Town file
Lopez Island, Washington
Lopez Island, Washington (San Juan County, Washington) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 495, "Turning A Husband Into Flowers" (23 May 2024). Rolf Neslund was born in Kongsberg, Norway, on 7 July 1897, though the episode notes the date may have been 1900.
- Town
- Lopez Island
- County
- San Juan County
- State
- Washington
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 495
- Approximate location
- 48.496, -122.904
Episode 495 / 23 May 2024 / 167 min / full
Turning A Husband Into Flowers
"This is Lopez Island, Washington ... San Juan County, because this is the San Juan Islands." about 0:05:02
The case: Murder of Rolf Neslund (August 1980). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 2,588
- Median age
- 59.7
- Median household income
- $67,938
- Median home value
- $795,700
- Two-bedroom rent
- $2,560
- Cost of living
- 135
- Religious
- 31%
- Property crime
- ▼ about 25% under
- Violent crime
- ▼ more than 50% under
History, in brief
- Archaeological evidence suggests people were hunting and gathering on the island about 8,000 years ago. about 0:06:11
- During the Wilkes expedition the island was named Chauncey Island after American naval commander Isaac Chauncey. about 0:06:30
- When the British reorganised the expedition's official names in 1847, many of those names were removed. about 0:06:39
- The island was renamed Lopez for Gonzalo Lopez de Haro, the Spanish naval officer who was the first European to sail to the San Juan Islands. about 0:06:50
- Europeans reached the north-west before Lewis and Clark by sailing around South America, before the Panama Canal existed. about 0:07:14
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Been twice and loved it; the island lifestyle is laid back, everyone is friendly, and there is natural beauty, tennis at the senior centre and good trails."about 0:07:43
4 stars
"Great island, but the reviewer and her sister were stung by jellyfish or stinging kelp and the ferry wait was long and boring; locals were nice."about 0:09:09
2 stars
"Disappointing and overpriced, with snooty shop owners, and the two-hour ferry wait and 45-minute ride not worth it; only the Lopez Village Market was reasonable."about 0:09:57
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Sequim, Washington30 miles
- Acme, Washington35 miles
- Port Angeles, Washington36 miles
- Freeland, Washington36 miles
- Everson, Washington38 miles
- Clearview, Washington58 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.