Herron Island facts for kids
 Herron Island
Location in Washington (state)
Location of Herron Island within the state of Washington
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Case Inlet |
| Coordinates | 47°15′54″N 122°50′07″W / 47.26500°N 122.83528°W |
| Area | 1.2326 km2 (0.4759 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
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United States
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| State | Washington |
| County | Pierce |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 151 (2010) |
| Additional information | |
| ZIP code | 98349 |
| Area code(s) | 253 |
Herron Island is a small, private island located in Case Inlet, which is part of Puget Sound in Washington state, USA. It's in Pierce County. The island covers about 1.23 square kilometers (304 acres). In 2010, 151 people lived there.
Herron Island is special because it's one of the few islands in Puget Sound that is completely private. This means you can only get there by boat. Most people use the HMC ferry, called the "Charlie Wells." To ride the ferry, you need a guest pass signed by a member of the Herron Maintenance Co. (HMC). The island is about 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) long and 0.5 miles (800 meters) wide.
The Herron Maintenance Co. (HMC) owns several important areas on the island. These include North Beach Park with its boat docks, the undeveloped South Beach, and all the roads. They also own Goodpastor Park and its nearby wetlands. Other shared properties are the Community Building, the Fire Station, the island's water system, and the ferry docks. There are also many "greenbelt" lots, which are natural areas kept for everyone to enjoy. All other land on the island is privately owned by individuals.
Island History and Naming
Herron Island was named by Charles Wilkes during his big exploring trip, the United States Exploring Expedition, which happened between 1838 and 1842. He named it to honor Lewis Herron, who was the expedition's cooper (someone who makes and repairs wooden barrels).
Herron Island is a completely private island today. It became a formal community on April 30, 1958. This is when the Herron Maintenance Co. (HMC) was created. HMC is a non-profit group made up of all the property owners on Herron Island.
The HMC is managed by a group called the Board of Trustees. These trustees are elected every year by the members. They don't get paid for their work. The Board's job is to make sure the island's shared areas are taken care of. They also create a budget to pay for these services. Herron Island gets its money from yearly fees paid by its members and from the ferry fees.
Early Explorations in 1792
In May 1792, Lieutenant Peter Puget explored the area now known as Case Inlet. He was working under Captain George Vancouver. On May 23rd, the sailors started their day later than usual, at 8:00 AM, because of very thick fog.
They met a new group of Native Americans near the Nisqually River. Lieutenant Puget wasn't sure if they were friendly, so the ship waited until 2:00 PM to land. Soon after they landed, a strong storm with heavy rain and wind started. This stopped them from going any further that day.
The small island where they landed was called "Wednesday Island." Even though it was actually Tuesday there, the Vancouver expedition used "England time" for all their explorations. The ship's botanist, Archibald Menzies, was supposed to explore every place they landed. However, he refused to leave the landing site to collect plants and soil because of the bad weather.
Renaming the Island in 1841
In 1841, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes of the United States Navy came back to explore Puget Sound. He re-charted the islands and often gave them new names.
Lieutenant Wilkes renamed the larger, more important islands after his most important sailors. He named the smaller islands after his other sailors. This is how "Wednesday Island" was renamed Herron Island, after Seaman Herron.
