Spieden Island was named by Charles Wilkes during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838-1842, to honor William Spieden, the purser of the expedition's Peacock.[2]
In the 1970's the island was used for big game hunting; game animals were imported and a hotel, airport, and small hangar built to accommodate visitors. This no longer occurs due to the risk of shots carrying across to highly populated San Juan Island.
The Island Institute, an environmental education camp run by Jane Howard, was located on the island. It is no longer in operation.[3]
The resident animal population still includes exotic animals such as Mouflon sheep from Corsica and Sika deer from Asia.[4]