Sinclair Island

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Populated seasonally (and occasionally year-round), there was a small town called Urban with a small school in the 1940's. There are two airstrips, though they are rarely used.

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"Sinclair Island was named by the Wilkes Expedition of 1841 for Arthur Sinclair, a U.S. naval captain during the war of 1812. This mostly private island is just north of Cypress Island on the outer edge of the San Juan Islands. Like Cypress Island, Sinclair is part of the San Juan Islands, but not in San Juan County. There is a county dock on the southwest end of Sinclair along with a small village called “Urban”. Two thirds of a mile from Urban, on Sinclair’s dirt roads, is the Sinclair Island Natural Wildlife Area, encompassing 35 acres with beachfront. Combining the beachfront with interior roads, you can spend quiet hours walking within public lands.

A large portion of Sinclair was once owned by a man and wife with the last name of Kelly. (He actually kept the property in his wife’s name for devious purposes). Kelly was a notorious smuggler of various interests including Chinese people and opium. His property on the northwest shore allowed him expansive views helping him keep an eye on customs vessels."