Eastsound, Washington
Unincorporated community in San Juan County, Washington
title: "Eastsound, Washington" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["unincorporated-communities-in-san-juan-county,-washington", "unincorporated-communities-in-washington-(state)"] description: "Unincorporated community in San Juan County, Washington" topic_path: "general/unincorporated-communities-in-san-juan-county-washington" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastsound,_Washington" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Unincorporated community in San Juan County, Washington ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Eastsound |
| settlement_type | Unincorporated community |
| image_skyline | Aerial view of Eastsound, Washington.jpg |
| image_caption | Eastsound, Washington |
| pushpin_map | USA Washington |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location in the state of Washington |
| map_caption | Location in San Juan county |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | United States |
| subdivision_type1 | State |
| subdivision_name1 | Washington |
| subdivision_type2 | County |
| subdivision_name2 | San Juan |
| unit_pref | Imperial |
| population_as_of | 2000 |
| population_density_km2 | auto |
| timezone | Pacific (PST) |
| utc_offset | -8 |
| timezone_DST | PDT |
| utc_offset_DST | -7 |
| elevation_footnotes | |
| elevation_ft | 49 |
| coordinates | |
| postal_code_type | ZIP code |
| postal_code | 98245 |
| blank_name | FIPS code |
| blank1_name | GNIS feature ID |
| blank1_info | 1513104 |
| :: |
|name = Eastsound |settlement_type = Unincorporated community |image_skyline = Aerial view of Eastsound, Washington.jpg |image_size = |image_caption = Eastsound, Washington |pushpin_map = USA Washington |pushpin_label_position = |pushpin_map_caption = Location in the state of Washington |map_caption = Location in San Juan county |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = United States |subdivision_type1 = State |subdivision_name1 = Washington |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = San Juan |government_footnotes = |government_type = |established_title = |established_date = |unit_pref = Imperial |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |population_as_of = 2000 |population_footnotes = |population_total = |population_density_km2 = auto |timezone = Pacific (PST) |utc_offset = -8 |timezone_DST = PDT |utc_offset_DST = -7 |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_ft = 49 |coordinates = |postal_code_type = ZIP code |postal_code = 98245 |area_code = |blank_name = FIPS code |blank_info = |blank1_name = GNIS feature ID |blank1_info = 1513104 |website = |footnotes =
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.
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.
Climate
|collapsed = Y |single line = Y |location= Eastsound, Washington |temperature color=
|Jan record high F= 65 |Feb record high F= 66 |Mar record high F= 76 |Apr record high F= 78 |May record high F= 87 |Jun record high F= 89 |Jul record high F= 92 |Aug record high F= 89 |Sep record high F= 87 |Oct record high F= 77 |Nov record high F= 67 |Dec record high F= 65
|Jan high F= 47 |Feb high F= 49 |Mar high F= 53 |Apr high F= 58 |May high F= 63 |Jun high F= 67 |Jul high F= 71 |Aug high F= 71 |Sep high F= 67 |Oct high F= 59 |Nov high F= 50 |Dec high F= 46
|Jan low F= 36 |Feb low F= 36 |Mar low F= 38 |Apr low F= 41 |May low F= 45 |Jun low F= 48 |Jul low F= 51 |Aug low F= 51 |Sep low F= 48 |Oct low F= 44 |Nov low F= 38 |Dec low F= 34
|Jan record low F= −8 |Feb record low F= −4 |Mar record low F= 10 |Apr record low F= 28 |May record low F= 31 |Jun record low F= 37 |Jul record low F= 40 |Aug record low F= 38 |Sep record low F= 32 |Oct record low F= 26 |Nov record low F= 4 |Dec record low F= 2
|precipitation colour= |Jan precipitation inch= 3.92 |Feb precipitation inch= 2.49 |Mar precipitation inch= 2.33 |Apr precipitation inch= 1.89 |May precipitation inch= 1.80 |Jun precipitation inch= 1.29 |Jul precipitation inch= 0.80 |Aug precipitation inch= 1.06 |Sep precipitation inch= 1.33 |Oct precipitation inch= 2.97 |Nov precipitation inch= 4.82 |Dec precipitation inch= 3.54 |source 1= weather.com
Arts and culture
The town is known for its community events, frequent musical performances, recreation and tourism. Eastsound consists of a village green, a few hotels and several restaurants, numerous gift shops, large grocery store, food co-op, hardware store, pharmacy, brewery, various music venues, several churches, post office, school, small airport, and public dock. Eastsound's scenic location, thriving music and arts community, and quaint friendly village makes it a popular tourist destination.
Parks and recreation
There is a public village green with extensive lawn, picnic tables, shade trees, and outdoor stage that hosts music performances, community events, and the weekly farmers' market. Indian Island is just offshore Eastsound's public beach. Moran State Park is located near the community.
Infrastructure
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. Washington State Ferry service to other islands and the mainland is located 8.4 miles south at Orcas Landing.
Media
The Islands' Sounder, a weekly publication founded as the Orcas Sounder in 1964, is based in Eastsound.
Notable residents
- William Anders, astronaut
- Gary Larson, cartoonist
Notes
References
- {{GNIS. 1513104
- Gibbs, Jim, and Williamson, Joe, ''Maritime Memories of Puget Sound'', at page 123, Schiffer Publishing, West Chester, PA 1987, {{ISBN. 0-88740-044-2
- Newell, Gordon R., ''Ships of the Inland Sea'', at page 173, Binford and Mort, Portland, Oregon (2d Ed. 1960)
- (January 2012). "weather.com".
- Carter, Mike. (April 11, 2017). "Orcas Island woman pleads guilty to embezzling from former astronaut". [[The Seattle Times]].
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