# orcasmuseums.org


## Posts

- [Open House: Crow Valley School Museum](https://orcasmuseums.org/orcas-clay-island-ceramics-through-the-years/): Open House: Crow Valley School Museum Come on down to the Crow Valley School Museum on Friday, April 10th from 1-4 pm. Join a guided tour and learn more about student life at the turn of the 20th century. We are offering this open house as an opportunity to train our tourguides. If it has been a while since your last visit, this is a wonderful chance to step back in time and experience the museum in a new way. The Museum will kick off regular visiting hours on May 22, so enjoy this sneak peak in April! Limited parking […]
- [Orcas Clay: Island Ceramics Through the Years](https://orcasmuseums.org/orcas-clay-exhibit-opening/): New Exhibit Opening This ambitious and aesthetically inspiring display is an homage to generations of talented local artisans working with the medium of clay.  The islands have long been a nurturing environment for the creative, the artistic, and the eclectic. Orcas Island has been especially welcoming to clay workers, from those making bricks to fine porcelain. Over time, island potters and ceramicists have created a unique and diverse community which started in the 1940s, began burgeoning in the 1970s, and is flowering abundantly today. Come in person to view the Pottery Map of Orcas and find your way to even […]
- [Springtime Re-Opening](https://orcasmuseums.org/springtime-reopening-2026/): Springtime Re-Opening The Orcas Island Historical Museum in Eastsound is soon to be open for the season! Our first open day will be March 21st, 2026. We invite you to step through our doors and into the rich past of our unique island heritage. Open from 11am-3pm Thursday-Sunday, the Museum welcomes locals and visitors alike. Admission is always free with a $5 suggested donation. Featured Exhibits: *NEW* Orcas Clay: Island Ceramics Through the Years An Ancient Bison on Orcas Island: Broadening Perspectives on the Past Marte Harter: Artist, Writer, Islander (1921-1999) The Power of Community: Connecting the San Juans (with […]
- [Third Annual Apple Tasting at the Museum](https://orcasmuseums.org/third-annual-apple-tasting-at-the-museum/): Third Annual Apple Tasting at the Museum Announcing our Third Annual Apple Tasting at the Museum! Kwiaht will be joining the Museum on Saturday, October 4th from 12:30-2:30pm. Come and sample dozens of varieties of local apples, enjoy fresh-pressed cider, and learn about Orcas Island’s heritage orchards. Although apple tasting will end at 2:30, we will be pressing apples until 3:30. The community is welcome to bring their apples to press, or enjoy ours! Free to all. This event is supported by Girl Meets Dirt and Orcas Isle Cider.
- [Springtime Kingfisher Canoe Flip](https://orcasmuseums.org/springtime-kingfisher-canoe-flip/): Springtime Kingfisher Canoe Flip In preparation for this year’s canoe journeys through the Salish Sea, we flipped the Kingfisher Canoe right-side up again to finish maintenance repairs and get it ready for future transport. Thank you to everyone who came out today to assist. We had a team of about 20 people, and several onlookers cheering us on. We flipped it so fast, a few helpers even missed it! Special thanks to Eric Morris and Dave Roseberry.
- [New Outdoor Signs Installed](https://orcasmuseums.org/elementor-4233/): New Outdoor Signs Installed We installed three outdoor signs at the Orcas Island Historical Museum in late April. These signs give visitors a brief history on the Museum, the homestead era, and early industry on Orcas. A fourth sign will be installed at the Crow Valley School Museum. This is the the first phase of “Museum Beyond the Walls”, a project which aims to make history more available to the community. More signs are planned for locations around the island.   Thank you to John Fleischer for installing these for us!   This project was funded by the San Juan […]
- [Women's History Month: Rachel Adams](https://orcasmuseums.org/elementor-4195/): Women’s History Month: Rachel Adams (1926-2012) For Women’s History Month, the Museums would like to highlight the late Rachel Adams. Born in 1926 in Maine, Rachel graduated from the University of New Hampshire at only 19 years old. She had an accomplished 22-year long military career and worked in various US Army hospitals as a physical therapist, which took her around the world. Rachel moved full time to Crane Island in 1975 to live with Marilyn Anderson (Andi). They built a home together, managed a small farm, and kept a healthy garden from which they sold produce to their neighbors and […]
- [Flipping the Kingfisher](https://orcasmuseums.org/elementor-4161/): Flipping the Kingfisher Over 30 community members showed up last Saturday to help the Museums turn over the 40ft long, cedar Kingfisher canoe. This will prevent rain from pooling inside and will help protect the canoe against the PNW elements. Extra special thanks to Brandon Bolt, Eric Morris, and Dave Roseberry for their help behind the scenes coordinating the flip.
