San Juan Island National Historical Park remembers the Pig War

August 14, 2019 1:30 am
(Washington State Library/contributed photo)
(Washington State Library/contributed photo)

Submitted by San Juan Island National Historical Park

San Juan Island National Historical Park will be presenting a series of special programs from Aug. 22-25, to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the 1859 Boundary Crisis known as the Pig War. The peaceful actions in response to the crisis ensured that no national battlefield need to exist and that diplomacy is always the best action forward. The special programming is as scheduled:

• Thursday, Aug. 22: Former park historian Mike Vouri presents an evening talk at the Pickett House about famed leader George Pickett and his role in the building crisis that brought the country to the brink of war. The program begins at 6 p.m.

• Friday, Aug. 23: Park staff and volunteers lead tours of the Pickett House. This will be the first weekend for the house to be open following restoration efforts of the interior of the building re-establishing the historic look of the structure. The program runs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

• Saturday, Aug. 24: Join the National Park Service at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art for an artist’s reception for artist-in-residence Linda Hyatt Cancel who created a full exhibition of work to commemorate the park and the 160th anniversary of the crisis. The reception runs from 2-4 p.m. and the admission fee is waived during this time.

• Saturday, Aug. 24: English Camp hosts a music by the bay concert featuring Vocal Few. Throughout the joint occupation of the island during the Pig War, many concerts and community performances were frequent at English Camp. In that legacy, NPS continues to invite music and the arts in the park. Vocal Few is a Seattle area-based singer-songwriter, folk-pop duo singing songs about travel, change, dreams and heartache. The concert runs from 6:30–8 p.m. at the English Camp parade grounds.

• Sunday, Aug. 25: Park staff and volunteers will be leading tours of the Pickett House. This will be the first weekend for the house to be open following restoration efforts of the interior of the building re-establishing the historic look of the structure. The program runs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.