PORT LUDLOW — The State Committee of Geographic Names voted last week to fix a 152-year-old spelling error, referring a request to change the name of Squamish Harbor to Suquamish Harbor to the State Board of Natural Resources for a final decision.
The harbor, 6 miles south of Port Ludlow, is on the southwestern side of the Hood Canal Bridge.
The Board of Natural Resources, which also acts as the State Board on Geographic Names, next meets June 5.
The request for the name change came from Dennis Lewarch, tribal historic preservation officer for the Suquamish Indian Tribe, located in Suquamish, which is east of Poulsbo.
The current spelling of the harbor’s name was made official by the state in 1982 and confirmed by federal authorities in 1983.
Lewarch said the correct historical name is Suquamish Harbor and noted the proposed spelling is preferred by the tribe.
Jefferson County Commissioners, plus the Jefferson County Historical Society, Coast Guard Museum Northwest, Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society and the Suquamish Tribe all submitted comments in favor of the change.
The Jamestown S’Klallam, Port Gamble S’Klallam, Skokomish and Lower Elwha Klallam tribes, however, oppose the change.
No information was immediately available on why those tribes don’t favor changing the harbor’s name.
Suquamish Harbor was the name originally assigned by Capt. Charles Wilkes during the 1841 Wilkes Expedition.
“Lt. Augustus Case of the U.S. Exploring Expedition surveyed and mapped Suquamish Harbor on May 25-26, 1841, after camping at a Suquamish village in Port Ludlow and camping adjacent to a Suquamish settlement with lodges at Termination Point,” Lewarch said.
“The extensive presence of the Suquamish people on the west side of the entrance to Hood Canal led Wilkes to name the harbor south of Port Ludlow after the Suquamish,” he said.
Lewarch added that when local land surveys were conducted around 1860, the surveyors may not have had access to Wilkes’ maps, and so a colloquial spelling — Squamish — was used.
Research conducted by the Washington Board on Geographic Names suggested the first occurrence of “Squamish” was likely found in the 1855 U.S. Coast Survey.
Numerous government surveys conducted during the 1860s continued to publish the name Suquamish Harbor.
The 1886 edition of the North Pacific Ocean Directory referred to Suquamish Harbor. But the 1906 addendum omitted the extra “U.”
Two Washington place name volumes, from 1917 and 1971, list the feature as Squamish Harbor.
In 1982, the National Ocean Service, noting the discrepancy between published maps and charts and the official names database, asked the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to recognize Squamish Harbor, which had recently been approved by the State Board on Geographic Names.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
