The Vashon Island reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
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Vashon Island

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Vashon Island is Puget Sound's largest island south of Admiralty Inlet.

The population of Vashon Island is roughly 11,000. The island has two ferry terminals. The southern terminus of the Vashon Highway is the Tahlequah Ferry Terminal, which connects to the Point Defiance neighborhood of Tacoma. The northern terminus of the Vashon Highway is the Heights Dock at Point Vashon. This terminal services the Puget Sound ferry docks in Southworth, Fauntleroy Cove (West Seattle) and Downtown Seattle.

Vashon Island was the home of novelist Betty MacDonald and the setting of her book Onions in the Stew.

The island was named Vashon on May 28, 1792 by explorer George Vancouver after his friend James Vashon of the Royal Navy, who also explored the area in H.M.S. Alert.

At that time, Vashon Island was separate from the neighbouring Maury Island, but today the town of Portage sits on an isthmus that connects the two.


See also Vashon, Washington.