The presence of Filipinos on Bainbridge Island was first documented in the 1883 census of Port Madison. Escaping the Spanish-American conflict in their homeland, these pioneers found work at the Port Blakely Mill Company. When the mill closed, many of these newly unemployed Filipinos were forced to leave Bainbridge in search of work.

A second wave of Filipino immigration came in the late 1920s. The Great Depression hit the Philippines a decade earlier than the U. S., prompting many young Filipino men to seek a better life in America. Forty-four of these young men, ages 17 to 32, came to Bainbridge. The earliest Filipinos to arrive on the island acquired land and began farming berries and vegetables.

When the Great Depression hit the United States, most Filipinos had difficulty finding work. Language, educational and cultural barriers prevented most from finding steady work in an already strained job market. Low-paying jobs were the only work offered to these Filipinos.

In response to the economic hardship they faced, many Filipinos adopted a migratory lifestyle. They worked on island berry farms in the spring and early summer. In late summer they would move north and work in the Alaskan fish canneries. Washington orchard harvests offered employment in the fall. Then, in the winter months, they would move to California and southern states seeking agricultural work.

World War II hit Bainbridge Island hard. When Presidential Executive Order 9066 uprooted the island’s 278 residents of Japanese ancestry in 1942, their Filipino farmhands stepped up to save the crops and manage the farms. Many Filipinos found work in shipyards in Winslow and Bremerton. For many, this meant financial security. For the first time in their lives they were able to put money in the bank, get married, raise a family, and put down roots in their new home.

Many Filipinos married during the war or shortly thereafter. The first Filipinos to raise families on the island married their Native American co-workers. In the 1940s, several Filipino men returned to the Philippines to claim young brides. Filipino women also immigrated to the island in search of husbands. Many of these Filipino families still live on Bainbridge today, serving as invaluable reminders of the island’s rich history.