Of Smugglers, phantoms and tombstones: ‘History LIves Here’
Published 11:10 am Tuesday, May 5, 2015
National Historic Preservation Month in the San Juan Islands is all about breathing a little life back into history during the month of May.
Events in store include guided walking tours, local history talks and other special events that portray the past as longtime islanders lived and remember it. And, a ghost or two
may even be encountered in a hallway or cemetery along the way.
On May 9, on San Juan Island, local historian Robin Jacobson will lead a biographical tour of Roche Harbor’s pioneer cemetery, founded in 1887.
The tour will make the life stories of those buried there come alive. Once the largest lime works in the Pacific Northwest, Roche Harbor Resort’s property is akin to an open-air museum; formal gardens, historic buildings, kilns and mausoleum are explained through engaging interpretive panels. The Resort’s circa 1886 Hotel de Haro is on the National Register of Historic Places and continues to lodge visitors.
On May 16 and May 24, join a guided walking tour of Friday Harbor, home to more than 150 historic sites within its walkable one-mile radius. Twenty-six of these are described in the “Historic Friday Harbor on Foot Tour.”
On May 30, walk in the footsteps of General George Pickett of Civil War fame, as the San Juan Island National Historical Park opens its Officers Quarters for the first time after its year-long restoration. Pickett was posted at the American Camp garrison during the “Pig War” crisis, a territorial dispute between the Americans and British lasting from 1859-1872, in which the only casualty was a pig. Park entrance is always free.
Opening May 23, Orcas Island Historical Museum will present a lecture series and exhibit, “The Smugglers’ Blues” – The Illicit, Illegal and Immoral on the Salish Sea.” The lecture and exhibit explore both lawmen and the law breakers; who smuggled what where, and why. From wool to opium, whiskey to Chinese immigrants, the San Juans have been a crossroads for those willing to risk it all for illegal profits.
Tour the museum and learn the history of Robert Moran’s Mansion at Rosario Resort through a multimedia presentation. Listen to ghost stories and Phantom of the Opera music performed on the 1,972 pipe Aeolian organ accompany clips from the original Phantom film. Complimentary and open to the public, the show is performed daily in summer (except Sundays) and every Saturday during the rest of the year.
On Lopez Island, May 13-21, “Quilts as Carriers of Community and Women’s History” an exhibit of Lopez community quilts, beginning with 1880s era quilts, will be on display at the Lopez Historical Museum.
History Lives Here Events:
San Juan Island/Friday Harbor
May 9: Roche Harbor Pioneer Cemetery Biographical Tour, Roche Harbor Resort Cemetery & San Juan Historical Museum
May 16: Historic Friday Harbor Tour, Friday Harbor
May 23: Know Your Island: History Walk of Sunshine Alley, Friday Harbor
May 30: Officers’ Quarters Open House, San Juan Island National Historical Park, American Camp
Orcas Island
May 17: Smugglers’ Blues Speaker History Matinee Part 1, Orcas Island Historical Museum
May 23: The Smugglers’ Blues Opening Gala, Orcas Island Historical Museum
Lopez Island
May 13-21: Signature Quits as Carriers of Community & Women’s History, Lopez Island Historical Society & Museum
For More information on May’s “History Lives Here” events and a list of historic lodging properties, go to the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau May History Page, www.visitsanjuans.com/events/history, or call 888-468-3701, ext. 1.