- [Happy Holidays!](https://orcasmuseums.org/elementor-4074/): Happy Holidays! Happy Holidays and New Year from the staff of the Orcas Island Historical Museums! Our 2024 season has come to a close, but you can catch us again next spring! Even though the cabins are closed for tours, the Museums’ office stays busy throughout our off-season. Staff takes advantage of this down-time to tackle projects around the museum, such as refreshing our exhibits. Our office winter hours are variable. Please contact the office if you wish to make an appointment with a staff member.
- [Harvest Time and Apple Tasting](https://orcasmuseums.org/harvest-time-and-apple-tasting/): Harvest Time and Apple Tasting Kwiaht brought OVER 50 different apple varietals to the Museum this Saturday for visitors to sample and rank, and… Results are in! The winner of the day was “Sweet Green”, an unidentified heritage variety from Lum Farm/Coffelt Preserve. We’d like to thank everyone who came out for our event on Saturday! We were heartened by how many people risked the weather to come celebrate apples and support the Musuems and Kwiaht. Lilly Rodgers was a huge help pressing apples that were generously donated by Girl Meets Dirt, and thanks to both we had fresh cider […]
- [The Kingfisher Canoe](https://orcasmuseums.org/the-kingfisher-canoe/): The Kingfisher Canoe The Kingfisher is back home on Orcas Island!This cedar canoe was built by Dean Washington, a Lummi Elder and Canoe Builder. In 2016, it was purchased for Kids and Canoes, a program that works to bring kids from Orcas Island and Lummi Nation together to paddle our local waters and strengthen cross-cultural bonds and relationships. The Orcas Island Historical Museums are honored to be the stewards and proud of what this canoe represents. There are plans to build a permanent outdoor shelter for the canoe to be displayed year-round as well as remain accessible for future paddles. A big […]
- [Celebrating Indigenous People at Banner Bank](https://orcasmuseums.org/celebrating-indigenous-people-at-banner-bank/): Celebrating Indigenous People at Banner Bank During the month of November, Eastsound Banner Bank and the Orcas Island Historical Museums collaborated to honor Indigenous People’s month with a special exhibition of contemporary artworks on loan from the Museums. Due to the display’s popularity, Banner Bank has generously offered to extend the duration of the exhibit for a short time. If you haven’t seen it yet, now is the time! “It’s not only about money—it’s about community, past and present, and working with the Museum gives us a special opportunity to share this scope.’ Laura Doss, Client Relationship Consultant at Eastsound’s Banner Bank. Customers agree […]

## Pages

- [Shop Products](https://orcasmuseums.org/shop-products/): Local authors and Orcas-themed gifts Shop Books Shop Bricks Support Orcas Island Historical Museum and recognize your loved ones. Shop Now Shop Books Whether you’re into history reads or books with lots of pictures, we’ve got an island book for you! Shop Now
- [Volunteer](https://orcasmuseums.org/volunteer/): Volunteer Opportunities For over four decades after the Museums’ inception in 1951, our collections and facilities were operated solely by community volunteers. Although we now have a team of professional staff, volunteers remain an integral part of our organization. There are so many ways to get involved with the Museums. To learn more, fill out a volunteer application below or contact the Office. Sign Up to Volunteer Docent/Greeter Friendly people who donate a few hours a week to greet Museum visitors. No prior experience or knowledge necessary. Positions available in Eastsound and Crow Valley. Garden Help maintain our garden beds […]
