San Juan Island is well known for 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.
Among the national park system’s over 400 units, San Juan Island National Historical Park is the only site that illustrates, in its dramatic and largely intact physical setting, how war can be averted and peace maintained through positive action by individuals and governments — a powerful message in unsettled times.
San Juan Island National Historical Park consists of two distinct units, American Camp (1223 acres) and English Camp (841 acres), which together comprise
2,064 acres.
The boundary of English Camp includes an off shore island known as Guss Island. The marine ecosystems surrounding these units and their six miles of publicly accessible shoreline are renowned for their scenery. The natural assets and historical significance of the park attract more than 250,000 visitors each year – mostly during the summer months and on weekends.
San Juan Island sits in the rain shadow of the
Olympic Mountains and is drier than other areas of
western Washington. There is considerable variation
in microclimate even within San Juan Island. This
natural variability is refl ected in the local vegetation,
with grassy prairies in the dry American Camp area
and western evergreens and deciduous trees in the
English Camp area. Freshwater areas exist in the form
of numerous small wetlands in each area. Marine
waters of the park include Garrison and Westcott bays
adjacent to English Camp, as well as more exposed
shorelines along Griffi n Bay and the Strait of Juan de
Fuca in American Camp, and three small lagoons on
Griffi n Bay.
English Camp is signifi cant as the location of a British
Royal Marines camp during the joint occupation.
Following the military occupation, the site was the
location of the Crook family homestead. The site is
situated on Garrison Bay and comprises 1,400 feet
of shoreline, a broad level bank, and surrounding
hillsides. English Camp features signifi cant historic
resources, including four buildings from the military
period, the historic landscape, extensive earthworks
and masonry work, and numerous archaeological sites.
Following the encampment era, the Crook family lived
on and farmed the land of English Camp from 1875
until it was acquired by Washington State in 1963. The
Crook House and two orchards exist from this period.
American Camp is signifi cant as the location of the
United States Army camp during the joint occupation
of the island by British and American Troops
from 1859 to 1874. The site occupies a portion of
the southeast peninsula of San Juan Island and is
comprised of a broad ridge overlooking Griffi n Bay to
the north and Haro Strait to the south, and includes
scrub-prairie lands and Puget Sound shoreline.
American Camp features signifi cant historic resources
including two of the original military buildings,
the reconstructed military fence and fl agpole, and
numerous archaeological sites. The cultural landscape
also includes the sites of the Hudson’s Bay Company
agricultural outpost, Belle Vue Sheep Farm, and San
Juan Town.
San Juan Island National Historical Park was established in 1966 to commemorate the events that occurred from 1853-1872 in connection with the final settlement of the Oregon Territory boundary dispute, including the “Pig War” crisis of 1859, and celebrate the lasting peace between the United States, Canada and Great Britain.
