TWO NATIONS ON THE BRINK OF WAR NEGOTIATE THEIR WAY TO LASTING FRIENDSHIP

San Juan Island National Historical Park celebrates how individuals and nations can resolve disputes without resorting to violence. For it was here in the mid-1800s that Great Britain and the United States settled ownership of the island through peaceful arbitration.

Long before the Europeans arrived, the island's temperate climate, rich soil, timber, and marine resources attracted native peoples who for thousands of years netted salmon, hunted game, and gathered camas roots. These islands were first explored, charted, and named in the 1790s by Spain and Great Britain, and later by the United States. Each staked claims to the Oregon Country—the present states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and parts of Wyoming, Montana, and British Columbia. Spain withdrew by 1800, and the British and the Americans agreed to a joint occupation of the region in 1818.

Although lucrative trade agreements and capital investments existed between the two nations, the Americans living in the Oregon Country considered the British presence an affront to their "manifest destiny." The British believed they had a legal right to lands guaranteed by earlier treaties, explorations, and the commercial activities of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC).

Nevertheless, in June 1846 the Treaty of Oregon was signed in London. The boundary was set along the 49th parallel, from the Rocky Mountains to the middle of the "channel" separating Vancouver Island from the mainland, then south to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and west to the Pacific Ocean. But there are two channels: Haro Strait, nearest Vancouver Island, and Rosario Strait, nearer the mainland. The San Juan Islands lie between them. Both sides claimed the entire island group.

By 1853 the HBC established Belle Vue Sheep Farm on the island's southern shore, site of today's American Camp. The move was political, but the island's fertile soil and grazing lands also turned immediate profits. Word of good farm land spread quickly to the mainland and by the spring of 1859, at least 18 Americans had settled claims that the British believed were illegal.

An uneasy peace ended on June 15, 1859, when Lyman Cutlar, an American, shot an HBC pig rooting in his garden. When British authorities threatened Cutlar with arrest and his countrymen with eviction from the island, a delegation sought protection from Brig. Gen. William S. Harney, commander of the US Army's Department of Oregon. Harney ordered a company of infantry commanded by Capt. George E. Pickett (of later Civil War fame) to San Juan Island. Pickett landed his 64-man unit on July 27.

In response, British Gov. (and HBC chief factor) James Douglas dispatched Royal Navy Capt. Geoffrey Hornby and three warships with 62 total guns, 400 Royal Marines, and 15 Royal Engineers with orders to dislodge Pickett but avoid an armed clash. Pickett refused to budge and sought help from Harney, who sent Lt. Col. Silas Casey with reinforcements on August 10. Soon 461 soldiers occupied the island, erecting fortifications while Hornby watched from the bay. Fortunately, Rear Adm. R. Lambert Baynes, commander of the Royal Navy's Pacific Station, had by then returned from sea and ordered Hornby to stand fast. British naval policy dictated that he was only to fire if fired upon.

Sir James Douglas
Governor, B.C.
Allowed superiors to assume that US actions threatened British settlers, not Hudson's Bay Company workers.

R. Lambert Baynes
Rear Admiral Knighted because the only casualty was a pig. "Tut, tut, no, no, the damn fools," he was reported to say.

Captain P. Hornby
Captain
Wisely dodged Governor, Douglas' orders to confront Pickett. Suggested instead a joint military military occupation.

William S. Harney
Brigadier General
No Harney, no Pig War. Rightly moved to protect US settlers on disputed a lands but turned hostile and escalated the events imprudently.

Winfield Scott
Lieutenant General
This sharp-minded lawyer's handling of the Pig War led to important future cooperation in US-British affairs.

Captain E. Pickett
Captain
Bluffed the British and worked first to please Harney, then Scott, but he was ignorant of that Treaty of Oregon.

(click for larger maps)

When word of the crisis reached Washington six weeks later, both governments agreed to send Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, US Army commander, to contain the affair. He arrived by steamer in late October, and within a week he and Douglas agreed to reduce their forces to no more than 100 US soldiers and a single British warship.

