Waldron Island facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Waldron
Unincorporated community
Location within the San Juan Islands
Waldron Location in Washington (state)
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	San Juan
Area
• Total	4.6 sq mi (11.9 km2)
Population  (2000)
• Total	104
• Density	22.64/sq mi (8.74/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	98297

Waldron, also known as Waldron Island, is a small, quiet community in San Juan County, Washington, United States. It's not officially a city or town, but an unincorporated community. In the year 2000, about 104 people lived there.

Waldron is part of the beautiful San Juan Islands. It's a special place because it's set up as a "Limited Development District." This means that big commercial places like resorts aren't allowed. There's no regular ferry service to the island, only one dock owned by the county, and homes don't have public electricity or water lines.

Island History: Discovering Waldron

Early Names and Explorers

In 1791, a Spanish explorer named Francisco Eliza called the island "Lemos." But the name changed in May 1841. During a survey of Puget Sound, an officer from the Wilkes Expedition named one of the San Juan islands after one of the Waldron brothers, either Richard Russell Waldron or Thomas Westbrook Waldron.

Island Resources and Settlers

In the 1800s, people mined sandstone on Waldron Island. This stone was used to build different structures. They also found coal on the island. People called homesteaders began to settle on Waldron Island during this time. The Krumdiack Homestead, built in 1890, is a historic building that is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Life on Waldron Island

In 1941, a resident named June Burn wrote about her life on Waldron in her book Living High. She shared her family's experiences building a log cabin there. Her daughter-in-law, Doris Burn, also wrote several books while living on the island. The last store on Waldron closed in 1942, and the island hasn't had regular ferry service since then.

Since 1976, Waldron has been a "limited development district." This means that large-scale mining of natural resources is not allowed. Also, big homes or paved roads cannot be built on the island.

Famous Residents

Composer Morten Lauridsen bought a building called "Crum's Castle" in 1975. This building used to be the island's general store. He has written many of his famous musical pieces while living on Waldron Island.

Island Geography and Climate

Waldron's Shape and Size

Waldron is an island with an interesting, uneven shape. Its total land area is about 4.6 square miles (11.9 square kilometers).

Waldron's Weather

Waldron Island has warm and dry summers. The average monthly temperature never goes above 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius). According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Waldron has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate. This type of climate is often shown as "Csb" on climate maps.

Island Population

Who Lives on Waldron?

According to the census from the year 2000, there were 104 people living in this unincorporated community. These people made up 62 households, and 27 of those were families. Most of the people living there, about 95.19%, were White. About 0.96% were Asian, and 3.85% were from two or more different races.

See also

In Spanish: Waldron (Washington) para niños