Friday Harbor, Washington
Encyclopedia
Friday Harbor is a town in San Juan County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,162 at 2010 Census. Located on San Juan Island
, Friday Harbor is the major commercial center of the San Juan Islands
archipelago and is the county seat
of San Juan County.
In 1845 the Hudson's Bay Company
laid claim to San Juan Island
. In 1850 they built a salmon curing station. A few years later they started a sheep farm.
The town's name originates from Joseph Poalie Friday, a native Hawaiian
. Friday worked at the Hudson's Bay Company
's Cowlitz
sheep farm from 1841 to 1859-60 and later moved north to San Juan Island, raising and herding sheep around the harbor.
After the peaceful settlement obtained following the Pig War
, the San Juan Islands became a separate county in 1873. Friday Harbor was named the county seat.
Friday Harbor was officially incorporated on February 10, 1909. It remains the only incorporated town in the San Juan Islands.
Sailing ships, and later, the steamships of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet
, visited the harbor on a regular basis hauling passengers, mail and freight. Freight from the island would include apples, pears, cherries, strawberries, peas, cream, eggs, chickens, grain, salmon, and lime. All were produced on or around San Juan Island. The Great Depression, World War II, the pea weevil, and competition from Eastern Washington growers brought about the decline of traditional island industries, diminishing Friday Harbor's export trade. The 1960s brought new industries - tourism, retirement, real estate, and construction. Today, Friday Harbor is again busy and prosperous.
Osamu Shimomura
harvested jellyfish from the docks of the harbor. Eventually he purified the proteins that allow the jellyfish to fluoresce green when exposed to blue light. One of them, Green fluorescent protein
is now widely used as a marker of molecular activity.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.7 km2), of which, 1.4 square miles (3.5 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2) of it (4.93%) is water.
Friday Harbor's primary connection to the mainland is via Washington State Ferries
, which sail between the town and Anacortes, Washington
several times per day. Friday Harbor can also be reached via ferry from Sidney, British Columbia
, on Washington State Ferries' only international route. This service is available seasonally, only (i.e., May to October). The Friday Harbor Airport
features limited airline service.
Friday Harbor is also served by regular daily float plane scheduled services from the downtown pier to Seattle's Lake Union
seaplane terminal.
On the island, there are taxis, shuttles, bicycles, and mopeds for rent.
The town of Friday Harbor houses the world famous marine biology
facility, Friday Harbor Laboratories
, a field station of the University of Washington
. The town has several schools, including the public Friday Harbor High School
, Friday Harbor Middle School, and Friday Harbor Elementary School that are part of the San Juan Island School District; and the private Stillpoint School, Paideia School, and Spring Street School. Also on the island is a branch of Skagit Valley College
. The school district also includes the small Stuart Island Elementary School that was established in 1897 and is one of Washington's "remote and necessary" schools.
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,989 people, 896 households, and 468 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,467.7 people per square mile (564.7/km2). There were 1,053 housing units at an average density of 777.0 per square mile (298.9/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 92.01% White, 0.65% African American, 1.31% Native American, 1.41% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 2.61% from other races
, and 1.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.23% of the population.
There were 896 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.6% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.7% were non-families. 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the town the age distribution of the population shows 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,139, and the median income for a family was $45,208. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $24,741 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $19,792. About 7.7% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
:
Terschelling
, Netherlands
.
It is also featured in a film called Pirate for the Sea, a film about Paul Watson
, co founder of Greenpeace
and president and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Friday Harbor is also the setting of the novel 'Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor' by Lisa Kleypas.
lives.
San Juan Island
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km² and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census....
, Friday Harbor is the major commercial center of the San Juan Islands
San Juan Islands
The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of the U.S...
archipelago and is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of San Juan County.
History
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
laid claim to San Juan Island
San Juan Island
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km² and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census....
. In 1850 they built a salmon curing station. A few years later they started a sheep farm.
The town's name originates from Joseph Poalie Friday, a native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians
Native Hawaiians refers to the indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands or their descendants. Native Hawaiians trace their ancestry back to the original Polynesian settlers of Hawaii.According to the U.S...
. Friday worked at the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
's Cowlitz
Cowlitz County, Washington
Cowlitz County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census its population was 102,410. It forms the Longview, Washington, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. The county seat is at Kelso, and its largest city is Longview...
sheep farm from 1841 to 1859-60 and later moved north to San Juan Island, raising and herding sheep around the harbor.
After the peaceful settlement obtained following the Pig War
Pig War
The Pig War was a confrontation in 1859 between the United States and the British Empire over the boundary between the US and British North America. The territory in dispute was the San Juan Islands, which lie between Vancouver Island and the North American mainland...
, the San Juan Islands became a separate county in 1873. Friday Harbor was named the county seat.
Friday Harbor was officially incorporated on February 10, 1909. It remains the only incorporated town in the San Juan Islands.
Sailing ships, and later, the steamships of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet
Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet
The Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet was a large number of private transportation companies running smaller passenger and freight boats on Puget Sound and nearby waterways and rivers. This large group of steamers and sternwheelers plied the waters of Puget Sound, stopping at every waterfront dock...
