Point Robinson is the easternmost point on

Maury Island Maury Island is a tied island in Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is connected to Vashon Island by an isthmus built by local homeowners in 1913. Before construction of the isthmus, the island was connected to Vashon only during ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, United States. It was originally a spit on

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

that was named in 1841 for John Robinson, a crewmember on the

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

led by U.S. naval officer

Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and List of explorers, explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865 ...

. The point encompasses the Point Robinson Park, a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

managed by the Vashon Park District, which has several parks on Vashon and Maury islands. The park includes a shoreline with walking trails, picnic tables, forest trails, and a parking lot. The property was acquired by the

United States Lighthouse Service The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of th ...

in 1884 for construction of a

fog signal A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. ...

station that was completed the following year. It was replaced by the Point Robinson Lighthouse in 1915 and the area was landscaped by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

in 1939, which included removal of the spit and salt marsh. A portion of the lighthouse grounds was declared as excess property by the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. G ...

in 1959 and sold to the King County Department of Parks and Recreation for development of a public park, with the exception of a lease from the U.S. Coast Guard for the lighthouse itself. The park was transferred to the Vashon Park District in August 1995; the district also took over operations of the lighthouse grounds in 1997 and opened a museum with public tours. A large wooden sculpture of a troll named "Oscar the Bird King", part of the '' Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King'' series, was unveiled in September 2023 at the park.

References

Landforms of King County, Washington Landforms of Puget Sound Peninsulas of Washington (state) {{KingCountyWA-geo-stub