Washington Rural Heritage is pleased to announce our fourth San Juan Island collection: Orcas Island Heritage. The Orcas Island Historical Museum, in partnership with the Orcas Island Public Library, has digitized dozens of photographs, maps and books depicting the lives and livelihood of early settlers as they carved homes into this hilly and verdant island. Successful farming, fishing and logging led to the even more successful industry of tourism as Orcas became a premier summer destination for Washingtonians.

Various docking points around the island grew into villages and towns, complete with post offices, general stores and even schools. Each village has its own story to tell, and for the first time, we’ve enabled users to browse items by community.

Olga, perched on the southern tip of eastern Orcas, is one of these charming communities. One of its residents published a book of local family’s recipes and memories, including landing a 33 1/2 lb. blackmouth, dancing with the C.C.C. boys back in the ’30s, and bloomers hoisted to the top of a flagpole that were mistaken for a distress signal. When Lucille Willis wed in 1937, she lived in a beach-front cabin with few amenities.

She recalls that using an outhouse was the hardest adjustment for her. “One night when Culver had to be away, I went across the yard to the outhouse. I had no sooner got there than I heard the most alarming whooshing sounds. I hurried back to the house and waited for Culver to return home. When I told him my story, he laughed and told me not to worry; it was just a pod of whales making their way across the bay.”

We also invite you to explore items on our customized map. You can see just where that mysterious rock formation of an anchor is situated; envisage the first Ford that topped Mt. Constitution in Moran State Park; and see a steamer pulling into dock at Doe Bay – in 1910.