- [My account](https://orcasmuseums.org/my-account/)
- [Checkout](https://orcasmuseums.org/checkout/)
- [Cart](https://orcasmuseums.org/cart/)
- [Donor Dashboard](https://orcasmuseums.org/donor-dashboard/)
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- [Donation Confirmation](https://orcasmuseums.org/donation-confirmation/)
- [Annual Reports](https://orcasmuseums.org/annual-reports/): Annual Reports 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
- [Staff & Board](https://orcasmuseums.org/staff-board/): Staff & Board Staff Nancy Stillger Executive Director Debbie Durand Museum Administrator Michelle Hassebrock Program Administrator Parker Pavitt Operations Coordinator Terri Vinson Collections Specialist Board Peter Fisher Board President Bruce Culver Treasurer Carol Kulminski Board Secretary Tony Giefer Trustee Mark Jenks Trustee Glenn Aust Trustee Shop
- [History](https://orcasmuseums.org/history/): History We of the Orcas Island Historical Museums acknowledge that we are residing on the ancestral and unceded territories of Indigenous peoples, who have been here sincetime immemorial.These ancient peoples include the Lummi and related Samish tribes inthe Northwest part of our state. We honor and support their ongoing relationship with this land, its waterways, and fishing rights. We honor their ancestors as we acknowledge their descendants, now and in times to come. The Orcas Island Historical Society was founded in 1951 and the first museum was housed at the personal residence of William Langell, located on what is now […]
- [Test](https://orcasmuseums.org/test/)
- [Programs](https://orcasmuseums.org/programs/): Programs Orcas Voices Orcas Island Oral History Project​ Oral histories are an invaluable record of history and community, that once lost cannot be replicated. Oral histories engage our community, actively involving them in preserving history and empowering them to shape the narrative of their lives. We seek to curate a collection of oral histories that represent diverse perspectives and lives across generations and backgrounds, ensuring a rich, equitable, and accessible historical record of Orcas Island and its people.  This is one of the Museums’ longest on-going projects, and our collection spans several decades of interviews. Reach out to the Museums […]
- [Research](https://orcasmuseums.org/research/): Research The Museum’s archives and collections are available for research by appointment. Please contact the Museum Office to schedule a time. For online research request submissions, please see form below. Research Request Form Research Materials Available at the Museum Name Files in the Archives Subject File in the Archives PastPerfect Index Names & Subjects Oral History Files Museum Library Newspaper Collection Census Records Obituaries Cemetery Records Recommended Online Resources FamilySearch San Juan County Digital Research Room Chronicling America HistoryLink Washington Rural Heritage Schedule of Fees The Orcas Island Historical Society & Museums do not make a profit from ordinary research and […]
- [Galleries](https://orcasmuseums.org/galleries/): Galleries The Museum’s Archives contain thousands of photographs, with over 8,000 digitized and counting. The following galleries are a sample from our collection. For more information on a particular photograph, to explore online databases of our collection, or to learn more about our archives, please see Research. All images provided by the Orcas Island Historical Museums will be given proper credit if reproduced and must have prior written permission from the staff. The credit line shall read: Courtesy of the Orcas Island Historical Museums, All Rights Reserved.
