Gig Harbor

Gig Harbor, located in southern Puget Sound, received its name from the Wilkes Expedition in 1841. History indicates that the captain's gig led the expedition into this small harbor during a storm that came up quite suddenly, hence the name, Gig. Following the Native Americans, the early settlers were fishermen, farmers, boatbuilders, and lumbermen. Gig Harbor was dependent mostly upon land and water travel until 1940, when the first Narrows Bridge was built; however, it collapsed in less t...