Pebble Cover Farm on Orcas Island by Satya Curcio Photography

Sweeping grasslands. Old-growth forests. Rocky shorelines. The San Juan Islands are enchanting. Like a moment out of time, they seem to be almost untouched. The clean air. The 220 days with sunshine. The enchanting views.

It’s what makes the San Juans the ideal wedding destination for couples with adventurous souls. The following outlines some of the best wedding venues, florists, and photographers — all home based in the San Juan Islands. Whether you’re eloping, want an intimate gathering or are planning a soiree for the whole crew, there’s magic to be found in the San Juans.

Top Wedding Venues

Walking through the stone laid roundabout, with Roche Harbor Resort’s idyllic Hotel de Haro in the background. Photo by Sara Parsons Photography.

At the northern edge of San Juan Island, tucked along 12 miles of glistening coastline, Roche Harbor Resort elevates old-world elegance with first-class amenities. More than 130-years-old, the 4,000-acre estate is steeped in history and surrounded by lush gardens. It offers a wide range of hotel rooms, cottages, and rental homes that offers lodging options for parties both large and small. Plus, many of the island’s top excursions depart from its docks, allowing adventurous couples to add some untraditional fun to their wedding getaway.

Saltwater Farm’s beautifully designed ceremony site sits at the edge of the property’s ridge overlooking the mountains and ocean. A dog-friendly venue, its new 5,000 square-foot, solar-powered event barn offers an elegant event space. Photos by La Vie Photography.

Just outside of Friday Harbor, and less than a two-minute drive from the Friday Harbor Airport, is the newly-established and sustainably-conscious Saltwater Farm. This idyllic retreat grew out of a dream and a love for the land. The 162-acre property has been carefully crafted to offer couples a chance to spend a long weekend with loved ones, celebrate their big day, and preserve nature — all with a carbon negative footprint. Nestled along a ridge, the property can accommodate up to 40 overnight guests and parties of up to 249. Guests are treated to breathtaking views of the Salish Sea and the Olympic Mountains. Plus, the property is a budding animal rescue that’s currently home to a family of rescue goats, chickens, and a new puppy.

The lush garden at Outlook Inn offers a stunning destination for ceremonies, receptions and more. Photo by Satya Curcio Photography.

In the heart of Eastsound, Orcas Island’s quirky downtown, Outlook Inn rests perched beside the waters of Fishing Bay. Not quite big enough to be a resort and not quite small enough to be a Bed and Breakfast, the captivating destination was first founded in 1888. Refined and updated over the years, echoes of its historical charm can be felt in the handcrafted objects that grace its interior. In addition to its beachfront access, the inn features a full acre of flowers and trees in Sara’s Garden.

Small touches, like a hammock thoughtfully hung by the water, make Pebble Cove Farm a wedding destination full of wonder. Photo by Satya Curcio Photography.

For couples who love animals, you-pick organic gardens, bonfires, and kayaking, Pebble Cove Farm is a slice of paradise. The four-acre estate butts up against the water’s edge, offering private beach access to guests. Kayaks and stand-up paddleboards are available for rent. A vegan animal sanctuary, it’s home to a wide range of rescued animals, including a pony named Hank and two mini Juliana pigs. Five on-site accommodations are available, allowing the wedding party to home base at the farm for the weekend while guests visit for everything from rehearsal dinners to post-nuptial Sunday brunch. Pebble Cove Farm’s rustic elegance will make your unique wedding truly unforgettable.

Top Florists

Located in Friday Harbor, Robin’s Nest is one of the oldest florists on San Juan Island. Specializing in intimate weddings and special occasion bouquets, owner and florist designer Robin Zemek leaves no detail overlooked.

Originally a wedding cake designer, Jami Plummer wanted out of the kitchen and into the garden. Turning her front yard into flowerbeds, she began creating seasonal bouquets for local businesses, special occasions, and weddings. Her whimsical bouquets are heavily influenced by Orcas Island, where her flower studio and garden are located.

