Raft Island, WA

Raft Island is a private island and census-designated place in Henderson Bay, just off the Pierce County community of Rosedale. The island's name may come from its raft-like outline, although local histories also connect it to log rafts shipped through the Sound. The Stevens brothers claimed the island in 1889; logging, farms, a recreational estate, and a Catholic youth camp followed. Today about 200 homes sit on 160 acres, linked to the mainland by a bridge and managed through the Raft Island Improvement Association. Its mail goes through Gig Harbor, giving the island a mainland address without losing its own map.