Editing Point Roberts, Washington (section)

== History ==
[[File:Point Roberts, Washington.JPG|thumb|Point Roberts taken from the south, looking north toward [[Vancouver]]]]

The area around the southern Tsawwassen Peninsula was a favored fishing spot for several [[Coast Salish]] groups, who named the peninsula "q̓ʷulƛ̕əl̕".<ref>{{cite web |last=Dougherty |first=Phil |date=September 14, 2009 |title=Point Roberts — Thumbnail History |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/9158 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |access-date=September 4, 2020 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224182325/https://www.historylink.org/File/9158 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=sdaʔdaʔ gʷəɬ dibəɬ dxʷləšucid ʔaciɬtalbixʷ (Puget Sound Geographical names) |date=January 16, 2017 |url=https://tulaliplushootseed.com/places/ |publisher=Tulalip Tribes Lushootseed Language Department |access-date=September 4, 2020 |archive-date=April 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404195058/https://tulaliplushootseed.com/places/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The first Europeans to see Point Roberts were members of the 1791 expedition of [[Francisco de Eliza]]. The maps produced from Eliza's explorations depicted Point Roberts as "Isla de Cepeda" or "Isla de Zepeda."<ref>{{cite book |last= Hayes |first= Derek |title= Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of exploration and Discovery |year= 1999 |publisher= Sasquatch Books |isbn= 1-57061-215-3 |pages= 72}}</ref><ref>[http://w3.gsa.gov/web/p/interaia_save.nsf/cf0d4c7c0de34938852563d3004975f3/8678dd54a2b40948852565d90053a19e?OpenDocument U.S. Port of Entry/Point Roberts Border Station] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210150415/http://w3.gsa.gov/web/p/interaia_save.nsf/cf0d4c7c0de34938852563d3004975f3/8678dd54a2b40948852565d90053a19e?OpenDocument |date=February 10, 2008 }}, Historic Federal Buildings</ref> In 1792, the British expedition of [[George Vancouver]] and the Spanish expedition of [[Dionisio Alcalá Galiano]] encountered one another near Point Roberts. In the morning of June 13, 1792, the two ships under Galiano sailed into Boundary Bay and verified Point Roberts was not an island, which was thus renamed ''Punta Cepeda''. They then sailed around Point Roberts and immediately encountered [[HMS Chatham (1788)|HMS ''Chatham'']], the second ship of Vancouver's expedition. The two parties made contact and agreed to share information and work together in mapping the [[Strait of Georgia]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Kendrick |first= John |title= The Voyage of ''Sutil'' and ''Mexicana'', 1792: The last Spanish exploration of the Northwest Coast of America |year= 1990 |publisher= The Arthur H. Clark Company |location= Spokane, Washington |isbn= 0-87062-203-X |pages= 111–113}}</ref>

Point Roberts acquired its present name from George Vancouver, who named it after his friend [[Henry Roberts (Royal Navy officer)|Henry Roberts]], who had originally been given command of the expedition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9158 |title=Point Roberts—Thumbnail History |publisher=[[HistoryLink]] |author=Dougherty, Phil |date=September 15, 2009 |access-date=July 26, 2010 |archive-date=August 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819201848/http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9158 |url-status=live }}</ref> Point Roberts assumed its present political status in 1846, when the [[Oregon Treaty]] extended the [[49th parallel north|49th parallel]] as the boundary between U.S. and British territory from the [[Rocky Mountains]] to [[Georgia Strait]].

=== Treaty history specific to Point Roberts ===
After years of joint occupation of the disputed area between [[Mexican California]] and Russian America (now [[Alaska]]) known as the [[Oregon Country]] to the Americans, and as the [[Columbia District]] to the British, American expansionists like U.S. Senator [[Edward A. Hannegan]] of Indiana urged [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[James K. Polk]] to annex the entire Oregon Country up to latitude [[Parallel 54°40′ north|54°40′N]], as the Democrats had been elected on the slogan "[[Fifty-Four Forty or Fight]]".

While his government asserted that the title of the United States of America to the entire territory was unquestionable even though there was only one U.S. resident (a former Briton) north of the Columbia basin, Polk and Secretary of State [[James Buchanan]] made an offer of a boundary at 49 degrees with the line straight across [[Vancouver Island]], with no commercial privilege to be granted to the British south of the line, with the exception of free ports on Vancouver Island. The British rejected the offer and the U.S. soon withdrew it.

On April 18, 1846, notice was forwarded to London that the [[U.S. Congress]] had adopted a joint resolution abrogating the [[Treaty of 1818]] which provided for joint occupancy.

