Island Heritage

Vashon-Maury is redolent with history, much of which survives intact today in the form of local landmarks and artifacts. Memories of past times echo at every crossroads.

To hear some of those echoes with your own ears, stop in any mid-morning or mid-afternoon at Vashon Island Coffee Roasterie, current resident of the original Coffee Foundation building, at the crossroads of Vashon Highway and Cemetery Road. There you will find a group of islanders who've come to be known as The Regulars

These Regulars know island history up close and personal because they've lived it. Just give them a smile and a friendly "Hi there." They will happily invite you to grab a cup, sit down and listen for a while as they spin yarns about the history they remember. And some of their memories go pretty far back.

The "modern world" didn't make its way to Vashon quite as quickly as it did to most other places. We are proud of our history and devoted to doing two things -- sharing it and preserving it.

The National Register of Historic Places has earmarked many sites on our islands as historic landmarks to be protected from destruction and preserved for longevity. From Point Robinson Lighthouse to the Colvos Store  and many stops in between, pages of our vibrant history turn and there is a fascinating story on every one.

The sense of history is still strong here because it continues to live in local hearts and minds as vividly as in buildings and landscapes. We invite you to touch a bit of that history yourselves and to become a part of it as you do.