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| The Blockhouse at English Camp on San Juan Island. Photo collected 2 December 2020 |
I first visited English Camp in the early 1990's as a college student on a spring break bike trip. I was as struck then as I am now by what is known as the Blockhouse, sitting on the wet marshy edge of Garrison Bay. This building dates to the 1860's and is notable both for its design and location, which strikes as me as fairly unique for the Pacific Northwest, and also for its relatively good state of repair given its location in the upper intertidal. If you pulled up to this shoreline around 1915 you would have been greeted by a very similar view of the Blockhouse:
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| Photo of the Blockhouse, circa 1915. Photo from the University of Washington Special Collection. |
The building is treated well now, as it is managed by the National Park Service, but it is astonishing that it survived through many decades of private ownership between when the English departed in 1876, and when the NPS took over the management of this site in the 20th century. The 1915 photo above was taken after at least 30 years of the site and buildings being used as a homestead and farm, with the waters of Garrison Bay lapping at the base of the structure the whole time.
