08/25/2026
Henry Cayou was an important person in San Juan County for many years. County Commissioner for twenty seven years, owner of the first fish trap built in Washington waters, and reputed to have caught over five million salmon in his lifetime, Cayou was a major figure in the Washington State fish industry.
His father was Louis Cayou, the first white settler in the Deer Harbor area, and his mother was Mary Ann, a native of Lummi and Saanich Nation descent.
His mother married his father, gave birth to Henry at the age of fourteen, and bore eight more children with him at their homestead in Deer Harbor before his father passed away. She later married Pe Ell, head fisherman of the Mitchell Bay Band of First Peoples, who Henry later credited with teaching him all he knew about salmon fishing.
Image Description: Henry Cayou as an older man; he is seated in front of a log cabin. He wears eyeglasses, a hat, and a dark jacket.