Photography by La Vie Photography, venue Roche Harbor Resort, and flowers by Camas Designs

Erin Shackelford, founder of Camas Designs on San Juan Island, harnesses the simplicity and elegance of nature to create stunning floral displays. Specializing in weddings and events, she creates everything from whimsical bouquets and centerpieces to grand archways and flower arbors. Sourcing many of her flowers locally, Erin will often weave in a few final touches from her own cutting garden.

Cindy Morgan has been a florist since she was a little girl running into her mother’s garden to create arrangements for the kitchen table. In 2004, she founded Nest Flowers on Orcas Island. What began as a small operation blossomed over the years allowing Cindy to expand her love for creative designs into everything from large installations to simple bouquets.

The whimsical nature of Kara Navradszky’s artistic flower displays often feels as though it should be art. (She doubles as a living jewelry artist, creating stunning wearable arrangements on rings, necklaces, and headpieces.) From flowing bridal bouquets to enchanting tablescapes and large living walls, Kara’s eye for natural beauty seems to echo the very essence of love.

Top Photographers

On a misty morning, Satya Curcio uses the texture of a rocky cliff to provide an intimate moment for this new couple.

Based on Orcas Island, Satya Curcio’s use of natural light allows her to capture realistic snapshots brimming with emotion. Using the natural beauty of lush forest beds, rocky cliffs, and sweeping views, Sara preserves couples and their story. She has a nimble eye for highlighting the mood of an event while making the day easy and seamless.

Sara Parsons uses a slight breeze to add a touch of mystique to this beautiful couple.

Light and airy, Sara Parsons captures moments with an ethereal eye. Her focus on the little details and her use of movement creates images that feel as though they are alive. A San Juan Island local, she understands how to capitalize on the best lookouts and time sunset photos, while adding a dose of fun that makes taking pictures feel effortless.

Kim Bamberg capitalizes on the sweeping landscape to give this new couple a moment alone that’s captured without intruding.

Vibrant and full of life, Kim Bamberg catches love with an enchanting focus on color. Her use of natural structures creates a sense of closeness. Finding the seconds that make a lifetime, Kim allows you to stay immersed in the day by providing just enough direction to make getting a great shoot a breeze. Plus, she offers overhead drone footage for those who want a bird’s-eye view of their big day.

Book Your Trip

More About the San Juans

6 Cuddle-Worthy Destinations in the San Juan Islands

Slow-paced island life, farm-to-table cuisine, and intimate accommodations make for the perfect winter escape.

Crabbing in the Pacific Northwest

Have you tasted the sweet, salty goodness of crab, pulled from the sea and cooked with minutes of hitting the dock? Discover the tasty delight of crabbing in the San Juans.

San Juan Island Day Hikes Worth Your Boot Leather

San Juan Island’s rich with great scenery, both ashore and at sea. And with its temperate climate, it’s the perfect place to hike year-round.

The annual Orcas Island Lit Festival is returning June 3-4.

This three-day festival features panels, readings, and events highlighting the vibrant literary culture of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Authors range from Pulitzer Prize winners to gifted new voices. They herald from throughout the country, in a rich mix of local and national voices. Take full advantage of this uniquely intimate setting to engage with world-class writers, ask questions and explore their work.

How two local artisans support island agriculture through the Slow Fiber Movement.

There’s a rural beauty to Lopez Island, a slowness that’s earned it the nickname ‘Slowpez.’ This is thanks in large part to the generously flat terrain, where gently rolling hills are studded with farms and speckled with artisans. While the locally grown offerings are diverse — including beef, pork, and berries — the quaint 29.5 square-mile agricultural community is perhaps best known for its sheep.

Lopez Island wool products, in particular, are heralded throughout the United States and beyond for their exceptional quality and beauty. This is in no small part thanks to Maxine Bron- stein and Debbie Hayward, founders of Island Fibers.

The couple know not only the island’s sheep farmers, but the individual sheep. They track how much wool each sheep produces, its individual crimp and luster.

“The farmers here are excellent. They really look after their flocks, giving them high-quality diets, limiting stress, and keeping them out of situations that could damage their fleece. It makes for an exceptional product,” says Maxine.

