Welcome to Decatur Island ...
Decatur Island is located in San Juan County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Decatur Island, you might get a feel for it by knowing that the earliest mention that we've found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.
When the people of Decatur Island refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Decaturian<2>
Decatur Island is 70 feet [21 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Decatur Island lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Decatur Island: 360 & 564<4>
Communities near Decatur Island ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Decatur Island.
- Oak Harbor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Anacortes
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Friday Harbor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- La Conner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lopez Island
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lopez
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Alexander Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Olga
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Indian Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Indian Village is located in Skagit County
- Orcas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Decatur Island. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Decatur Island.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Decatur Island. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Decatur Island.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Decatur Island. See our Newspapers Page for Decatur Island.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Decatur Island ...
Looking for more information about Decatur Island? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Decatur Island, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Decatur Island.
Adding Decatur Island to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Decatur Island in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Decatur Island was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Decatur Island.
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Washington's counties, including San Juan, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Decatur Island refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Decatur Island may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Decatur Island - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 360 code has been Overlayed with the 564 area code. New phone numbers in the Decatur Island area will be assigned with one of these codes: 360 or 564. As a result, placing a call in the Decatur Island area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |