English Camp: Cultural Landscape Inventory, San Juan National Historical Park, National Park Service
Gilbert C. 2004. English Camp: Cultural Landscape Inventory, San Juan National Historical Park, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 400106. NPS Pacific West Regional Office. Pacific West Regional Office/CLI Database
The English Camp cultural landscape is a site in the northwest corner of San Juan Island within the San Juan Island National Historical Park. The site is significant as the location of a British Royal Marines camp during the joint occupation of the island by British and American Troops from 1860 to 1872. Following the military occupation, the site was the location of the Crook family homestead. The Crook family lived on and farmed the land of English Camp from 1875 until it was acquired by the State of Washington in 1963. The site is situated on Garrison Bay and comprises 1,400 feet of shoreline, a broad, level bank, and the surrounding hillsides. English Camp features significant historic resources, including four buildings from the military period, the Crook family house, extensive earthworks and masonry work, twelve pear trees that date to the early Crook period, and numerous archeological sites. The site is associated with the border dispute and military standoff between the United States and Great Britain commonly known as the Pig War. English Camp is significant on the state level through its association with the Crook Family, who were significant in the history of San Juan Island. The site and its surviving features also provide rare physical evidence of a mid‑19th century British colonial military encampment. A wealth of information about the design and methods of construction of the military encampment and the day‑to‑day life of the Royal Marines has been gleaned through archeological investigations of the site. Many more resources, however, remain unexcavated, and English Camp retains the potential to yield valuable information. English camp has two periods of significance. The first, 1860 to 1872, corresponds to the British occupation of the site. The second, for its association with the Crook Family, extends from their arrival on the site in 1875 until 1963, when the family transferred ownership of the camp to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Gilbert, Cathy
- Date of Issue
- 2004-08-12
- Publisher
- NPS Pacific West Regional Office
- Units
- PWR , SAJH
- Keywords
- Agriculture, British Colonial Military Encampment, British Royal Marines, Cultural Resources, defense, Education, Engineering, Exploration, Farmer's Frontier, Fortification, historic site, Interpretive Landscape, Military Facility, Native American, Parade Ground, Pig War, San Juan Islands, Settlement, technology, Washington, Westward Expansion, William Crook
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 400106: English Camp