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Fox Island, Washington was given its present name in 1841 by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, commander of the United States Exploring Expedition, after the expedition’s assistant surgeon, Lieutenant John Laurence Fox. Long before white settlers arrived at Fox Island in the mid-19th century, Native Americans had used the island seasonally, calling it Bu-ta-u or Bu Teu. Read more...
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The bridge to Fox Island, Washington, crosses the Hale Passage between the island and mainland at Artondale on the Kitsap Peninsula. Opened on August 28th, 1954, the 1,950-foot-long bridge replaced a ferry service across the channel and provides the only road access on to and off Fox Island, with an estimated average of 6,800 vehicles crossing daily. The bridge is Read more...
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Leavenworth, Washington, was a former logging town in decline when, in 1962, a committee of local business people and residents sought to revitalize the community by remodeling the downtown area in the style of a traditional Bavarian village, with the aim of turning around its fortunes with tourism income. While Leavenworth had no real historical connections to Germany, its location Read more...
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The American city of Vancouver, Washington, is not named after the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia. However, both cities are named after British naval officer Captain George Vancouver who led the expedition between 1791 and 1795 to chart North America’s northwestern Pacific Coast regions. The American city is older than its Canadian counterpart, having been incorporated as the city Read more...
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The Olympic pipeline explosion on June 10th, 1999, was caused by the ignition of gasoline leaking from a petroleum pipeline carrying product from the Cherry Point refinery, after it ruptured at a point where it passed through Whatcom Falls Park in Bellingham, Washington. At around 3:30 pm, a pressure build-up caused a rupture in the 16-inch-diameter steel pipeline, near the Read more...