Lummi Island Historical Society

History Timeline

 
Data is taken from all of the Digital Archive and other sources.
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Marpole culture
circa 600 BCE

First evidence of the development of the Marpole culture in the San Juan Islands: The Marpole culture was a land-based hunting people with little evidence of a marine economy. Their artifacts were characterized by rude chipped stone points and implements with some use of deer antlers but few bone points.…
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Salishean culture
circa 400 CE

The Marpole culture had died out, and the beginning of the Salishean culture is found. It was primarily a marine-based culture with a fine development of fishing artifacts using bone points and bone with antler tools — practically identical to the recent Salishean culture.

Salish people
circa 1300 CE

By the fourteenth century, the Salish people had expanded through all the islands, and had grown to a large and extensive race.

the Nuh-Lummis
circa 1700 CE

By the eighteenth century, the ethnic group known as the Nuh-Lummis had spread all over the north Puget Sound country and included the Lummi Tribe of the northern San Juan Islands, the Samish occupying Samish Island and southern San Juan and Lopez Islands, the Semiahmoo at Blaine, the Nooksacks on…
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Sa nam a o | Skallaham
circa 1700-1852 CE

The island was originally called Sa nam a o (“High Mountain”) and Skallaham by the native Lummi people. This name came from the native inhabitants, now referred to as the Lummi People.  Another name used by these people was “Skallaham” whos’ meaning has been lost with history.

Oregon Territory
1848/08/14

When established, the territory encompassed an area that included the current states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as parts of Wyoming and Montana. The capital of the territory was first Oregon City, then Salem, followed briefly by Corvallis, then back to Salem, which became the state capital upon…
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Lummi Island
1853

It was the Spanish explorers Dionisio Galiano and Cayetano Valdez who called the island “Isla de Pachecco”. U.S. Naval Lieutenant Charles Wilkes renamed the island McLoughlin’s Island. It was finally in 1853 that Lummi Island got its current name in honor of the islands original inhabitants.

Washington Territory created
1853/03/02

It was created from the portion of the Oregon Territory north of the lower Columbia River and north of the 46th parallel east of the Columbia. At its largest extent, it also included the entirety of modern Idaho and parts of Montana and Wyoming.

Point Elliott Treaty
1855/01/22

The treaty established the Suquamish Port Madison, Tulalip, Swin-a-mish (Swinomish), and Lummi reservations.

Washington final boundaries
1863/03/04

Idaho Splits from Washington