On March 21, 1860, Royal Marines landed and set up "English Camp" on Garrison Bay, 13 miles northwest of American Camp. For the next 12 years, San Juan Island would remain under a peaceful joint military occupation.

In 1871 the boundary question was submitted for arbitration to Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany, who a year later ruled that the islands belonged to the United States. The Royal Marines left in November 1872, the US troops two years later. Peace was affirmed on the 49th parallel, and San Juan Island would be long remembered for the "war" in which the only casualty was a pig.

MAP The San Juan Islands' interior waterways and narrow passages provided a covered anchorage for warships. A spyglass from the American Camp prairie could track every sortie from Victoria and Esquimalt harbors beyond. This was a significant advantage in an age when commerce and warfare in the region moved primarily by sea.

JOINT OCCUPATION GAMES Royal Marines marched to American Camp to celebrate the Fourth of July, and the US troops sallied forth to English Camp to toast Queen Victoria's birthday. Picnicking, libations, horse racing, gunny sack races, and track-and-field events entertained troops usually separated by 13 miles between camps.

The Island's Attractive Natural Bounty Shaped Its History from Earliest Times

NATURALIST ACTIVITIES San Juan Island National Historical Park offers a diverse landscape from seaside bluffs and evergreen forests to wetlands and stands of Garry oak. Many trails invite exploration. In spring purple camas and sprays of spring gold blanket the dramatic open prairie of American Camp. Throughout both English and American camps you will find abundant native wildflowers, like chocolate lilies, lupines, blue-eyed Marys, and hookedspur violets. Wildlife that you may see are Orca whales. Pacific harbor seals, river otters, Columbian blacktail deer, over 200 species of birds, and 32 of butterflies. Look for the rare island marble butterfly around the yellow field mustard plants. Guided tours include birding, prairie walks, and intertidal explorations.

THINGS TO KNOW English and American camps are day-use parks open daily, dawn to 11 pm. Visitor centers—year-round at American Camp, seasonal at English Camp—offer information, maps, books, gift shops, and exhibits. Self-guiding walk booklets are available at the trailheads. Park programs include guided tours, children's programs, and living history demonstrations and workshops. Picnic areas are available. Camping, hunting, and off-road travel (car, truck, motorcycle, or bicycle) are prohibited. Do not disturb or remove natural or cultural features. Pets must be under physical control at all times. Watch children near cliffs and shoreline. Don't swim—currents are strong and water frigid. For information and hours of operation, check the free park newspaper at visitor centers or visit www.nps.gov.sajh.

ENGLISH CAMP is on tranquil Garrison Bay, an ancient home of the Coast Salish people. At water's edge is a shell midden reported to have been 900 feet long and 350 feet wide. A self-guiding trail traces the Royal Marine era with its historic parade ground, barracks, blockhouse, commissary, and a formal garden patterned after the original one planted in 1867 for a captain's homesick wife. In the visitor center an audiovisual program describes the US-British boundary dispute and the peaceful joint occupation. Hike along the bay, then through forest up to the summit of 650-foot Young Hill for panoramas of Vancouver Island, the Olympic Mountains, and Haro Strait. The Mitchell Hill trail network also offers forest walks. In spring, look for wildflowers like fawn lilies and shooting stars.

AMERICAN CAMP dates from 1859, but native peoples harvested camas bulbs here over 2,500 years ago. The visitor center houses American Indian artifacts that represent the daily life of an ancient culture—harpoon points and shell pendants—as well as buttons, bottles, and spectacles from the 1800s. There are many trails. Relive the Pig War on a self-guiding history walk or see the original officers' and laundress quarters. Hike the seaside bluffs, up Mount Finlayson, or down to the lagoons with views of Griffin Bay, where in 1859 the schooner Harney ran aground. Or stroll along South Beach, where the steamer Julia unloaded naval guns from the USS Massachusetts. As you walk, listen for the soft spouting of an Orca whale and watch for river otters scurrying down the bluffs to the beach.

For firearms regulations check the park website or ask at a visitor center.

Service animals are welcome.

The park staff works to restore native grasses and wildflowers on the American Camp prairie by removing invasive species, planting native vegetation, and doing controlled burning.