, visited the harbor on a regular basis hauling passengers, mail and freight. Freight from the island would include apples, pears, cherries, strawberries, peas, cream, eggs, chickens, grain, salmon, and lime. All were produced on or around San Juan Island. The Great Depression, World War II, the pea weevil, and competition from Eastern Washington growers brought about the decline of traditional island industries, diminishing Friday Harbor's export trade. The 1960s brought new industries - tourism, retirement, real estate, and construction. Today, Friday Harbor is again busy and prosperous.
Osamu Shimomura
Osamu Shimomura
is a Japanese organic chemist and marine biologist, and Professor Emeritus at Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and Boston University Medical School...
harvested jellyfish from the docks of the harbor. Eventually he purified the proteins that allow the jellyfish to fluoresce green when exposed to blue light. One of them, Green fluorescent protein
Green fluorescent protein
The green fluorescent protein is a protein composed of 238 amino acid residues that exhibits bright green fluorescence when exposed to blue light. Although many other marine organisms have similar green fluorescent proteins, GFP traditionally refers to the protein first isolated from the...
is now widely used as a marker of molecular activity.
Geography & Climate
Friday Harbor is located at 48.535260°N 123.031055°W (48.535260, -123.031055).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.7 km2), of which, 1.4 square miles (3.5 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2) of it (4.93%) is water.
Transportation
Washington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries is a passenger and automobile ferry service owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation that serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the most used ferry system in the world and the largest passenger and automobile...
, which sail between the town and Anacortes, Washington
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...
several times per day. Friday Harbor can also be reached via ferry from Sidney, British Columbia
Sidney, British Columbia
Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,300. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport,...
, on Washington State Ferries' only international route. This service is available seasonally, only (i.e., May to October). The Friday Harbor Airport
Friday Harbor Airport
-External links:* * at Washington State DOT...
features limited airline service.
Friday Harbor is also served by regular daily float plane scheduled services from the downtown pier to Seattle's Lake Union
Lake Union
Lake Union is a freshwater lake entirely within the Seattle, Washington city limits.-Origins:A glacial lake, its basin was dug 12,000 years ago by the Vashon glacier, which also created Lake Washington and Seattle's Green, Bitter, and Haller Lakes.-Name:...
seaplane terminal.
On the island, there are taxis, shuttles, bicycles, and mopeds for rent.
Education
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
facility, Friday Harbor Laboratories
Friday Harbor Laboratories
Friday Harbor Laboratories , is a marine biology field station of the University of Washington, located in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington, USA. FHL was founded in 1904 by University of Washington Zoology Professor Trevor Kincaid...
, a field station of the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
. The town has several schools, including the public Friday Harbor High School
Friday Harbor High School
Friday Harbor High School is a four-year public high school located in Friday Harbor, Washington, USA. It is the only public high school on San Juan Island....
, Friday Harbor Middle School, and Friday Harbor Elementary School that are part of the San Juan Island School District; and the private Stillpoint School, Paideia School, and Spring Street School. Also on the island is a branch of Skagit Valley College
Skagit Valley College
Skagit Valley College is a two-year community college serving Skagit, Island, and San Juan counties in northwest Washington state. Established in 1926, SVC grants academic transfer degrees, technical degrees, and certificates. The academic transfer degree and several professional/technical degrees...
. The school district also includes the small Stuart Island Elementary School that was established in 1897 and is one of Washington's "remote and necessary" schools.
Demographics
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.23% of the population.
There were 896 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.6% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.7% were non-families. 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the town the age distribution of the population shows 23.1% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $35,139, and the median income for a family was $45,208. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $24,741 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $19,792. About 7.7% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
Sister city
Friday Harbor has the following sister cityTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
:
Terschelling
Terschelling
Terschelling is a municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands.Waddenislanders are known for their resourcefulness in using anything and everything that washes ashore. With few trees to use for timber, most of the farms and barns are built with masts...
, Netherlands
Popular culture
Friday Harbor is featured as the default starting point in the computer game, Microsoft Flight Simulator XMicrosoft Flight Simulator X
Microsoft Flight Simulator X, also known as FSX, is the latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator after Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004...
.
It is also featured in a film called Pirate for the Sea, a film about Paul Watson
Paul Watson
Paul Watson is a Canadian animal rights and environmental activist, who founded and is president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a direct action group devoted to marine conservation....
, co founder of Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
and president and founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Friday Harbor is also the setting of the novel 'Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor' by Lisa Kleypas.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Friday Harbor is also the home base for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, where president and founder Paul WatsonPaul Watson
Paul Watson is a Canadian animal rights and environmental activist, who founded and is president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a direct action group devoted to marine conservation....
lives.
External links
- Friday Harbor and San Juan Island Web Directory / Information
- Friday Harbor and San Juan Islands Web Directory
- Friday Harbor and San Juan Islands online news
- Island Guardian -online news
- Friday Harbor Bed and Breakfast Lodging and Travel Resources
- Friday Harbor Lodging, Travel and Information
- Live images of Friday Harbor
- Washington State Ferries Anacortes / San Juan Schedule
- Sea Shepherd Conservation Society