In the spring, Debbie and Maxine attend each shearing. “We pick up each fleece, fling it onto mesh, and skirt it (removing all the unusable pieces). Then we bag, weigh, and label the individual sheep’s fleece,” Maxine explains. But shearing is only the beginning. The fleece and eventual yarn will be handled and washed many times before the ladies even begin thinking about rugs, blankets, and hats.

First, the couple will take it back to their island studio. There they will sort the fleece according to the kinds of yarn they want and send it to the mill for spinning. Or keep it, when it’s too beautiful to part with so they can spin it themselves or share it with other handspinners.

Sorting the wool is in fact one of the cornerstones of their craft. Because each type of wool has characteristics that make it especially suitable for a specific purpose. Fine fiber with a higher crimp count is best for garments worn close to the skin. Stronger, coarser fibers are ideal for rugs and outer clothing. Furthermore, similar fleeces need to be spun together.

“If the yarn is made from fleece that is too different in character, then it can be scratchy,” says Maxine.

Once the fleece is spun, it’s returned to Maxine and Debbie as skeins or hanks of specific weight and yardage. The couple then personally washes every skein to make sure it’s free of any residual oil from the spinning process.

“Whether we sell the yarn as a natural color or dye it, washing makes the yarn bloom and soften,” Maxine says.

Debbie, the weaver, creates scarves, rugs, blankets, and other home accessories. Maxine, the knitter, makes sweaters, mittens, and socks.

Knitting and weaving are a long process in and of themselves. But for the women to have even reached this point has taken weeks, if not months.

It’s this labor-intensive process that the couple has dubbed the ‘Slow Fiber Movement.’

“For us, it’s all about the fiber. It’s about creating something beautiful and long-lasting and that makes people happy,” says Maxine. “It’s about promoting Lopez Island wool and supporting local farmers. It’s an amazing thing to get to do. It never feels like work.”

You can find Debbie and Maxine’s work at the Saturday Lopez Farmer’s Market, Chimera Gallery, and wool shows around the Pacific Northwest, or visit their studio with an appointment.

A weekend jumping from Orcas to San Juan Island.

Watch the sun slowly dip down from the comfort of your own balcony after you’ve scrubbed the dirt and washed the sand off your little ones from a long day of exploring. Instead of battling crowds and waiting in lines, introduce your children to the finer things in life like clams caught mere steps from where they are eaten. Spend your mornings walking out to an island made accessible only by low tide.

Listen in awe at the excited squeals from each discovery of sea stars, sea cucumbers, and crabs. Spend the day whale-watching and the evening on a sunset sail. From Lopez to Orcas and San Juan Island, each has its own distinct sense of place and will have a unique draw to visitors. When you cannot decide which island is right for you, don’t. Instead, plan an “island-hopping” adventure, combining the best of what a couple of islands have to offer.

I once read an article that stated you get 940 Saturdays and you are done. Put succinctly, this is the time between when your child is born and when they turn eighteen. After reading that article I made a conscious decision that once I had children, I would never let a weekend go by without unstructured exploring, adventure, and family time. Every parent desires to instill certain values into their children and for me, a top priority is a love of nature.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we are fortunate to be surrounded by forests, oceans, beaches, mountains, and everything in between. As a parent, I want to take full advantage of my surroundings. So rather than spoil my children with trips to Disneyland and plastic toys they will easily lose interest in, I have spoiled them with ferry rides, whale watching trips, kayaking adventures, and hours upon hours of beach time.

On this trip we visited both Orcas and San Juan Island. Orcas is great for small-town vibes and offers many diverse places to hike, shop, camp, and beach comb. When I think of Orcas Island, I picture the white picket fences of Eastsound, moss-laden Moran State Park, and acres upon acres of farmland.

San Juan Island is a great hub for ad- venturing and experiencing the beauty of the San Juans while still enjoying all the modern conveniences right at your fingertips. With the San Juans, picking a favorite island is difficult, so you really have to experience them all for yourself and see what fits your personality best.

