English Camp

English Camp sits on Garrison Bay, in the northwest corner of San Juan Island, nine miles northwest of Friday Harbor. NPS says Coast Salish tribes had lived on this bay since time immemorial. When the Royal Marines landed, they described the parade ground as a shell bank — "the accumulation of Years" — about ten feet high, thirty-five to forty feet through, and 120 yards long.

They also found a Coast Salish longhouse that accommodated as many as 600 people. The British took it apart and used the wood. They chose the site because it was at the opposite end of the island from the Americans, sat on a trail to the Hudson's Bay Company's Belle Vue Sheep Farm, had room for the expected garrison, and had good water from the Roche Harbor Highlands Watershed.

Visitors can still walk the parade ground, barracks, blockhouse, commissary, and formal garden. A trail climbs Young Hill to the Royal Marines Cemetery. San Juan Island National Historical Park covers 2,141 acres in two units, English Camp and American Camp. The sources below are National Park Service pages.