- [History Nooks](https://orcasmuseums.org/history-nooks/): History Nooks Appearing semi-regularly in The Islands’ Sounder, History Nook articles written by Museum staff and volunteers briefly highlight people, stories, and events throughout Orcas history. A sample of these articles are available below. We’re looking for sponsors for History Nook! Reach out if you’re interested in helping us continue publishing stories in our local newspaper. Recent Editions Templin’s Fair Co San Juan Island Lighthouses Pole Pass Lights Obstruction Pass Island Light General Orcas History Learn more about Orcas History from these History Nooks Remembrance War Canoes in Olga Compliments of W.I.I. Orcas 1909​ History of the Blue Heron B&B​ […]
- [The Power of Community: Connecting the San Juans](https://orcasmuseums.org/the-power-of-community-connecting-the-san-juans/): The Power of Community: Connecting the San Juans Opened in the summer of 2024, our newest on-going exhibit explores the history of electricity on Orcas Island. Visitors are guided through a timeline of life on Orcas Island pre-electricity, the formation of our power cooperative, and are offered a glimpse into the future of green energy in the San Juan Islands. The exhibit features a display of a 20th century power-line, lineworker gear and tools, and several hands-on activities that demonstrate the challenges of power on a small island. The Power of Community: Connecting the San Juans is presented in collaboration with OPALCO […]
- [Main Gallery](https://orcasmuseums.org/main-gallery/): On Display Now This ambitious and aesthetically inspiring display is an homage to generations of talented local artisans working with the medium of clay.  The islands have long been a nurturing environment for the creative, the artistic, and the eclectic. Orcas Island has been especially welcoming to clay workers, from those making bricks to fine porcelain. Over time, island potters and ceramicists have created a unique and diverse community which started in the 1940s, began burgeoning in the 1970s, and is flowering abundantly today. Come in person to view the Pottery Map of Orcas and find your way to even […]
- [Ancient Orcas Island Bison](https://orcasmuseums.org/ancient-orcas-island-bison/): Ancient Orcas Island Bison Step into the ancient past to the Pleistocene on Orcas Island with ancient remains of Bison antiquus. This exhibit features the story and original skull of an extinct bison bull unearthed on Orcas in 2003. Carbon-dated to approximately 14,500 year old, the bones carry markings from stone tools used by humans to butcher the bison. This evidence proves human occupation on Orcas Island roughly 1,000 years before previously thought. Learn about this amazing scientific discovery and more at the Orcas Island Historical Museum.
- [Crow Valley School Museum](https://orcasmuseums.org/crow-valley-school-museum/): Crow Valley School Museum Take a step back in time to Orcas Island school days in the late 1800s. Plan Your Visit Hours CLOSED for Season. See below for details about private tours. Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day ThursdayFridaySaturday 11:00am – 3:00pm11:00am – 3:00pm11:00am – 3:00pm Crow Valley School Museum is open for walk-in tours between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and is closed the rest of the year except by scheduled tours. Schedule a Private Tour or Field Trip Walk-in tours are available by donation during the Museum’s regular open hours.Private Tours: Contact the Office for scheduling and […]
- [Orcas Island Historical Museum](https://orcasmuseums.org/orcas-island-historical-museum/): Orcas Island Historical Museum Six original homestead cabins, a Main Gallery, and four additional links all containing a dynamic variety of historical exhibits. Plan Your Visit Hours Orcas Island Historical Museum 181 North Beach Road Eastsound SundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday 11am-3pm ClosedClosedClosed11am-3pm11am-3pm11am-3pm The Front Desk is operated by volunteers. Please contact the Office to make an appointment with a Museum staff member. The Museum will open Wednesdays beginning June 3rd until October. Call the office if you have any questions about Museum hours.  Exhibits Ancient Orcas Island Bison Orcas Clay: Island Ceramics Through the Years The Power of Community: Connecting the San Juans Schedule […]
- [Blog](https://orcasmuseums.org/blog/): Blog
- [Get Involved](https://orcasmuseums.org/get-involved/): Get Involved Volunteer Opportunities Learn about the many different ways you can help your local history museum! Volunteer Become A Member Donate
- [About Us](https://orcasmuseums.org/about-us/): About Us History Learn about the history of the society and Orcas Island, including a chronological timeline with photographs from the archives. Learn More Staff & Board Annual Reports
- [Happenings](https://orcasmuseums.org/happenings/): Happenings Events Check out upcoming events, dates, and happenings at the Museum. Learn More Programs Learn about our ongoing projects and programs. Learn More
- [Learn](https://orcasmuseums.org/learn/): Learn History Nooks Appearing semi-regularly in The Islands’ Sounder, History Nook articles written by Museum staff and volunteers briefly highlight people, stories, and events throughout Orcas history. Learn More Explore Galleries Travel through time through photographs Learn More Research a Subject! Learn what Museum resources are available to you. Make an appointment to explore our files, conduct remote research via staff, or connect to other collections and databases! Research
- [Become A Member](https://orcasmuseums.org/become-a-member/): Become a Member Memberships renew on the first of January of each year. Renew your membership or join us today as a new member. Your membership contributes to exhibit and program funding, facilities upkeep, staffing, and so much more that help to keep our Museums open and operating! Members of the Historical Society enjoy free admission to the Orcas Island, Lopez, and San Juan historical museums, 10% discount in OIHM’s gift shop, invitations and discounts to museum events, as well as benefits to over 300 museums, sites, and societies in more than 40 states through our partnership with Time Travelers. […]
- [Donate](https://orcasmuseums.org/donate/): Donate Donations to Orcas Island Historical Museums fund new and ongoing programs, help us to maintain and protect our 130+ year old historic buildings, supports research and exhibits, and contribute to the day-to-day operations of the Museums. Please contact the office for information on how to donate physical items, including photographs. The Orcas Island Historical Museum is a non-profit organization formed under the laws of the State of Washington, and is recognized by the IRS as having 501(c)(3) status. If you choose to process your Donation online, please print out your PayPal receipt to keep for your records.
