San Juan County, Washington
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 21 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 2 are also National Historic Landmarks. Most listings are in or near Friday Harbor, Eastsound, Lopez Island.
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 San Juan titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP11 of 21 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
21 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Alderbrook Farmhouse | Doe Bay | 1985 |
| American and English Camps, San Juan Island NHL | Friday Harbor | 1966 |
| Center School | Lopez Island | 2022 |
| Crow Valley School | Eastsound | 1987 |
| Doe Bay General Store and Post Office | Doe Bay, Orcas Island | 1986 |
| Donohue, Michael and Myra, House | Eastsound | 2013 |
| Emmanuel Episcopal Church | Eastsound | 1994 |
| Krumdiack Homestead | Waldron Island | 1993 |
| Little Red Schoolhouse | Shaw Island | 1973 |
| Moran State Park | Olga | 2013 |
| Orcas Hotel | Orcas | 1982 |
| Patos Island Light Station | East Sound | 1977 |
| Port Stanley School | Lopez Island | 1994 |
| Roche Harbor | San Juan Island | 1977 |
| Rosario | Orcas Island | 1978 |
| San Juan County Courthouse | Friday Harbor | 1984 |
| San Juan Island National Historic Site NHL | Friday Harbor | 1966 |
| San Juan Island, Lime Kiln Light Station | Friday Harbor | 1978 |
| San Juan Lime Company-Cowell's | Friday Harbor | 2007 |
| Tacoma Building | Tacoma | 2001 |
| Tharald Homestead | Shaw Island | 2002 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBSan Juan was formed in 1873 (1873-10-31) from Whatcom.
SAN JUAN created by Washington Territory from WHATCOM.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusSan Juan County population from 1870 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1870 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 554 | 948 | 2,928 | 3,605 | 3,157 | 3,245 | 2,872 | 7,838 | 14,077 | 17,788 |
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. |
|---|---|---|
| San Juan Island National Historical Park | Park unit | 5.9 km |
| Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve | Park unit | 45.1 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS11 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 11 of 11 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Afterglow Vista Mausoleum and Cemetery |
| English Camp Cemetery |
| Lopez Union Cemetery |
| Mount Baker Cemetery |
| Olga - Doe Bay Cemetery |
| Saint Francis Catholic Cemetery |
| Shaw Island Cemetery |
| Stuart Island Cemetery |
| Valley Cemetery |
| Waldron Cemetery |
| Woodlawn Cemetery |
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 San Juan County, Washington
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.