Ketron Island, Washington

CDP in Washington, United States

Ketron Island, Washington

saʔilc

CDP

Country| United States
State| Washington
County| Pierce
Elevation

[1]

| 256 ft (78 m)
Population

(2010)

• Total

| 17
Time zone| UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)| UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code|

98388

Area code| 253
GNIS feature ID| 2584988[1]

Ketron Island (Lushootseed: saʔilc)[2] is an island and a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The island had a population of 24 people according to the 2000 census, and 17 people at the 2010 census.

Ketron Island is located in southern Puget Sound just off the shoreline from Steilacoom. It lies between the mainland near the city of Steilacoom and Anderson Island near the extreme south end of Puget Sound. The island has a land area of 221 acres (89 hectares).

## History

[edit]

Crash site of the 2018 Horizon Air Q400 incident

The British explorer and navigator George Vancouver camped on Ketron Island in May of 1792.[3]

The island's name in the Lushootseed language is saʔilc, meaning "bad rock".[2] 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.[4]

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.[5]

On August 10, 2018, an empty Horizon Air Q400 was stolen from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and crashed on the southern tip of Ketron Island, killing the sole occupant, Richard Russell.[6]

## Transportation

[edit]

Ketron is accessible only by ferry. The Steilacoom/Anderson Island/Ketron Island run is the only one operated by Pierce County.[7] The ferry service to Ketron is available four times per day. The ferry runs between 5:45 AM to 8:00 PM Monday through Sunday.

The ferry Steilacoom II was put into service in January 2007 to work side by side with the aging ferry Christine Anderson. The Steilacoom II still serves with the Christine Anderson to transport islanders from both Ketron and Anderson Island.

## Education

[edit]

The island is served by the Steilacoom Historical School District.[8] Steilacoom High School is the district's comprehensive high school.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ketron Island, Washington
2. ^ a b Hilbert, Vi; Miller, Jay; Zahir, Zalmai (2001). sdaʔdaʔ gʷəɬ dibəɬ ləšucid ʔacaciɬtalbixʷ - Puget Sound Geography. Original Manuscript from T.T. Waterman. Lushootseed Press. p. 324\. ISBN 979-8750945764.
3. ^ Majors, Harry M. (1975). Exploring Washington. Van Winkle Publishing Co. p. 81\. ISBN 978-0-918664-00-6.
4. ^ Phillips, James W. (1971). Washington State Place Names. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-95158-3.
5. ^ Ocker, Kenny (August 10, 2018). "Where is Ketron Island? Who lives there?". The News Tribune. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
6. ^ "Turboprop stolen from Sea-Tac has crashed on Ketron Island in Pierce County". The News Tribune. August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
7. ^ Pierce County's Ferry fleet Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ U.S. Census Bureau Geography Division (December 23, 2009). 2020 Census – School District Reference Map: Pierce County, WA (PDF) (Map). 1:80,000. U.S. Census Bureau. p. 3. Retrieved July 20, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ketron Island.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ketron Island, Washington.

47°09′25″N 122°38′05″W﻿ / ﻿47.15694°N 122.63472°W﻿ / 47.15694; -122.63472

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Pierce County, Washington, United States

County seat: Tacoma

Cities|

* Auburn‡
* Bonney Lake
* Buckley
* DuPont
* Edgewood
* Enumclaw‡
* Fife
* Fircrest
* Gig Harbor
* Lakewood
* Milton‡
* Orting
* Pacific‡
* Puyallup
* Roy
* Ruston
* Sumner
* Tacoma
* University Place

Map of Washington highlighting Pierce County

Towns|

* Carbonado
* Eatonville
* South Prairie
* Steilacoom
* Wilkeson

CDPs|

* Alder
* Alderton
* Anderson Island
* Artondale
* Ashford
* Browns Point
* Canterwood
* Clear Lake
* Clover Creek
* Crocker
* Dash Point
* Elbe
* Elk Plain
* Fife Heights
* Fort Lewis
* Fox Island
* Frederickson
* Graham
* Greenwater
* Herron Island
* Home
* Kapowsin
* Ketron Island
* Key Center
* La Grande
* Lake Tapps
* Longbranch
* Maplewood
* McChord AFB
* McKenna
* McMillin
* Midland
* North Fort Lewis
* North Puyallup
* Parkland
* Prairie Heights
* Prairie Ridge
* Purdy
* Raft Island
* Rosedale
* South Creek
* South Hill
* Spanaway
* Stansberry Lake
* Summit
* Summit View
* Tehaleh
* Vaughn
* Waller
* Wauna
* Wollochet

Other
communities|

* Burnett
* Cromwell
* Electron
* Glencove
* Lakebay
* McNeil Island
* Paradise
* Reliance

Indian reservation|

* Muckleshoot‡
* Puyallup

Military bases|

* Joint Base Lewis–McChord (Fort Lewis, McChord Field)

Ghost towns|

* Fairfax
* Hillhurst
* Melmont

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

* Washington portal
* United States portal

Authority control databases |

* VIAF

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template