Island County, Washington
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 16 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1973. Most listings are in or near Oak Harbor, Camano Island, Coupeville.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Washington is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Island titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP9 of 16 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
16 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Cama Beach Resort | Camano Island | 2001 |
| Central Whidbey Island Historic District | Oak Harbor | 1973 |
| Deception Pass State Park-Cornet Bay Fire Circle | Oak Harbor | 2019 |
| Deception Pass State Park-Cornet Bay Incinerator | Oak Harbor | 2019 |
| Deception Pass State Park-Cranberry Lake Bathing and Picnic Area Historic District | Oak Harbor | 2019 |
| Deception Pass State Park-Cranberry Lake Caretaker's Area Historic District | Oak Harbor | 2019 |
| Deception Pass State Park-North Beach Picnic Area Historic District | Oak Harbor | 2019 |
| Deception Pass State Park-Rosario and Bowman Bathing, Picnic, and Caretaker's Areas Historic District | Oak Harbor | 2019 |
| Haller, Colonel Granville & Henrietta, House | Coupeville | 2022 |
| Kristoferson Dairy | Stanwood | 2012 |
| Loers, Benjamin, House | Oak Harbor | 1977 |
| Olympic Club | Langley | 1991 |
| Schooner SUVA | Coupeville | 2025 |
| Site 45-IS-2 | Camano Island | 2008 |
| Smith Island Light Station | Port Townsend | 1978 |
| Utsalady Ladies Aid Building | Camano Island | 1998 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBIsland was formed in 1852 (1852-12-22) from Thurston.
ISLAND created by Oregon Territory from THURSTON. ISLAND included the disputed San Juan Islands, which were claimed by both the United States and Great Britain from 15 January 1846 to 21 October 1872.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusIsland County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 294 | 1,087 | 1,870 | 5,489 | 6,098 | 11,079 | 19,638 | 44,048 | 71,558 | 86,857 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve | Park unit | 5.4 km |
| San Juan Island National Historical Park | Park unit | 45.0 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS7 cemeteries and 1 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 7 of 7 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Bayview Cemetery |
| Camano Lutheran Cemetery |
| Camano Pioneer Cemetery |
| Clinton Cemetery |
| Langley Woodman Cemetery |
| Maple Leaf Cemetery |
| Sunnyside Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 1 of 1
| Name |
|---|
| Port Arthur |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Island County, Washington
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.