Eastsound, Washington

Eastsound
Unincorporated community
Eastsound

Location in the state of Washington

Coordinates: 48°41′48″N 122°54′15″W / 48.69667°N 122.90417°W / 48.69667; -122.90417Coordinates: 48°41′48″N 122°54′15″W / 48.69667°N 122.90417°W / 48.69667; -122.90417
Country United States
State Washington
County San Juan
Time zone Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes 98245
Emmanuel Episcopal Church (Eastsound, Washington) Constructed 1885, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Eastsound (not to be confused with East Sound, which is the body of water adjoining Eastsound) is an unincorporated community on Orcas Island in San Juan County, Washington, United States.

Eastsound is the largest population center on Orcas Island, the second-most populated (after San Juan Island) and physically largest of the San Juan Islands. Eastsound consists of a few hotels and several restaurants, numerous gift stores, a large downtown grocery store, natural food store, hardware store, pharmacy, airport, and several churches. There is a public park that hosts events including the farmers market. Indian Island is just offshore Eastsound's public beach. Eastsound's scenic location makes it a popular tourist destination. Eastsound, Washington is known for its community events, recreation and tourism. Half a mile north of Eastsound is Orcas Island Airport, with scheduled service to Seattle, Bellingham, Anacortes, Friday Harbor and Lopez Island and unscheduled service to many other locations. Moran State Park is located nearby. Notable residents include Apollo 8 Astronaut William "Bill" Anders and cartoonist Gary Larson.

History

The first inhabitants of Eastsound were the Lummi tribe, who were often raided by the warlike Haida, who traveled from Southeast Alaska in massive war canoes to attack the Lummis, for the purpose of slaving. The Haida had a distinct advantage, armed with flintlock rifles obtained from Russian traders. The first white people arrived in the 1850s, employees of the Hudson's Bay Company sent from the Fort Victoria post to hunt deer. These trappers brought smallpox, which, combined with the brutal Haida attacks, significantly reduced the native population.

One of the first European settlers of Eastsound was Charles Shattuck, who built a log cabin and operated a store in the late 1850s. Other early inhabitants of note included Michael Adams, a prospector and trapper from Pennsylvania and horticulturalist who planted the first apple orchard on Orcas. Belle Langell was the first white child born on Orcas, the daughter of Ephraim and Rosa Langell, who homesteaded near Michael Adams in present-day Eastsound. The Emmanuel Episcopal Church (Eastsound, Washington) was the first church on Orcas Island, was built in 1885, by the Reverend Sidney Robert Spencer Gray, on a plot of land deeded from Charles Shattuck.

Steamboats of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet used to dock at East Sound, one such vessel was the Sioux, a steel steamship built in 1910 and running out of Bellingham under the ownership of the Black Ball Line.[1][2]

Climate

Climate data for Eastsound, Washington
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 65
(18)		 66
(19)		 76
(24)		 78
(26)		 87
(31)		 89
(32)		 92
(33)		 89
(32)		 87
(31)		 77
(25)		 67
(19)		 65
(18)		 92
(33)
Average high °F (°C) 47
(8)		 49
(9)		 53
(12)		 58
(14)		 63
(17)		 67
(19)		 71
(22)		 71
(22)		 67
(19)		 59
(15)		 50
(10)		 46
(8)		 58.4
(14.6)
Average low °F (°C) 36
(2)		 36
(2)		 38
(3)		 41
(5)		 45
(7)		 48
(9)		 51
(11)		 51
(11)		 48
(9)		 44
(7)		 38
(3)		 34
(1)		 42.5
(5.8)
Record low °F (°C) −8
(−22)		 −4
(−20)		 10
(−12)		 28
(−2)		 31
(−1)		 37
(3)		 40
(4)		 38
(3)		 32
(0)		 26
(−3)		 4
(−16)		 2
(−17)		 −8
(−22)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.92
(99.6)		 2.49
(63.2)		 2.33
(59.2)		 1.89
(48)		 1.80
(45.7)		 1.29
(32.8)		 0.80
(20.3)		 1.06
(26.9)		 1.33
(33.8)		 2.97
(75.4)		 4.82
(122.4)		 3.54
(89.9)		 28.24
(717.2)
Source: weather.com[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Gibbs, Jim, and Williamson, Joe, Maritime Memories of Puget Sound, at page 123, Schiffer Publishing, West Chester, PA 1987, ISBN 0-88740-044-2
  2. ↑ Newell, Gordon R., Ships of the Inland Sea, at page 173, Binford and Mort, Portland, Oregon (2d Ed. 1960)
  3. ↑ "weather.com". January 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
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