| The Sequim-Dungeness Valley
area is located on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula. We are about an hour and a half from the Seattle ferries, and half an hour from the ferry to Victoria, British Columbia. The town of Sequim is about 4 miles from the shore and the famous Dungeness Spit. History The area was home to the S'Klallam tribe long before the arrival of Europeans. The descendants of these Native Americans still make their home on Sequim Bay. First homesteaded in 1854, the arid valley had a good natural port and abundant seafood. No doubt early pioneers thought they'd found paradise when they discovered this low rainfall valley. They soon discovered that the same sunshine and lack of water made the area difficult to farm. In 1896, a visionary pioneer proposed to irrigate the valley using water from the Dungeness
River. The residents were organized and dug irrigation ditches by hand. These soon spread across the valley bringing life-giving water and prosperity. The town of Sequim flourished. Every year since, Sequim has honored the memory of that first surge of water delivered to the thirsty Dungeness Valley with the Irrigation Festival, the oldest continuous community festival in the state. |
