Exhibit Archives ~ 2008 ~ Lopez Island Historical Society & Museum

2008 Exhibit

Open Noon till 4, Wednesday through Sunday, May 3 through September 28

A century ago, Lopez was divided into three major communities: Richardson, Lopez, and Port Stanley.

Richardson: Since Lopez is the southernmost of the San Juan Islands, it is closest to the shipping lanes between Puget Sound and the Pacific. The south-end community of Richardson served these shipping, fishing and canning interests.
Lopez: Hiram Hutchinson, the first full-time white settler, helped develop what we now call Lopez Village, on Fisherman's Bay.
Port Stanley: A commercial port and small village began growing on the tide flats of Port Stanley because the north side also needed a port stop. The first white settlers tended to congregate around bays and deep-water ports, for easier transportation and communication with the other islands and the mainland.