Smith Island
Map
Smith Island is located in the eastern part of the Juan de Fuca Strait, Washington, about halfway between Admiralty Inlet and Lopez Island. Smith Island was mainly known for its powerful lighthouse and foghorn.1 Spanish explorer José María Narváez named it Isla De Bonila in 1741.2 In 1841, the Wilkes Expedition named it “Blunt’s Island” after a midshipman of the expedition; historians speculate that the present name for Smith Island was probably introduced by the HBC.3
  • 1. Edmond S. Meany, Origin of Washington Geographic Names (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1923), 277.
  • 2. Harry Majors, Exploring Washington (Washing: Van Winkle Publishing, 1975), 21.
  • 3. Meany, Origin of Washington Geographic Names, 277.
Mentions of this place in the documents
The Colonial Despatches Team. Smith Island. The Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871, Edition 2.0, ed. The Colonial Despatches Team. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. https://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/smith_island.html.

Last modified: 2020-03-30 13:22:16 -0700 (Mon, 30 Mar 2020) (SVN revision: 4193)