The British emissary, [[Richard Pakenham]], had been advised that the last concession he could expect of the United States was to bend the boundary at the 49th parallel around the southern end of Vancouver Island. [[Fort Victoria (British Columbia)|Fort Victoria]] was viewed as the future center for settlements on the island. It was deemed necessary around this point in time to give up territory on the [[Lower Mainland]] to keep Vancouver Island part of [[British North America]].

[[George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen|Lord Aberdeen]], British [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]], proposed a treaty making the 49th parallel the boundary to the sea, giving the UK the whole of Vancouver Island. The [[Oregon Treaty|Treaty of Oregon]] was concluded on June 15, 1846.

The acceptance of the 49th parallel as the international boundary was concluded without precise knowledge of its effects. Later, as the Boundary Commission surveyed the line, the British government realized the peninsula of Point Roberts would be an isolated part of the United States. The [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office|British Foreign Office]] instructed [[James Charles Prevost|Captain James Prevost]], the British Boundary Commissioner, to inform his U.S. counterpart of the situation and request Point Roberts be left to Britain, because of the great inconvenience it would be to the United States. If the American Boundary Commission was reluctant, Prevost was instructed to offer "some equivalent compensation by a slight alteration of the Line of Boundary on the Mainland". It is not known how the U.S. commissioner responded, but Point Roberts remained part of the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last= Hayes |first= Derek |title= Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of exploration and Discovery |year= 1999 |publisher= Sasquatch Books |isbn= 1-57061-215-3 |pages= 161}}</ref>
<gallery widths="150px" class="center">
File:US-border-notice.jpg|Notice at the international boundary between Canada and the United States in Point Roberts
File:Warning sign at Point Roberts.jpg|Boundary post in Point Roberts, Washington at the boundary between U.S. and Canada; photo taken at English Bluff Road, Delta facing Marine Drive, Point Roberts
File:Boundary Marker No.1 Point Roberts.JPG|Boundary Marker No.1 on the [[49th parallel north]] on the western shore of Point Roberts, erected in 1861
</gallery>

===Relationship with Canada===
During the [[Fraser Canyon Gold Rush|1858 Fraser gold rush]], prospectors from Victoria, BC who were attempting to avoid tax collection briefly settled Point Roberts. Their settlement was called Robert's Town and consisted of six wooden buildings, including a store and saloon, but lasted less than a year.<ref>{{Cite book |last = Murray |first= Anne |title= Tracing Our Past |year= 2008 |publisher= Nature Guides BC |isbn= 978-0-9780088-2-6 |pages= 87}}</ref>

In 1949, there was talk about Point Roberts seceding from the U.S. and joining Canada. A regional development plan for the Lower Mainland presented in 1952 suggested turning Point Roberts into an [[international park]] or leasing it for [[99-year lease|99 or 999 years]].<ref>{{cite news |date=March 1, 1952 |title=New Bridges Across Fraser, Express Routes To U.S. Urged |page=40 |work=The Province |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50412309/new-bridges-across-fraser-express/ |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=June 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615003334/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50412309/new-bridges-across-fraser-express/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1973, a drought that caused the wells to run dry created tensions between Point Roberts's U.S. and Canadian residents. The Americans threatened to cut off the Canadian residents' water supply — and hung up signs saying "Canadians Go Home" — unless the Canadian municipality of Delta agreed to provide water. An agreement signed on August 28, 1987, requires the Point Roberts Water District to purchase raw water on an annual basis from the Greater Vancouver Water District.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pointrobertswaterdistrict.com/|title=Point Roberts Water District #4 &#124; Point Roberts WA|website=www.pointrobertswaterdistrict.com|access-date=July 29, 2022|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224195956/http://www.pointrobertswaterdistrict.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> Delta Fire Department also [[Mutual aid (emergency services)|provides assistance]] to the Point Roberts volunteer fire department when requested. Until 1988, BC Tel (now [[Telus Communications]]) provided telephone service; the sole exchange prefix of 945, officially part of area code 206, could also be dialed through area code 604 during the period of BC Tel ownership.<ref name="pointbob">{{Cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=b887d3f8-2eb5-4886-b42a-b056ed05b509|title='Point Bob' part of the family|date=November 9, 2008|newspaper=[[The Vancouver Province]]|author=Staff|access-date=January 30, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105113833/http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=b887d3f8-2eb5-4886-b42a-b056ed05b509|archive-date=November 5, 2012}}</ref>

