Bainbridge Island, Washington

Bainbridge Island is an island in Puget Sound, and is an incorporated city located in Kitsap County, Washington. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 20,308. In July of 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine named Bainbridge Island the second-best place to live in the United States.

History

In 1841, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes visited the island while surveying the Northwest. Lt. Wilkes named the island after Commodore William Bainbridge, commander of the frigate Constitution in the War of 1812. Bainbridge Island was originally a center for the logging and shipbuilding industries. The island was known for huge and accessible cedars, which were especially in demand for ship's masts. The original county seat of Kitsap County was at Port Madison on the north end of the island. However, by the end of the 19th Century the island had been clear cut and the mills and shipyards slowly died off.

Related Topics:
Charles Wilkes - William Bainbridge - Frigate - Constitution - War of 1812 - Kitsap County - Port Madison - 19th Century

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The city of Bainbridge Island has occupied the entire island since February 28, 1991, when the former City of Winslow (around 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) of land on Eagle Harbor, incorporated August 23, 1947) annexed the rest of the island. Bainbridge Island's claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of the sport of pickleball, as well as having the distinction of sending the first Japanese-Americans to internment camps in World War II. Since the 1960s, Bainbridge Island has become a bedroom community of Seattle, a 35-minute ride away on the Washington State Ferries.

Related Topics:
February 28 - 1991 - Winslow - Eagle Harbor - August 23 - 1947 - Pickleball - Japanese-American - Internment camps - World War II - 1960s - Seattle - Washington State Ferries

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