Excerpt from The History of Raft Island ...
The first written record of Raft Island
came in 1792 when English Navy Captain Peter
Puget, on his exploration of the
entire Sound south of present-day Seattle, wrote
in his
journal that he had landed on a small island off the mouth of Horsehead Bay. Later in
the late 1830's a U.S. Navy expedition under the
command of Captain Charles Wilkes
named the island Allshouse Island
after Joseph Allshouse, a crew-member of the U.S.S.
Vincennes. Allhouse's
good fortune was short-lived, however. On October 30, 1841,
after the Vincennes had completed its expedition, a storm arose
while the shop was in
San
Francisco Bay.
At 4am Allshouse was coming out of the hatchway to go on watch
duty when a
loose wooden spar pinned him to the hatch combing. It took five minutes
before the spar could be removed and although it did not appear he was
seriously
injured at first, Allshouse died of internal injuries at 7:30 am. Despite the honor given
to Allshouse by Wilkes, the
name that came to be placed on maps was Raft Island.
This name was given to the island because people thought it looked like a raft
floating
on the water right next to the mainland.
MAPS
• ISLAND ROAD MAP
• MAP OF LOT NUMBERS
ISLAND DUES AND MEETINGS
• ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP ASSOCIATION FEES• MEETING CALENDAR
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Community Services
POLICE
Pierce County serves Raft Island under their Peninsula Detachment. The Peninsula
Detachment provides law enforcement services for the
residents of the Gig Harbor
Peninsula from the Narrows Bridge to the
Kitsap County line, including the Key
Peninsula. To view the area
patrolled by detachment deputies, download the PDF
version of the Peninsula Detachment Map. The Pierce County Sheriff can be reached
by calling (253) 798-4940. For ALL EMERGENCIES dial 911.
SCHOOLS
Raft Island is served by the Peninsula School District: K-12 Voyager Elementary
School, Kopachuck Middle School and Gig Harbor High School. Peninsula Buses
pick-up and drop-off at the entrance of the Island at Kopachuck Road. For more
information on bus routes call PSD at (253) 530-1000.
POSTAL SERVICES
Mail is delivered on the Island. Mail-boxes should be placed at the street within
18 inches from the edge of the pavement. For all mail inquiries and post office
box information contact the Gig Harbor Post Office directly.
VOTER REGISTRATION
Permanent residents of Raft Island belong to the Pierce County Voting District. To
Register to Vote or request a Vote-By-Mail ballot, call (253) 798-8683.
TRANSIT SERVICES
No public transit buses serve the area at this time.
WATER
Washington Water Service Company serves Raft Island residents and maintains two
on-Island wells with individual bi-monthly billing cycles. Access customer service
24/7 by calling (877) 408-4060. An water system upgrade is planned this year.
ELECTRIC
Peninsula Light Company is member-owned and provides metered service to
Island residents. If you are interested in generators, or burying overhead lines from
the streetface to your home, contact PLC directly or call (253) 857-5950.
To report an outage call (253) 853-1388.
GAS
Puget Sound Energy provides gas service to the Island. For more information call
(888) 225-5773.
GARBAGE
Amercian DIsposal Service bills bi-monthly with refuse pick-ups on Mondays.
Recyclables and Yard Waste pick-ups alternate weekly. Call Murrey's Disposal at
(866) 740-2455 for more information.
BURN BAN
Pierce County Fire Station #55 serves Raft Island and the Rosedale Area. Contact
Pierce County to review current air quality and Burn Ban Status or to acquire a
Burn Permit for all outdoor burning at (253) 851-3111.
TELEPHONE
There are a number of telephone services available in our area. The most common
service providers are AT&T, CenturyLink.com, Qwest.com and Comcast.net.
CABLE TV
Comcast.net and DirectTV.
REAL ESTATE POSTINGS
The links below represent google-indexed real estate search sites.
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