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Welcome to Anderson Island! Five miles long and three and one half miles wide, Anderson Island is densely wooded with two freshwater lakes, a 9 hole golf course, and copious amounts of old world charm. Take a step back in time, stroll the tree lined lanes, watch the eagles soar, and reflect and remember how good life can be. |
While the island has an active community center, the Island General Store is an unofficial meeting hall and town crier. It's the community's lifeline for which owner John Gillette is revered. This is where gas is pumped, letters are mailed from the post office, and a deli provides home cooked food. Next door are Island Nursery and Landscaping, Foxglove Hair and Nail Salon, and an espresso shop. For newcomers, the general store sells a handy map pointing out key attractions and serves as an unofficial information center. For the nature inclined, Anderson Island is an ideal vacation getaway to include a bald eagle sanctuary on the Island. On occasion, adult eagles swoop low over the water and drop food, which a young bird following is expected to retrieve. When a young bird fails the practice run, adults deliver shrill scoldings. For a half century, Hazel Heckman watched from her front window as the Anderson Island ferry approached and departed Yoman Dock. In 1967, Heckman wrote a witty, gentle memoir of her adopted home called 'Island in the Sound.' She was always eager to share the island's serenity and quirkiness, but believed newcomers should respect the bucolic lifestyle and sense of community that attracted them in the first place. The small wooded island, encircled by 14 miles of beach front, is unique for its two freshwater lakes. According to Heckman, the island resembles a Picasso painting, with Lake Florence the eye and Lake Josephine a tear. For recreation, island kids favor the Ol' Swimmin' Hole, a small park on the north of Lake Florence. The island also is popular for bicycling, boating, kayaking, canoeing, though its shoreline is mostly private and not easily accessible. Once logged, the island now is again abundantly forested with hemlock, fir, yew, maple, oak and alder. For years, it was known as a spot to pick huckleberries and find chantrelle mushrooms. To the north, boats sometimes anchor near Eagle Island State Park, where islanders once rowed nightly to light buoy lanterns that warned passing ships. The town's namesake, Alexander Caulfield Anderson, headed the Hudson's Bay Co. post at Fort Nisqually back in 1841, when the region wavered between becoming Canadian or American. Charles Wilkes, commander of the U.S. Exploring Expedition that sailed into Puget Sound that year, named the two islands in the vicinity for Anderson and Henry McNeil, captain of the Hudson's Bay steamer the Beaver. Mt. St. Helens, volcanically active, with a number of visitor centers, and Mt. Rainier with Paradise Lodge and its visitor center, are only two hours away. Steilacoom, Washington  Founded in 1851 by Lafayette Balch, Steilacoom quickly became one of the busiest frontier seaports on Puget Sound. In 1854, it became the first incorporated town in the Washington Territory. The town boasts many "firsts" -- territorial jail, library, Protestant church, brick building, and school district. Its Catholic Mission has been in continual use since 1867.
Today, the Bair Drug store still stands as a 'living museum,' though it was built in the last century. You can still get a soda at its original, old fashioned soda fountain. Waterfront restaurants offer panoramic views and good food. The Town of Steilacoom also, boasts a Tribal Museum, Steilacoom Historical Museum, and other restaurants and pubs to please most any palette. The area is very popular for its stunning waterfront vistas and beautiful sunsets. For more in depth information on Steilacoom, please visit the Town of Steilacoom website. Tacoma, Washington  Tacoma, only one half hour from Steilacoom, is known as the 'City of Destiny' and is filled with culture and entertainment. Downtown Tacoma is the proud location of the historic Union Station, totally renovated and converted to a museum for the glass artwork of Dale Chihuly. Live entertainment abounds at the Pantages and Rialto theatres - recently restored to their past elegance.
The City of Tacoma boasts a new Art Museum, the only Museum of Glass in the country, Washington State History Museum, Commencement Art Gallery, Children's Museum of Tacoma, Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Snake Lake Nature Center, and a wonderful view from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge which is among the top 5 suspension bridges in the country. For more information on Tacoma, please visit the City of Tacoma website. Seattle, Washington  An hour away, 'The Emerald City' and is the hub of Western Washington. Famous for the Space Needle, Microsoft, Pike's Place Market, Pioneer Square, Seattle Aquarium, Pacific Science Center... World class symphony, opera, ballet, first rate museums... Broadway Hits at the restored 5th Avenue Theater... not to mention the world-famous espresso.
Seattle is proud to be the home of the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Mariners, and the Seattle Supersonics! This modern city also, boasts the popular and large Woodland Park Zoo. There is something for everyone in this large, bustling city. For more information about Seattle, please visit Seattle Visitor Information Center Kathy (Toomey Isacson) Brock The Dell P.O. Box 88610 Steilacoom, WA 98388-0610 Phone: 253-884-2990 Fax: 253-884-2995 Main Page Gallery Inquiries Anderson Island Town of Steilacoom website maintenance by NetSolutions Northwest |
