Guided Tour: Historic San Juan County Courthouse History: Friday Harbor was chosen as the county seat when San Juan became a county in 1873. Until 1906 the affairs of the new county were conducted in various wood frame buildings on Spring Street. The last, a 2-story building at the SE corner of First and Spring Streets . In 1906, voters approved by a 10-to-1 margin a proposal for a new brick courthouse. 80,000 bricks were produced at Kimple’s Kiln at West Beach on Orcas Island, all carted by wheel barrow to the dock, tossed one-by-one to deckhands, and then shipped by barge to Friday Harbor where they were unloaded brick by brick and carted to the building site. When completed that same year for a cost of $14,000, the citizenry was pleased with the “dignity and stateliness of their new courthouse.” For the next 74 years the Courthouse proudly served the community as the focus for the county’s legal and political affairs; all the significant legal and political dramas unfolded within its walls. Many of the original interior and exterior features have been preserved; significant retrofit of the building has just been completed under the direction of the WA State Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation. San Juan County Courthouse On Second Street, between Reed and West streets Friday Harbor WA 98250 USA

* Location: San Juan County Courthouse, San Juan Island
* Contact: Marion Melville
* Phone: (360) 378-4017