The name "San Juan" originates from the 1791 expedition of Francisco de Eliza, who named the archipelago Isla y Archipiélago de San Juan to honor his patron sponsor, Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo. One of the officers under Eliza's command, Gonzalo López de Haro, was the first European to discover San Juan Island. During the Wilkes Expedition, American explorer Charles Wilkes renamed the islandRodgers Island; the Spanish name remained on British nautical charts and over time became the island's official name. The island saw seasonal use for salmon fishing. The Hudson's Bay Company established the first permanent, non-native settlement on the island on December 13, 1853, with the intention of creating a sheep farm. The island was also occupied by Native Americans, many of whom arrived seasonally for fishing. Both the British and Americans asserted control of the island. A small force of American soldiers was sent to the island over concern for this issue and with Native American raids on American settlers. The territorial dispute over this island and the rest of the San Juan Islands heightened when an American settler shot an HBC pig, starting the Pig War in 1859. The dispute was finally resolved in favor of the Americans in 1872.
Island life
San Juan Island has a number of weekly newspapers, and two online daily news sites: the San Juan Islander and the Island Guardian,. The Island is dotted with numerous farms, and is a tourist-driven economy. The island hosts two substantial marinas, one in Friday Harbor, the other in Roche Harbor. One often sees tall ships and large yachts in the marinas. The Island has a hospital, the Peace Health Peace Island Medical Center. Transportation to the Island is by boat, Washington State Ferries, seaplane or by conventional aircraft. If traveling by seaplane, Friday Harbor is serviced by Northwest Seaplanes and Kenmore Air, both longtime operators in the area. The Friday Harbor Airport is on the outskirt of town. Outside of Friday Harbor, the only major commercial establishment resort is the village of Roche Harbor, located on the northwest side of the island. Other landmarks are the old English and American Camps at opposite ends of the island, which together comprise the San Juan Island National Historical Park, which commemorates the 1859 Pig War. Interpretive centers and reconstructed buildings, formal gardens, etc. recall the history of early European settlement in the area. The University of Washington runs Friday Harbor Laboratories, a marine research lab and campus outside Friday Harbor. The campus has been extant since 1909 and has dormitories, a food service, and classrooms for holding lectures. San Juan Island is considered a "small town" community, in that it is relatively quiet rural living with little distractions or incidents aside from tourism. One notable resident would be Lisa "Ivory" Moretti, a retired female professional wrestler of World Wrestling Entertainment fame. It has a number of attractions including The Whale Museum; a contemporary Art Museum building completed in 2015; the San Juan Community Theatre; the Sculpture Park ; the San Juan Historical Museum; and Lime Kiln Point State Park where visitors can watch orca pods swim by. Lime Kiln Park is so named because it housed a lime kiln and is home to the historic Lime Kiln Light. Camping is also available around the island.
Schools
Public schools are operated by the . It operates four schools: Friday Harbor Elementary School, Friday Harbor Middle School, Friday Harbor High School, Griffin Bay Schools, and Stuart Island School. There are also two privately operated schools.
Ecology
The waters surrounding San Juan Island are home to a variety of species including red sea urchins and pinto abalone. Though no commercial fishing of abalone has ever been allowed in this area, recreational fishing of abalone was outlawed in 1994. The National Marine Fisheries Service listed pinto abalone as a Species of Concern in 2004.
Attractions
There are a few small, family-run aquaculture farms in the San Juan Islands including Westcott Bay Shellfish Co, where visitors can buy oysters, clams and mussels and see shellfish farming operations.