After the [[September 11 attacks]] of 2001, security at border crossings—including Point Roberts—was increased, leading to long delays for residents.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gilmore |first=Susan |date=October 3, 2001 |title=U.S. town finds border access intolerable |page=B1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The Canadian border was closed to non-essential travel in March 2020 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], which had been worsening in both countries but especially in the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last=Judd |first=Ron |date=March 18, 2020 |title=Confusion, uncertainty as officials announce U.S.-Canada border restrictions to slow coronavirus |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/confusion-uncertainty-as-officials-announce-u-s-canada-border-restrictions-to-slow-coronavirus/ |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=March 18, 2020 |archive-date=March 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319052730/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/confusion-uncertainty-as-officials-announce-u-s-canada-border-restrictions-to-slow-coronavirus/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fremson |first=Ruth |date=September 1, 2020 |title='I Am Stuck Until That Border Opens': Marooned in Paradise |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/us/coronavirus-point-roberts-washington-canada.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 3, 2020 |archive-date=September 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903030203/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/us/coronavirus-point-roberts-washington-canada.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, a study found that Point Roberts had lost 80 percent of its business and hundreds of seasonal residents as a result of the pandemic and border shutdown. The area, described as a "[[ghost town]]" by the local chamber of commerce director, had no confirmed cases of COVID-19 {{as of|September 2020|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ballard |first=Joel |date=September 27, 2020 |title=The birth of a ghost town: Point Roberts has lost 80% of its business, hundreds of its residents |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/point-roberts-covid-1.5740806 |work=[[CBC News]] |access-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927165603/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/point-roberts-covid-1.5740806 |url-status=live }}</ref> A temporary ferry was set up by the Port of Bellingham in August 2020 to connect Point Roberts to the mainland, initially to Blaine and later to Bellingham.<ref name="Herald-Ferry20"/> The Canadian government waived its mandatory COVID testing requirements for Point Roberts residents in February 2021, following negotiations with Washington state.<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Sullivan |first=Joseph |date=February 17, 2021 |title=Inslee: Canada won't require coronavirus testing for residents of Point Roberts |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/inslee-canada-wont-require-covid-19-testing-for-residents-of-point-roberts-wash/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=February 18, 2021 |archive-date=February 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218031423/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/inslee-canada-wont-require-covid-19-testing-for-residents-of-point-roberts-wash/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The border was fully reopened for non-essential travel in August 2021 and the ferry service ceased the same month.<ref name="Herald-Ferry21">{{cite news |last=Gallagher |first=Dave |date=July 22, 2021 |title=With Canada reopening its border, the Port of Bellingham is ending this service |url=https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/coronavirus/article252951728.html |work=The Bellingham Herald |accessdate=September 22, 2022}}</ref>

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Point Roberts was acclaimed as the "safest place" for avoiding [[COVID-19|coronavirus]] due to its isolation from the mainland United States and Canada and very low case numbers.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 17, 2020 |title=Point Roberts among 'safest places on earth' |language=en-US |website=[[Global News]] |url=https://globalnews.ca/video/6836491/point-roberts-among-safest-places-on-earth/ |access-date=December 21, 2022 |archive-date=December 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204015050/https://globalnews.ca/video/6836491/point-roberts-among-safest-places-on-earth/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Ted |date=April 18, 2020 |title=Point Roberts gets international acclaim as 'safest place' in U.S. during pandemic |language=en |website=[[Delta Optimist]] |url=https://www.delta-optimist.com/local-news/point-roberts-gets-international-acclaim-as-safest-place-in-us-during-pandemic-3121193 |access-date=December 21, 2022}}</ref> Because of limited access to the rest of Whatcom County and border closures into Canada, the case numbers remained very low.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Golden |first=Hallie |date=April 16, 2020 |title='The safest place': how one isolated US town is keeping coronavirus at bay |language=en |website=[[The Guardian]] |url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/16/coronavirus-point-roberts-geography |access-date=December 21, 2022}}</ref> The City of Delta installed a [[chain-link fence]] at the end of English Bluff Road in 2025 to deter accidental crossings after an elderly man walked into Point Roberts. The fence was poorly received by local residents and at least one Delta councilmember demanded its removal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vikander |first=Tessa |date=January 23, 2025 |title=Council, locals unhappy after police in Delta, B.C., order new chain-link fence along stretch of U.S. border |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/delta-police-us-border-fence-1.7439078 |work=CBC News |accessdate=January 25, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Judd |first1=Amy |last2=Palma |first2=Jennifer |date=January 22, 2025 |title='What the heck is going on?' Why this B.C. community put up border fence with U.S. |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/10973171/bc-community-border-fence-us/ |work=Global News |accessdate=January 25, 2025 |archive-date=January 25, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250125000703/https://globalnews.ca/news/10973171/bc-community-border-fence-us/ |url-status=live }}</ref>