Start on Orcas Island

Wake up to the sound of waves in your perfectly appointed Water’s Edge suite at Outlook Inn. Make the short jaunt across the street to New Leaf Cafe for a hearty breakfast of waffles, biscuits and gravy, or eggs benedict to fuel your day. Next, load up the car and head out to Moran State Park to be amongst the trees and hike Cascade Loop Lake or Mountain Lake Loop. If you find your- self without little ones, make a full day of it and hike up Mount Constitution.

If hiking is not your idea of time well spent, then take the easy route and drive your car up to the top of the mountain instead. Mount Constitution is the highest point in the San Juan Islands, rising nearly half a mile above Orcas Island, and offers breathtaking scenery. At the top, make a game of it and see who can spot Canada first or who is able to name the islands in the distance.

One of my favorite parts of traveling with children is how they encourage you to constantly learn. Children think of their parents as endless sources of knowledge. So do your due diligence and learn about the places you visit ahead of time.

When I visit a place, I want to see what makes it unique. So we made certain to checkout Orcas Island Pottery and perused the wonderful array of locally made pieces. There is also an amazing treehouse where your children can play and swings they can enjoy, should pottery not hold their attention for as long as yours. Support the local art scene by selecting the perfect serving bowl, mug, or dinner platter as a reminder of your memorable visit.

Stop by Buck Bay Shellfish, a third-generation family farm established in the 1940s known for some of the freshest seafood around. You’ll be treated to a fresh, satisfying meal with a killer view. Choose from Halibut sliders, fish and chips, steamed clams, fresh salads, and Dungeness crab. Or do what we did and go back twice during your stay and order one of everything.

Children, like adults, are motivated by treats. So make certain to stop by Clever Cow Creamery for a scoop of small-batch, locally-made ice cream. Encourage your child to be adventurous and choose from an array of flavors like blackberry, pistachio, or coconut.

The best part is how they nestle the ice cream in a freshly made waffle cone and can top it with an array of toppings. When the hardest decision of the day is selecting which beach to camp out on for the remainder of the evening, you know it was a good day.

Wake up bright and early (whether by choice or by children alarm clocks) the next day for baked goods from Brown Bear Baking Co. Then, check out the beach under your Water Edge Suite at Outlook Inn. If your trip happens to coincide with low tide, make the short trek out to Indian Island for tide pool exploring and to see more sea life than you have ever seen in such a concentrated area before.

No trip to the San Juans is complete without some time on the water. Head out on a whale-watching trip with Outer Island Excursions and spend the day searching for eagles, seal pups, and the ever-popular orcas on your three-hour adventure. Pack a lunch, more snacks than you think you will need, binoculars, a camera, and a light jacket so you can camp out on the front bow and not miss a single sighting.

Plan ahead and turn your whale watching tour into a fun family BINGO game. See who can spot the most items. Let the winners (your kids) pick where you go for dinner or what you have for dessert. If you have a little extra time before dinner, stop by Printshop to make your own souvenir t-shirt adorned with local artwork. Go to bed early because your next stop is San Juan Island and you want to be rested for all that awaits.

Keep Exploring on San Juan Island

A quick hop, skip, and a jump, and you will find yourself on San Juan Island. Set up home base at one of the most central spots on the island, Bird Rock Hotel

in Friday Harbor. Bird Rock Hotel is conveniently located three blocks from the Washington State Ferry Terminal. This makes it the ideal home base for exploring Friday Harbor, especially for little legs who often get tired of walking.

Bird Rock is a stone’s throw away from amazing local restaurants, like Coho, which feature sustainable farm-to-table food, unique shops like Pelind- aba Lavender, and many local galleries. What could be better than bragging to your school friends about how you ate lavender in cookies? Or sharing how you were brave and tried everything on your plate at dinner, even the things you weren’t excited about?

After a leisurely morning, make your way to Cattle Point for a picturesque bluff walk and some tide pool exploring. But, check the local tide chart first. It is best to hit the beach when the tide is heading out so you can avoid getting stuck while walking back along the beach.