- [Shop](https://orcasmuseums.org/shop/)
- [Exhibits](https://orcasmuseums.org/exhibits/): Exhibits Ancient Orcas Island Bison Step into the ancient past to the Pleistocene on Orcas Island with ancient remains of Bison antiquus. Learn More Orcas Clay: Island Ceramics Through the Years This ambitious and aesthetically inspiring display is an homage to generations of talented local artisans working with the medium of clay.  Learn More The Power of Community: Connecting the San Juans Opened in the summer of 2024, this on-going exhibit explores the history of electricity on Orcas Island. Learn More
- [Plan Your Visit](https://orcasmuseums.org/): Our mission is to educate, inspire, connect and involve our community and visitors in the stewardship of our unique island history. Who We Are The Orcas Island Historical Museum Learn the stories of Orcas Islanders from time immemorial, homestead era, and up through modern times. Our exhibits showcase a rich variety of personal stories, works of art and industry, natural history, and artifacts of the lives of islanders who, through a wide mix of experiences and cultures, have defined the unique spirit of the island. Explore Orcas Island Historical Museum The Crow Valley School Museum One of the finest examples […]

## Products

- [Images of America: The Pig War](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/images-of-america-the-pig-war/): Written by Mike Vouri San Juan Island is well known for its splendid vistas, saltwater shore, quiet woodlands, and orca whales. But it was also here, in 1859, that the United States and Great Britain nearly went to war over a dead pig. On July 18 of that year, Capt. George E. Pickett (later to lead the famous charge climaxing the Battle of Gettysburg) landed his company of 63 soldiers on the southern end of San Juan Island to protect U.S. citizens from the British government after an American settler, Lyman Cutlar, had shot a pig belonging to the British-owned […]
- [A Perilous Puzzle: Perils of Homestead Ownership in 1884](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/a-perilous-puzzle-perils-of-homestead-ownership-in-1884/): An Orcas Island – North Shore Historical Reference for Attorneys, Title Companies, and Property Owners. A true story of Captain Theron Judd Terrill, a pioneer of the Pacific. Family property hampered by perpetual errors. Endeavors respect using history. Author: Judi Watson
- [The Light on the Island](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/light-on-the-island/): By Helene Glidden This special hard cover Collector’s Edition of the San Juan Island classic, The Light on the Island, celebrates the 125th Anniversary of the construction of the Patos Island lighthouse in 1893 where the story takes place. Helene Glidden’s unique sense of humor captures the spirit of adventure and hardships encountered by a lighthouse keeper’s large family on a remote island in the San Juan Islands from 1905 – 1913. This edition includes the missing chapter that was supposed to be in the original 1951 edition of the book but was deemed too risque at the time. It […]
- [Unusual Orcas Island: Ghost Stories and Other Legends](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/unusual-orcas-island-ghost-stories-and-other-legends/): Written by Joseph Reigel Orcas Island , Washington has long been celebrated for its rare beauty and colorful history… but for many visitors and locals alike, the feeling that something strange lurks beneath the surface is all too real. Does Sasquatch really stalk the remote woods? Did pirates bury a fortune on Turtleback Mountain? Is there a portal to a hidden world in Mount Constitution, and an Atlantean energy vortex in East Sound? With scores of articles, first-hand accounts, and historical photographs, Unusual Orcas Island attempts to shed light on these legends, and to uncover others that have never been […]
- [The Disputed Islands: Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/the-disputed-islands-ordinary-life-in-extraordinary-times/): Author Boyd Pratt – “An American farmer shoots an English pig, sparking a war over an international boundary. Explore the disputed islands through the ordinary lives of the multi-ethnic, polyglot communities that lived in the San Juans during this conflict: how these islanders make their homes, work and socialize, and resolve their differences.” Join Boyd Pratt to celebrate his new book. Co-sponsored by Griffin Bay Bookstore, the San Juan Island Library, and the San Juan Historical Museum. copies will be on hand to purchase.
