Family Outing by Bill Holm
Impacts of Colonization on the Straits Salish
The San Juan Islands are the traditional territory of the Straits Salish people. Beginning in 1790, they continued to inhabit the islands, but were impacted by European exploration, the fur trade, new diseases, treaties, homestead acts, and Euro-American exploitation of the salmon fishery. Today the Straits Salish remain connected to the islands through fishing, culture, language, Canoe Journeys, and more.
Family Outing by Bill Holm
50 Years of Restaurants on Lopez, 1950 - 2000
Making Hay While the Sun Shines charts the demographic and development shifts on Lopez through the lens of the island’s restaurants. From multi-decade institutions such as The Islander and The Galley, to short-lived experiments, restaurants have weathered the difficulty of running two businesses at a time: one in summer, one in winter…for the price of one.
Island Life photos from 1880s - 1950s
Classic island images paint a picture of Lopez life from the settler era through the 1950s. Historic photos and documents of farming, fishing, logging, schools, stores, entertainment, industries, boosterism, tourism, and churches on the island. Read a contract for Chinese workers at a Richardson cannery, and learn about the short-lived Kelp Plant at Port Stanley and the forgotten rock quarry on Humphrey Head.
Some things we just can’t seem to put away
The Lopez Island Community Signature Quilt; Ralph Hitchcock’s incredibly accurate ship models of the steamer Rosalie and the Harvester King, a kelp-harvester turned car ferry; Jean and Fred Bartholomew’s fun and beautiful kitchen table, tiled with a hand-painted map of Lopez in 1961; and a dug-out canoe from the 1920s are some of the museum favorites that are always on exhibit.
A space for kids to play and tell their own Lopez story
Did wolves once wander Lopez?
Explore the natural history of Lopez, including evidence of wolves on the island! Birds, mammals, and plants of the coastal prairie habitats common to the San Juan Islands.
A maritime icon of the Salish Sea
Functional, wild, beautiful
Demonstration gardens of native plants that can help you invite wildlife and native pollinators to your yard.
Take a moment to stop and explore the past
Filled with fascinating, if rusty, bits of Lopez history and ways of life. A storied Captain’s Gig (a rowboat that served a larger ship); a skiff used on the reefnet fishing gear at the mouth of Fisherman’s Bay; and farming, logging, and fishing equipment of eras past. There is always something new to notice.
School is in session
Nancy Nordhoff, Pamela McCabe, Randall & Karen Wilburn, Yvonne Israel-O’Hare & Dave O’Hare, Rob Hummel, Islanders Insurance, Spencer’s Landing, Windermere Real Estate Lopez / Annie Albritton, Charles Givens, Karen & Gary Alexander, Duane & Audrey Bordvick, Eric Meng & Anne Cady, Doug Johnson & Brigitte Fortin, George LeBoutillier, Lauren & Jamie Stephens, Spud & Karen Grimes, Dianne Pressenda, Mary Fagerholm Reece, Karen Rousseau, Jodi Green & Mike Halperin, Scott & Suzi Jennings, Paul Henriksen & Christa Campbell, Tom Ruggles & Gayle Isbell, Terry Larson & Nora McCloy, John & Carol Whetten, Steven Phelps, Giant Creates