Stop by the grocery store to pick up provisions (read: more snacks) before going on your kayaking trip with San Juan Outfitters. Make certain to pick up some locally made cheese, chocolate, or preserves to give your meal a local flare. For bonus points, encourage your children to pick something from every color of the rainbow. This helps them try something other than their old stand-bys. After your kayak trip, get back with just enough time to meander over for dinner on the patio at Coho and make certain to save room for dessert.

Wake up early and head over to Susie’s Mopeds to rent a scoot coupe or try the hop-on-hop-off trolley for a new vantage point of the island. Stop by Roche Harbor to check out all the yachts and pick out your favorite from their 377 slips.

Step back in time with a visit to the Hotel de Haro, built in 1886 and named after one of the first Europeans to discover the San Juan Islands. Pick up some donuts from Lime Kiln Cafe before popping by Lime Kiln Lighthouse to see if you can spot whales from shore.

When visiting the San Juans, it would be a shame to not spend a majority of your time either on or in the water, so make an essential stop at Fourth of July beach so your children can frolic and you can decompress. If you are fortunate, you might just find you have the beach all to yourselves.

To remind yourselves of the wonderful time you’ve spent in the San Juans, treat yourself to a piece of local art and let your children select something for their rooms. If art isn’t your thing, make certain to pick up a bag of lavender shortbread cookies or a jar of lavender-infused chocolate sauce before heading over to peruse what is available from local authors at the book- store. I have found books are an essential and fun way to reinforce all we have learned on our trip. Enjoy dinner at Duck Soup Inn before calling it a night and falling asleep just as fast as your head hits the pillow.

If you are feeling reticent to leave the islands, extend your stay by paying a visit to Lopez or Shaw Island before heading back home. Better yet, let your children pick and plan another trip to look forward to in the coming year.

Book Your Adventure

More Fun Things to do in the San Juans

Top Things to do With Kids in Friday Harbor

With 247 average days with sunshine, a reputation for wholesome fun, and more than 6 places to get freshly made pastries — Friday Harbor is the ultimate kid-friendly getaway destination that the whole family will love.

Top Rainy-Day Activities in the San Juan Islands

The lush forests and fertile farmland are proof that San Juans get their fair share of drizzle — especially during the cooler months. Luckily, there are a plethora of things to do in the San Juan Islands when it rains.

San Juan Island Day Hikes Worth Your Boot Leather

San Juan Island’s rich with great scenery, both ashore and at sea. And with its temperate climate, it’s the perfect place to hike year-round.

Photo by Tomas Nevesely

The killing of a pig nearly plunged the United States and Great Britain into war in 1859. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed.

Long before the San Juan Islands were a vacation destination, they were the focus of an international crisis ignited by an unlikely incident: The shooting of a pig in a potato patch. This was the famous Pig War of 1859, when military and naval forces of the United States and Great Britain almost came to blows in midsummer after the death of the Berkshire boar.

But in the end, not a single shot was fired. The nations opted for peace, an outcome that was commemorated more than 100 years later with the creation of San Juan Island National Historical Park. The issue, aside from mid-19^th century notions of honor, was mainly about real estate.

After the Oregon Treaty of 1846 divided what was then known as the Oregon Country along the 49^th parallel, the two nations were at loggerheads over the water boundary between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The coveted San Juan Archipelago lay in the middle. It didn’t help matters that U.S. settlers were vying for the land where the Hudson’s Bay Company raised more than 4,500 head of sheep, or that the British were uneasy about Americans observing ships transiting Victoria Harbor from San Juan’s southwestern shore, only seven miles across the Haro Strait.

Following a number of clashes over land and taxes that culminated in sheep rustling, the dispute boiled over on June 15, 1859. A failed American miner named Lyman Cutlar found a company pig rooting in his meager subsistence garden, and snapped. He seized his rifle and shot the intruder. This was the heinous act that nearly plunged the United States and Great Britain into war.

