Book excerpt: Vashon-Maury Island lies between Seattle and Tacoma and is connected to the mainland by the Washington State Ferries. The bridge proposed in the 1950s and 1960s did not materialize, which helped retain the island's isolation and rural lifestyle. Like other Puget Sound islands, its original economy was based on logging, fishing, brick-making, and agriculture, especially its strawberries. Island industries included the largest dry dock on the West Coast, shipbuilding, and ski manufacturing. Distinct from the other islands, Vashon-Maury is the only one whose major town is not on the water. Originally inhabited for thousands of years by the S'Homamish people, the island's first white settler arrived in 1865. Today, 145 years later, the population is more than 11,000.