Guemes Island
Encyclopedia
Skagit County, Washington
Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Skagit Indian tribe. As of 2010, the population was 116,901. It is included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington, Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Washington state, USA. It is located north of the town of Anacortes
Anacortes, Washington
Anacortes is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is a consolidation of the name Anna Curtis, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. Anacortes' population was 15,778 at the time of the 2010 census...
on Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island is an island in Skagit County, Washington, located about north of Seattle. To the east, it is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel, and from Whidbey Island to the south by Deception Pass...
and is accessible by both private boat and by the Guemes Island ferry
Guemes Island ferry
The Guemes Island ferry is a ferry route in Washington State that runs between Anacortes, Washington and Guemes Island across the Guemes Channel.-History:...
operated by Skagit County.
Guemes Island was named after the Viceroy of New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
, Juan Vicente de Güemes, who commissioned an expedition that revealed the islands to Spain in 1791.
Island life
Guemes Island has a rural character with limited facilities. There are only two retail stores on the island: Anderson's General Store and The Guemes Island Resort, the latter having been in business since the mid-1940s. Two of the island’s beaches are private but most beach access is public, including multiple boat launches. There are also two parks: one in the middle of the island known as Schoolhouse Park, and the other, Young’s Park, located on North Beach near The Guemes Island Resort.The community located on Guemes Island is generally referred to as "Guemes".
History
Guemes Island was named by the Spanish explorer José María NarváezJosé María Narváez
José María Narváez was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and navigator notable for his work in the Pacific Northwest of present-day Canada. In 1791, as commander of the schooner Santa Saturnina, he led the first European exploration of the Strait of Georgia, including a landing on present-day...
as Isla de Güemes, during the 1791 expedition of Francisco de Eliza
Francisco de Eliza
Francisco de Eliza y Reventa was a Spanish naval officer, navigator, and explorer. He is remembered mainly for his work in the Pacific Northwest...
, in honor of the Viceroy of Mexico, Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo
Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo
Juan Vicente de Güemes Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of New Spain from October 17, 1789 to July 11, 1794...
.
In 1841 Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes was an American naval officer and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 and commanded the ship in the Trent Affair during the American Civil War...
of the United States Exploring Expedition
United States Exploring Expedition
The United States Exploring Expedition was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States from 1838 to 1842. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. The voyage was authorized by Congress in...
gave the name "Lawrence Island" to Guemes Island, to honor the American naval officer James Lawrence
James Lawrence
James Lawrence was an American naval officer. During the War of 1812, he commanded the USS Chesapeake in a single-ship action against HMS Shannon...
. He also gave the name "Hornet Harbor" to Guemes Channel, for the USS Hornet, which Lawrence commanded during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. To the waterway north of the island, part of Bellingham Bay, Wilkes gave the name "Penguin Harbor", for the British vessel Penguin, captured by Lawrence. These names disappeared after 1847, when the British Captain Henry Kellett
Henry Kellett
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kellett KCB was a British naval officer and explorer.-Naval career:Kellett joined the Royal Navy in 1822...
reorganized the British Admiralty charts, in the process removing the "pro-American" names given by Wilkes and affirming pro-British names and Spanish names.
Guemes Island was also commonly known locally as Dog Island in the early 20th century, as there were a large number of dogs living wild on the island.
Politics
In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 53.9% of the vote, Republican John McCain 44.1%, and others 2% in Skagit County. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Republican George W. Bush received 50% of the vote, Democrat John Kerry 48.1%, and others 1.8%Demographics
The following Census statistics represent a block group that also contains the neighboring islands of Cypress Island, Sinclair IslandSinclair Island (Washington)
Sinclair Island is an island in the state of Washington, USA. It is a part of, and lies off the western shore of mainland Skagit County. The island has a land area of 4.109 km² and is home to only a few private residents....
, and Vendovi Island
Vendovi Island
Vendovi Island is an island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. Located in Skagit County, Washington, USA, Vendovi Island lies across Samish Bay from mainland Skagit County, between Guemes Island and Lummi Island. Vendovi Island has a land area of and a population of two persons was...
. As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there are 605 people, 292 households, and 180 families residing in the block group. There are 626 housing units. The racial makeup of the block group is 95.70% White, 1.16% African American, 0.83% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.99% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. 1.32% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 292 households out of which 22.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% are married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 3.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% are non-families. 30.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 39.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 1.95 and the average family size is 2.38.
In the block group the population is spread out with 16.0% under the age of 18, 2.6% from 18 to 24, 11.6% from 25 to 44, 41.3% from 45 to 64, and 27.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 53 years. For every 100 females there are 119.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 104.8 males.
The median income for a household in the block group is $40,039, and the median income for a family is unavailable. Income by sex is also unavailable, as is per capita
Per capita
Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per and capita . The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e. per individual or per person...
income. 8.1% of the population is below the poverty line. Family poverty statistics are unavailable. Out of the total population, 36.1% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Magnetic disturbance
Nautical and æronatical charts note a magnetic disturbance off the southeastern tip of Guemes Island. The disturbance affects compasses enough to cause as much as 14° discrepancy from average local variation.External links
- http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_P001&-tree_id=4001&-transpose=N&-redoLog=true&-all_geo_types=N&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001002&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001003&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001004&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001005&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001006&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001007&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001008&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001009&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001010&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001011&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001012&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001013&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001014&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001015&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001016&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001017&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001018&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001019&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001020&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001021&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001022&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001023&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001024&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001038&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001039&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001040&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001041&-geo_id=100$10000US530579501001042&-search_results=15000US530579501001&-format=&-_lang=en&-show_geoid=YGuemes Island: Blocks 1002 thru 1024 and 1038 thru 1042, Census Tract 9501, Skagit County, Washington] United States Census Bureau
- The Guemes Tide: the island's monthly community newspaper