Harper's Island is the primary setting of the television miniseries of the same name and its interactive online companion, Harper's Globe.
The Harper's Island lighthouse, overlooking Shelton's Bay.
It is an island in the Puget Sound 37 miles off the coast of Seattle.
Geography[]
Harper's Island has a land area of approximately 19 square miles, with approximately 25 miles of shoreline, most of which is steep and rocky. The island interior is densely wooded.
The highest point on the island is Shelton's Summit at 2,480 feet above sea level. Shelton's Bay on the East side of the island provides a safe harbor for commercial and recreational boats.
The island serves as a shared ecosystem for a variety of wildlife, including bald eagles, harbor seals, river otters, killer whales, frigget birds, and black-tailed deer.
History[]
Tourist Boom[]
Beginning in the latter half of the 20th century, the locus of the island's economy began to shift from fishing to tourism, with the tiny island becoming an ideal getaway spot for well-to-do tourists.
One such family, the Wellingtons, became a fixture on Harper's Island, with the real estate mogul, his wife, and their two daughters spending every summer on the island beginning in the late 1970s and continuing into the new millennium.
Tragedy Strikes[]
Main article: 2001 Wakefield Murders
Harper's Island was forever changed on October 4, 2001, when John Wakefield, a vengeful ex-convict with a grudge against the family of Sheriff Charlie Mills, came to the island and launched a campaign of terror, murdering six people and wounding four others in a day-long rampage. Victims included one of Mills's deputies (another, Cole Harkin, was badly burned when Wakefield blew up the docks at Shelton's Bay), Mills's dispatcher at the Sheriff's Station, and Mills's wife Sarah.
Wakefield was eventually shot by Mills on the Eastern Bluff, his body plummeting into the sea where, after a three day search, Mills confirmed him dead.
The Wakefield murders had an immediate effect on life on the island. Multiple families began to move away, with tourism rapidly declining as Harper's Island became synonymous in the mainstream press with the name 'John Wakefield' and all the carnage he had caused.
Points of Interest[]
- The Marina
- The Candlewick Inn
- The Cannery
- Harper's Island Clinic and Dental Center
- The Tree of Woe
- Bassett Park
Behind the Scenes[]
- Harper's Island is modeled primarily on Bowen Island, near Vancouver, British Columbia, where portions of the TV series were filmed.
Trivia[]
- Harper's Island's physical location is actually impossible in reality. Due to the irregular shape of the Puget Sound, the point 37 miles west of Seattle is part of the mainland.