- [Pig War and Other Poems](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/pig-war-and-other-poems/): By Les J. Morgan
- [Patos Island Lighthouse](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/patos-island-lighthouse/): Since 1893, a light has been shining from Patos Island, the northernmost island in Puget Sound. Built to guide ships through treacherous waters, the lighthouse was also a happy home for many, including Edward Durgan and his family in the early 1900s. Boundary waters smugglers and rumrunners once visited the island to stash their contraband, and it was a front-line guard for the nation during World War II. Manned for 81 years by the U.S. government, the light was automated in 1974 and is now maintained by the Coast Guard. Join authors Edrie Vinson and Terri Vinson, members of the […]
- [Orcas Senior Center Cookbook](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/orcas-senior-center-cookbook/): It has been 40 years since the Orcas Senior Center has put out a cookbook. The Orcas Senior Center is a non-profit organization that couldn’t exist without all the wonderful volunteers and supporters. For more information on how you can help support to Orcas Senior Center, check out their website at https://www.orcasseniors.org
- [On Island Time: A Traveler's Atlas](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/on-island-time-a-travelers-atlas/): Written by Chandler O’Leary This travel guide showcases the hidden delights, natural wonders, and singular history of Washington and British Columbia’s islands.
- [Island Farming: History and Landscape of Agriculture in the San Juan Islands](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/island-farming-history-and-landscape-of-agriculture-in-the-san-juan-islands/): By Boyd Pratt Farming in the San Juan Islands has always presented challenges and opportunities. From Coast Salish camas cultivation (camas bulbs were harvested and baked as a sweet, fructose-rich food by Native Americans) through homesteading to commercial farming, explore the islands’ rich agricultural history in the landscape and farms of today.
- [Working Boats](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/working-boats/): Come aboard and explore the exciting world of working boats! Want to know what happens during a Coast Guard rescue, what it’s like to work on a scientific research vessel, or what’s involved when crabbing in the cold waters of the North Pacific? This visually engaging book includes cross sections and exploded views, showing in great detail what it’s like to live and work aboard ten amazing boats. Written by Tom Crestodina
- [Cabin on the Island](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/cabin-on-the-island/): By Marte Harter Marte Harter’s book, published posthumously, describes her first few years of life on Orcas Island. “In 1949, at the age of 28, Marte Harter and Tony Howard left city life behind to make a new home on Orcas Island. Against all odds, these two inspirational women bought a piece of land and proceeded to build a cabin and a life in the wilderness.”
- [Engraved Brick - 5" x 9", up to 3 lines](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/engraved-brick-5-x-9-up-to-3-lines/): Support Orcas Island Historical Museum and create a timeless, personalized message to recognize your loved ones, honor a memory or celebrate a special event. Bricks are ordered and installed once a year, usually in the spring. Once you have placed your order we will provide you with a form for you to fill out with your engraving preferences. Contact the museum office for more info.
- [Engraved-brick-9-x-9-up-to-4-lines](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/engraved-brick-9-x-9-up-to-4-lines/): Support Orcas Island Historical Museum and create a timeless, personalized message to recognize your loved ones, honor a memory or celebrate a special event. Bricks are ordered and installed once a year, usually in the spring. Once you have placed your order we will provide you with a form for you to fill out with your engraving preferences. Contact the museum office for more info.