Cutlar was threatened with arrest by British authorities if he did not make fair restitution for the pig. He refused and went into hiding. This compelled Department of Oregon commander Brig. Gen. William S. Harney to dispatch Company D, 9th U.S. Infantry to San Juan Island in July, 1859 under the command of Capt. George E. Pickett.

This was a great tonic for Pickett, a Virginian and Mexican war veteran and the same officer who would one day lead his Confederate division at the Battle of Gettysburg. Bored with frontier court-martial boards that mainly tried drunks and deserters, he relished the opportunity to confront the British on San Juan. However, his enthusiasm overreached common sense. Despite being ordered by Harney to merely show the flag and protect U.S. citizens, Pickett posted a proclamation near his Griffin Bay camp. The third proviso read:

III. This being United States territory, no laws other than those of the United States, nor courts, except such as are held by virtue of said laws, will be recognized or allowed on this island.

An outraged Vancouver Island Gov. James Douglas volleyed by dispatching Capt. Geoffrey Phipps Hornby and the 31-gun steam frigate H.M.S. Tribune. Hornby was commanded to order Pickett off, and if the American did not comply, to refuse reinforcements or the erection of fortifications. British naval officers in Victoria warned Douglas that Hornby’s orders were too provocative. The Royal Navy’s mission, they stressed, was to maintain the peace, not start wars. But the governor countered by suggesting that Hornby land Royal Marines on the island equal in number to Pickett’s soldiers: 64. To lend weight to the proposition, two more warships dropped anchor in the bay.

Pickett refused to comply, and threatened to open fire should the marines attempt a landing. One pioneer account, written 40 years after the fact, offers a heroic portrayal of Pickett blustering, “We’ll make a Bunker Hill out of it!” But with 64 British naval guns pointed at his camp, he instead pleaded for reinforcements and lamented that his company was, “no more than a mouthful,” for the British. He was unaware that Hornby had no intention of forcing the issue, choosing instead to sit tight and await the return from sea of his superior, Rear Admiral R. Lambert Baynes. He was confident his inaction would be affirmed, and that is exactly what happened when the admiral learned of the incident a few days later.

“Tut, tut, no, no, the damned fools,” Baynes was said to have exclaim in his characteristic dry wit.

However, the crisis was far from over. On August 10, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Silas Casey arrived in the bay aboard the steamer Julia Barclay. This swift little sternwheeler ordinarily was a common and inoffensive sight on Puget Sound and the Northern Straits since her completion at Port Gamble the year before. But she had suddenly been “requisitioned” into a troop and munitions carrier to deliver more than 170 soldiers and three field pieces on South Beach just hours before depositing lumber and ammunition (and Casey) on the dock in full view of the by-now troubled Hornby.

Old Town Lagoon on Griffin Bay, then and now. It was here that Capt. George E. Pickett and his 64 soldiers landed on July 27, 1859 prompting the British to respond with three warships. The town full of saloons and bordellos sprang up almost as soon as the soldiers landed. Photo provided by Beinecke Library, Yale University.

Four days later, Hornby was aghast to see eight, 32-pounder naval guns landed on the beach under his very nose. These were to be mounted in a redoubt overlooking the bay, and with a range of over a mile, could easily drive his ships from the harbor. He immediately sent a dispatch to Baynes asking if he should land the marines and spike the guns. Baynes’ reply was swift and firm: No. Hornby was to stand fast and await a diplomatic solution. A hand-carried telegraph and a messenger were already on the way to the East Coast.

When word reached Washington of the contretemps in September, officials from both nations agreed the situation called for a peacemaker on site. The obvious choice was U.S. Army commander Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, who had calmed northern border crises in Maine and New York in the late 1830s. But by 1859 Scott was 73 years old, weighed nearly 400 pounds and was so immobilized by gout and dropsy he had to be hauled from shore to deck by crane.

Following a six-week voyage via a rail connection across Panama, Scott stopped first at Vancouver Barracks on the Columbia River. On learning that Pickett happened to be on post, he yanked both Pickett and Harney into his cabin and scolded them for their “little conquest.” He next relieved Harney of command and steamed on to the San Juan Islands, where it required only a week for Scott and Douglas to negotiate a stand down. The American force would be reduced to a company, and a British warship would remain on call.