Prescribed fire is designed to mimic historic fire patterns and prevent invasion of the prairie by non-prairie plants.

Source: NPS Brochure (2012)

Establishment San Juan Island National Historical Park — September 9, 1966

For More Information Please Visit The OFFICIAL NPS WEBSITE

The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

1975
1979-1985		cover only 1988		cover only 1990-1995
cover only 1997-2003		cover only 2004-2007		cover only 2008-2016
cover only American Camp A Historic Guided Walk May 1997		cover only American Camp A Historic Guided Walk June 2004		American Camp A Historic Guided Walk June 2007
Birds May 2006		cover only English Camp A Historic Guided Walk June 2004		English Camp A Historic Guided Walk June 2004
cover only Jakle's Lagoon A Nature Walk June 2003		Jakle's Lagoon A Nature Walk November 2012		Jakle's Lagoon A Nature Walk Date Unknown
San Juan Island Trails (English Camp) April 2015		American Camp Jakle's Lagoon 2005		English Camp Young Hill 2005
The Story of the Pig Warp March 1997		Native Wildflowers of American Camp 2006

A Conceptual Model of the Upland Aquatic & Nearshore Marine Habitas of San Juan Island National Historical Park (Washington) NPS Technical Report NPS/NRWRD/NRTR-2003/318 (Mark D. Flora and Steven C. Fradkin, February 2004)

A Study of the Probable Original Layouts, Uses, and Appearance of the Officer's Quarters (HS-11) at American Camp, San Juan Island National Historic Park (Kingston Heath, Fred Walters and Aaron Lemchen, August 15, 2005)

A Technical Overview of the Prehistoric Archaeology of the San Juan Islands Region (Archeological Overview and Basemap of American and British Camps) (Gary C. Wessen, March 1988)

Administrative History, San Juan Island National Historical Park (HTML edition) (Kelly June Cannon, November 20, 1997)

Amphibian Inventory 2002: San Juan Island National Historical Park NPS Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCCN/NRTR—2013/731 (Barbara Samora, Michael Layes and Rebecca Lofgren, April 2013)

An Early Lithic Site in the San Juan Islands: Its Description and Research Implications (Stephen M. Kenady, Robert R. Mierendorf and Randall F. Schalk, August 15, 2002)

Assessment of Coastal Water Resources and Watershed Conditions at San Juan Island National Historical Park NPS Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NRWRD/NRTR-2006/360 (Terrie Klinger, David Fluharty, Kirsten Evans and Carrie Byron, December 2006)

Belle Vue Sheep Farm Journals

Belle Vue Sheep Farm: Introduction (Boyd C. Pratt, February 2012)

Belle Vue Sheep Farm Correspondence, 1853-1857

Belle Vue Sheep Farm Post Journals 1854 (Charles Griffin)

Belle Vue Sheep Farm Post Journals 1858 (Charles Griffin)

Belle Vue Sheep Farm Post Journals 1859 (Charles Griffin)

Belle Vue Sheep Farm Post Journals 1860 (Charles Griffin)

Belle Vue Sheep Farm Post Journals 1861-62 (Charles Griffin)

Chronological List of Improvements (Boyd C. Pratt, February 2012)

How to Interpret Belle Vue Sheep Farm Post Journals (Boyd C. Pratt, February 2012)

People (Boyd C. Pratt, February 2012)

Place Names on San Juan Island (Boyd C. Pratt, February 2012)

Robert Firth Diary (Boyd C. Pratt, February 2012)

Servants of the Company (Boyd C. Pratt, February 2012)

Ships and Boats (Boyd C. Pratt, February 2012)

The Letters of Mary Julia Tysen Allen (Mary Julia Tysen Allen)

Candidate Species: Island Marble (Euchloe ausonides insulanus) (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Annual Report, 2012)

Comparative Analysis, American Camp Fortifications, San Juan Island National Historical Park (CEHP Incorporated, September 1996)

Conservation of the Island Marble Butterfly (Amy Lambert, 2008)

COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Island Marble Euchloe ausonides insulanus in Canada: Extirpated 2000 / Mise à jour Évaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur le Marbré insulaire Euchloe ausonides insulanus au Canada: Espèce disparue du pays 2000 (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2000, ©Environment Canada)

COSEWIC Status Appraisal Summary on the Island Marble Euchloe ausonides insulanus in Canada: Extirpated 2010 / Sommaire du statut de l’espèce du COSEPAC sur le Marbré insulaire Euchloe ausonides insulanus au Canada: Disparue du pays 2010 (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2010, ©Environment Canada)

Cultural Landscapes Inventory: American Camp, San Juan Island National Historical Park (2004)

Cultural Landscapes Inventory: English Camp, San Juan Island National Historical Park (2004)

Cultural Landscapes Inventory: Sandwith Homestead, San Juan Island National Historical Park (2009)

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Status for the Island Marble Butterfly and Designation of Critical Habitat (Federal Register, Vol. 85 No. 87, May 5, 2020)

Ethnographic Overview and Assessment of the San Juan National Historic Site: Final Report (Jorge Duany, February 25, 2015)

Final General Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, San Juan Island National Historical Park (October 2008)

Foundation Document, San Juan Island National Historical Park, Washington (February 2017)

Foundation Document Overview, San Juan Island National Historical Park, Washington (January 2017)

Geologic Resources Inventory Report, San Juan Island National Historical Park NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/NRPC/GRD/NRR-2014/835 (J.P. Graham, August 2014)

Historic Landscape Report: American Camp & British Camp, San Juan Island National Historical Park (Cathy A. Gilbert, 1987)

Historic Resource Study, San Juan Island National Historical Park (Erwin N. Thompson, September 1972)

Historic Structure Report/Architectural Data: Officers' Quarters HS-11, Laundress' Quarters HS-6, and English Camp Hospital HS-18, San Juan Island National Historical Park, Washington (January 1978)

Historic Structures Report: Crook House, English Camp, San Juan Island National Historical Park (Patricia Erigero and Barry Schnoll, September 1984)

Historic Structures Report: English Camp (Part I) (A. Lewis Koue and Erwin N. Thompson, June 1969)

Interpretive Prospectus, San Juan Island National Historical Park (May 1984)

Intertidal Fish Inventory of San Juan Island National Historical Park (2002) NPS Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCCN/NRTR—2011/457 (Steven C. Fradkin, June 2011)

Island Marble Butterfly Survey at American Camp, San Juan Island National Historical Park: 2008 Field Summary Report (Amy M. Lambert, April 2009)

Junior Ranger Activity Book, San Juan Island National Historical Park (2010; for reference purposes only)

Junior Ranger (American Camp), San Juan Island National Historical Park (Date Unknown; for reference purposes only)

Junior Ranger (English Camp), San Juan Island National Historical Park (Date Unknown; for reference purposes only)

Landbird Inventory of San Juan Island National Historical Park: Final Report (2002) NPS Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCCN/NRTR—2009/156 (Robert L. Wilkerson, Rodney B. Siegel, Heidi K. Pedersen and Robert C. Kuntz II, January 2009)

Modeling Future Forest Conditions at San Juan Island National Historical Park: A Planning Tool for Park Managers and Scientists NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/NOCA/NRR-2020/2107 (Mariano Amoroso and Bruce Larson, April 2020)

Museum Management Plan, San Juan Island National Historical Park (Kelly Cahill, Kirstie Haertel, Theresa Langford, Diane Nicholson, Samantha Richert, and Paul Rogers, 2010)

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Forms

American and English Camps (Pig War Site) (Charles W. Snell, April 10, 1961)

English Camp (Laurin C. Huffman III, June 1973)

Natural history and population ecology of a rare pierid butterfly, Euchloe ausonides insulanus Guppy and Shepard (Pieridae) (©Amy Michell Lambert, PhD. thesis, University of Washington, 2011)

Natural Resource Condition Assessment, San Juan Island National Historical Park NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/SAJH/NRR-2020/2131 (Catherin A. Schwemm, ed., May 2020)