- [Engraved Brick - 9" x 9", up to 5 Lines](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/engraved-brick-9-x-9-up-to-5-lines/): Support Orcas Island Historical Museum and create a timeless, personalized message to recognize your loved ones, honor a memory or celebrate a special event. Bricks are ordered and installed once a year, usually in the spring. Once you have placed your order we will provide you with a form for you to fill out with your engraving preferences. Contact the museum office for more info.
- [Living High - June Burn](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/living-high-june-burn/): By June BurnCourage, gaiety, and a fresh approach to live are reflected in this “unconventional autobiography.” It is a story of a twentieth-century pioneers as resourceful as ever they were in the days of the old frontier. June Burn and her husband Farrar determined to go their own sweet way, enjoying “first hand living” and not surrounding to the routines of a workday world. Through the years they had some high and glorious adventures, which included homesteading a “gumdrop” in the San Juan Islands, of the Pacific Northwest, teaching Eskimos near Siberia, and exploring the United States by donkey cart […]
- [Lime: Quarrying and Limemaking in the San Juan Islands](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/lime-quarrying-and-limemaking-in-the-san-juan-islands/): By San Juan Islander Boyd Pratt The book speaks about the successful limemaking industry in the San Juans. Formed through eons of geologic time and sculpted by glaciers, the limestone deposits along the islands’ shore provided the essential ingredient for the block and mortar that built and rebuilt the West Coast’s major cities.
- [Peace Weavers: Uniting the Salish Coast Through Cross Cultural Marriages](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/peace-weavers-uniting-the-salish-coast-through-cross-cultural-marriages/): By Candace Wellman Strategic cross-cultural marriages between Coast and Interior Salish families and pioneer men played a crucial role in mid-1800s regional settlement and spared Puget Sound’s upper corner from tragic conflicts. Accounts of the husbands exist in a variety of records, but the native wives’ contributions remained unacknowledged. Combining primary and secondary sources, genealogy, and family memories, author Candace Wellman illuminates this hidden history and shatters stereotypes surrounding these relationships. The four women she profiles exhibited exceptional endurance, strength, and adaptability. They ran successful farms and businesses and acted as cultural interpreters and mediators. Although each story is unique, […]
- [They Named it Deer Harbor](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/they-named-it-deer-harbor/): This is a printed photo-copy version of Edith McLachlan’s book. Covering the Period of 1852 to 1912 by Edith McLachlan Preface In 1961 the Ladies Auxiliary of the Deer Harbor Community Club chose a committee to write the history of the club. This history has been compiled in a book to be kept for future generations. I was a member of that committee. Although having spent most of my life in Deer Harbor, I discovered, while gathering information for the Community Club book, much fascinating history of this area that I had not known before. New people settled in our […]
- [An Unforeseen Journey](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/an-unforeseen-journey/): By Mary Stewart Van Valkenburg Reviewed by Susan Violante for Reader Views (01/18) “An Unforeseen Journey” by Mary Stewart Van Valkenburg takes readers through the pioneering journey of a family. Lewis and Inez Howell had moved to Seattle from the Midwest with their four children. Inez was settling into the Seattle life nicely. As their new home was being finished, she joined a literary club, and the children were in school; but unbeknownst to her, Lewis wasn’t adjusting so well. He had hoped for something different than the city-life again. He decides to take a trip to check out a […]
- [Wishy Washy's Wish](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/wishy-washys-wish/): Written and Illustrated by Walter H. Barkass II and Rivkah Sweedler The story, set in the deep forests of the Pacific Northwest, is both environmentally educational and entertaining. Sue and Sam are 6 inch tall hand carved wood dolls who0 are magically brought to life by Wishy Washy Witch, the master craftswoman of the story. The mystery and suspense of Sue and Sam’s survival in the woods is enhanced by detailed descriptions of basic cabin living skills and simple stick construction techniques which children can imitate. Through illustrations, photos, words, and pictographs, the story presents skill-building lessons in the basic […]
- [Island Fishing](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/island-fishing/): History and Seascape of Marine Harvesting in the San Juan Islands amid the Salish Sea. Author Boyd Pratt
- [Life On Orcas Island - Edee Kulper](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/life-on-orcas-island-edee-kulper/)
- [Turtleback Farm Inn Cookbook](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/turtleback-farm-inn-cookbook/): Written by Denise and Michael Shumway, with Susan and Bill Fletcher Turtleback Farm Inn, Orcas Island, Washington, is owned by innkeepers Susan and Bill Fletcher. The inn has been praised in Sunset, The Los Angeles Times, Vogue, Washington Magazine, Travel & Leisure, Western Living, and numerous other publications. Susan has received substantial media recognition and requests for recipes from around the country. Here are her most asked-for recipes and cooking tips as well as stories and observations about island living.
