San Juan Island National Historical Park in Washington State preserves the sites of the 1859 Pig War confrontation between the United States and Great Britain over possession of the San Juan Islands. The dispute began when an American settler shot a British-owned pig and escalated into a military standoff with both nations deploying forces on the island. The conflict was resolved through 12 years of joint military occupation and ultimately settled by international arbitration in 1872, when Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany ruled in favor of the United States. The park preserves both the American Camp and English Camp — the respective military installations — and the island's prairie, forest, and shoreline ecosystems. The park was established in 1966.
📚 Learn More at NPSHistory.com →San Juan Island NHP in WA is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: San Juan Island NHP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
San Juan Island NHP in WA preserves a piece of American history that the public has trusted the National Park Service to protect and interpret. The exhibit panels at this site have been developed over years by historians, subject-matter experts, and park staff — and are now being reviewed under Secretary's Order 3431.
Why this matters: San Juan Island NHP is part of a network of over 400 national parks that serve as America's classrooms. The interpretive materials here were developed by subject-matter experts to help visitors understand the full story of this place. When historically accurate content is removed, the public loses access to its own history.
We would like a review of the content of this sign to ensure it does not conflict with SO 3431. Full panel picture included for better context of invasive species text.
San Juan Island NHP in WA is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: San Juan Island NHP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
We would like a review of the content of this sign to ensure it does not conflict with SO 3431.
San Juan Island NHP in WA is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
Why this matters: San Juan Island NHP is one of 466+ National Park Service sites where historically accurate interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. Over 300 million people visit national parks each year. For many — especially schoolchildren — these visits are their first and deepest encounter with American history.
We would like a review of the content of this sign to ensure it does not conflict with SO 3431.
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