By December, the two governments decided on a formal joint military occupation of the island. The Americans would remain on the southern end of the island, while the Royal Marines would eventually establish a camp 13 miles north on Westcott Creek, now Garrison Bay. The contingents were to be limited to 100 men each and no artillery.

Before leaving, Scott was more than happy to comply with a back-channel request by Douglas to deny Pickett’s company the honor of being the first official U.S. contingent. The governor was still seething over what he considered the Virginian’s provocative and “punctilious” behavior that summer. But believing he had only been following orders, Pickett was distressed by the slight. And his frustration grew when the ship returning his arms and stores to the mainland foundered in a December blizzard, and his men ended up spending the winter in a barn.

But Harney was not done. Restored to command on Scott’s departure, he ordered Pickett back to the island in April, when he then declared Scott’s agreement null and void. For this, he was quickly sent packing back east. Meanwhile, Pickett had learned the “arts of peace,” and established with his counterpart, Royal Marine Capt. George Bazalgette, a precedent for friendship and cooperation between the two garrisons that would continue through 1872. In fact, before the final decision, they would spend holidays together, marching en masse to the respective camps to engage in athletic contests (including log rolling), picnicking, drinking and horse racing.

Unfortunately, not everyone agreed with the diplomats concerning jurisdiction. Fueled by wishful thinking and misinformation campaigns, citizens and elected officials living in Washington Territory still believed the San Juans belonged to the United States alone. That was one issue. The other was the American distaste for martial law in any form, which dated to the occupation of Boston on the eve of the American Revolution by these same Redcoats.

British civilian authorities were not allowed on the island, so incidents between British subjects and Royal Marines were rare. Not so among the Americans. While most willingly accepted, and profited, from the tax-free status and frontier security of military camps, friction prevailed on the southern end of San Juan. There, a noisy minority based in San Juan Village was eager to smuggle or distill whiskey, purvey prostitutes and thumb their noses at the law in any guise. This created no end of frustration for U.S. military commanders, who finally resorted to evictions to maintain the peace.

Finally, on May 8, 1871, the Treaty of Washington was signed by the British and Americans and ratified by Congress the following month, proscribing that the dispute be settled through binding arbitration by a third power—Imperial Germany. Kaiser Wilhelm I selected a three-man commission that met in Geneva over the next year to determine whether the boundary should be Haro Strait or Rosario Strait. The commission voted two to one that the Haro Strait be designated the “southerly channel” dividing Vancouver Island from the mainland, as cited in the Treaty of 1846, because it touches Vancouver Island. The Rosario Strait does not. The ruling was issued on October 21, 1872.

English Camp today. Photo by Tomas Nevesely

A month later the Royal Marines marched peacefully out of English Camp leaving behind a tidy garrison replete with two docks, cisterns, gardens and 27 structures, four of which can be visited today in the National Park. The Americans immediately rushed in with a huge garrison flag to proclaim their “victory,” but arrived to find the 80-foot pole had been chopped down. In 1998 the United Kingdom replaced a replica pole, underscoring the peace and goodwill that has endured for a century and a half.

American Camp’s garrison departed two years later. Buildings that were not auctioned off became barns and farmhouses, and the prairies were cultivated for cereal crops. The one feature left untouched was the Redoubt, the earthwork engineered by Henry M. Robert for the placement of naval guns. This young officer would one day write “Robert’s Rules of Order.”

Today the Redoubt remains as sound and recognizable as it was the day the Army left, with a sprinkling of wildflowers every spring and 180-degree views of humpbacked islands and faraway peaks. More importantly, it remains the only tangible reminder of that intense summer of 1859, and the “war” in which the only casualty was a pig.

Continued Reading

Dive deeper into the drama of defining a Northwest boundary in Vouri’s lively, in-depth account.

For Kids

Introduce your kiddos to this bit of past with exploring this historic event.