- [Geology of the San Juan Islands](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/geology-of-the-san-juan-islands/): By Ned Brown This book will serve as a field guide to the fascinating geology of the San Juan Islands, in which numerous geologic sites are illustrated, interpreted, and located on detailed maps. Most, but not all, of these special places are on public lands.
- [The Pig War - Standoff at Griffin Bay](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/the-pig-war-standoff-at-griffin-bay/): By Mike Vouri In July 1859 US Army Captain George E Pickett looked down the gun ports of two British warships from his camp on San Juan Island. He knew he needed help, and the sooner the better. The future Confederate general had been ordered to San Juan to protect the rights of US settlers form the might of the British Empire, especially one settler who had killed a British boar!
- [The Tower on Top of Mount Constitution](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/the-tower-on-top-of-mount-constitution/): by Rolf Erifsen Mount Constitution is a dramatic mountain crowning Orcas Island in the central Salish Sea. On the very tip of the mountain is a 60 foot Medieval stone tower. From its dramatic vantage point it looks south beyond Mount Rainer and the Olympic Peninsula, east to Mount Baker and the Cascades, west over Vancouver Island, and North beyond the city of Vancouver and the southern ranges of Canada. The tower was built in the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) when young men relocated to camps across the United States and built things. Many useful and […]
- [Exploring Maritime Washington](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/exploring-maritime-washington/): An authoritative guide to Washington’s nautical heritage. Discover the popular destinations and hidden gems along Washington’s coastline, from the Mukilteo Lighthouse to the Wedding Rocks petroglyphs and beyond. Learn about the seafaring Coast Salish people, who navigated the waters of the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years, and the early exploration and settlement by European-Americans in the late 18th century. Delve into the expansion and growth that led to the development of international ports and the modern maritime economy. View the enormous sternwheel snagboat, W.T. Preston—one of a trio that kept inland waterways navigable for nearly a century—and hundreds of other […]
- [Orcas Island: Images of America](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/orcas-island-images-of-america/): By Orcas Island Historical Society and Museum Orcas Island, the largest of the 172 islands in San Juan County, lies in the Salish Sea north of Puget Sound. Known as the “Gem of the San Juans” for her shimmering emerald hills bounded by 125 miles of rocky, tree-lined shore, Orcas was home to countless generations of Native Americans before the arrival of its first white settlers, formerly Hudson’s Bay men who had hunted on the island, in the late 1850s. An international boundary dispute, popularly known as the Pig War, prevented early pioneers from settling land claims until the dispute […]
- [Orcas Island: A Visual History Through Real Photo Postcards - Mark Jenks](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/orcas-island-a-visual-history-through-real-photo-postcards-mark-jenks/): Written by Mark Jenks 2nd Edition Assembled from the author’s personal collection of over 300 Orcas Island Real-Photo Postcards (RPPCs), these images provide a unique window into the incredible scenery and fascinating history of one of America’s most beautiful islands. Generously annotated with historical facts and anecdotes, the black and white photo postcards trace the sights of Orcas and the way of life of both islanders and tourists from approximately 1900 to 1960. Throughout this period, Orcas has been well documented by RPPC photographers catering to the many visitors drawn to the island to escape the day-to-day pressures of the […]
- [The Master: Love, Latitude, Longitude, & Laughter](https://orcasmuseums.org/product/the-master-love-latitude-longitude-laughter/): By Jan Ferris Jan Koltun


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