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History · Ketron Island

The history of Ketron Island

Below: maps from 1948 on.

0on the National Register
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Photo: Drums600 at English Wikipedia · Public domain

What stands out about Ketron Island’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Ketron Island are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Ketron Island’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ketron Island’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Ketron Island came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ketron Island.

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The British explorer and navigator George Vancouver camped on Ketron Island in May of 1792.

The island's name in the Lushootseed language is saʔilc, meaning "bad rock". The island was originally named "Kittson Island" in English by Charles Wilkes during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838–1842, but was misspelled "Ketron" by his cartographers. The island was named for William Kittson, an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, who supervised the construction of Fort Nisqually in 1833 and served as its chief factor.

The entire island was bought by an entrepreneur in 1946 with plans to build 200 homes, but this attempt was abandoned due to the cost of a sewer system.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Ketron Island, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Washington State Ferry Olympic beached on2024Washington State Ferry Olympic beached onMV Olympic, a Washington State Ferries ship abandoned on Ketron Island, Washington since 20092024MV Olympic, a Washington State Ferries ship abandoned…Ketron Island crash site of 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident2024Ketron Island crash site of 2018 Horizon Air Q400 inc…KetronIsland2008KetronIsland
On the map

Ketron Island on the map, 1948 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ketron Island. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Ketron Island on the 1948 USGS mapKetron Island on the 1959 USGS mapKetron Island on the 1968 USGS mapKetron Island on the 1981 USGS mapKetron Island on the 1997 USGS map1948Anderson Island sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ketron Island.

Famous people

Famous people close to Ketron Island

Nobody well known was born in Ketron Island itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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Bing CrosbyAmerican singer and actor · b. 1903
Frank HerbertAmerican writer · b. 1920
Cam GigandetAmerican actor · b. 1982
Dyan CannonAmerican film and television actress, director,… · b. 1937
Richard BrautiganAmerican novelist, poet, and short story writer · b. 1935
Philip AbelsonUS physicist, editor of the journal Science, an… · b. 1913

Questions about Ketron Island’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.