which is Samish Bay and Bellingham Bay.
Cypress Island is the westernmost part of Skagit County, Washington and is about halfway between the mainland and offshore San Juan County. It is separated from Blakely Island to the west by Rosario Strait and from Guemes Island to the east by Bellingham Channel. The island has a land area of 5,500 acres (22 km2), and a population of 40 persons as of the 2000 United States Census.
Sinclair Island is an island in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a part of, and lies off the western shore of mainland Skagit County. The island has a land area of 4.109 km2 and is home to only a few private residents.
Vendovi Island is an island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. Located in Skagit County, Washington, United States, Vendovi Island lies across Samish Bay from mainland Skagit County, between Guemes Island and Lummi Island. Vendovi Island has a land area of 220.24 acres (89.13 ha) and a population of two persons was reported as of the 2000 census. The Island was named after a Fijian High Chief Ro Veidovi who was brought to North America by the Wilkes Expedition.
The Guemes Island ferry, the M/V Guemes, carries passengers and vehicles across Guemes Channel between Anacortes, Washington and Guemes Island. The ferry is operated by the Skagit County Public Works Department's Ferry Division.
The Samish Indian Nation is a Coast Salish nation and a signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855. Samish has a government-to-government relationship with the United States of America. The Samish are a Northern Straits branch of Central Coast Salish peoples. The Samish Nation is headquartered in Anacortes, Fidalgo Island, in Washington, north of Puget Sound.
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, also known as the Swinomish Tribe, is a federally recognized Tribe located on Puget Sound in Washington, United States. They are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest that includes the Central and Coast Salish peoples who lived in the Samish and Skagit River valleys, nearby coasts, and islands. The Tribe's population includes Swinomish, Lower Skagit, Upper Skagit, Kikiallus, and Samish peoples.
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