North Coast and Cascades Network Climate Monitoring Report: Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve and San Juan Island National Historical Park; Water Year 2010 NPS Natural Resource Data Series NPS/NCCN/NRDS—2012/327 (William Baccus and Mark Huff, June 2012)

North Coast and Cascades Network Climate Monitoring Report: Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve and San Juan Island National Historical Park; Water Year 2011 NPS Natural Resource Data Series NPS/NCCN/NRDS—2013/569 (William Baccus and Mark Huff, October 2013)

North Coast and Cascades Network Landbird Monitoring Reports

North Coast and Cascades Network Landbird Monitoring: Report for the 2013 field season NPS Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NCCN/NRDS-2014/691 (Amanda L. Holmgren, Robert L. Wilkerson, Rodney B. Siegel and Patricia J. Happe, August 2014)

North Coast and Cascades Network Landbird Monitoring: Report for the 2015 field season NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/NCCN/NRR-2016/1128 (Amanda L. Holmgren, Robert L. Wilkerson, Rodney B. Siegel and Jason I. Ransom, June 2016)

North Coast and Cascades Network Landbird Monitoring: Report for the 2019 field season NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/NCCN/NRR-2020/1284 (Amanda L. Holmgren, Robert L. Wilkerson, Rodney B. Siegel and Jason I. Ransom, July 2020)

North Coast and Cascades Network Landbird Monitoring: Report for the 2020 field season NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/NCCN/NRR-2021/1337 (Amanda L. Holmgren, Robert L. Wilkerson, Rodney B. Siegel and Jason I. Ransom, November 2021)

Outposts of Empire: The Royal Marines and the Joint Occupation of San Juan Island (©Mike Vouri, 2000)

Park Newspaper: 2006 • 2007-2008 • 2009-2010 • 2010-2011 • 2012-2013 • 2014-2015 • 2015-2016

Plant Associations Known or With Potential to Occur within Ebey's Landing National Historic Reserve, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Lewis and Clark National Historic Park, San Juan National Historic Park (F. Joseph Rocchio and Rex C. Crawford, March 2009)

San Juan Island National Historical Park: A Master Plan (HTML edition) (June 1968)

San Juan Island National Historical Park: An Environmental History (Christy Avery, 2016)

Small Park, Big Resources: The Dunes, Lagoons, and Prairies of American Camp Resource Brief (June 17 2022)

Soil Survey of San Juan Island National Historical Park, Washington NPS TIC# D-87 (2005)

Summary of First Visit: San Juan Island National Historical Park Butterfly Survey (R.M. Pyle, 2003)

The Butterflies of San Juan Island National Historical Park (Robert Michael Pyle, February 2004)

The Pig War, Conflict and Resolution in the Pacific Northwest A Resource Guide for Washington State Teachers (Mike Vouri and Janet Oakley, undated)

The Geology of the San Juan Islands (HTML edition) University of Washington Publications in Geology Vol. 2 (Roy Davidson McLellan, November 1927)

The Salmon Bank: An Ethnohistoric Compilation (Jacilee Wray, March 1, 2003)

Vascular Plant Inventory of San Juan Island National Historical Park NPS Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCCN/NRTR—2010/350 (Regina M. Rochefort and Mignonne M. Bivin, July 2010)

Vegetation Classification and Mapping Project Report: San Juan Island National Historical Park NPS Natural Resource Report NPS/NCCN/NRR—2012/603 (F. Joseph Rocchio, Rex C. Crawford and Catharine Copass, December 2012)

The following visual bibliography is just a sampling of the handbooks and books which have been published for this park. NPSHistory.com does not endorse these, but are merely presenting them for informational purposes only. As most are copyrighted, we are only able to provide the covers, and not contents, of these publications.

cover only The Pig War Keith Murray 1968	cover only The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay Michael Vouri 1999	cover only Outpost of Empire: The Royal Marines and the Joint Occupation of San Juan Island Mike Vouri 2004	cover only The Pig War (Images of America) Mike Vouri 2008
Wildflowers of San Juan Island National Historical Park Date Unknown	cover only The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay Michael Vouri 2013