Fox Island is an island and census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States, in Puget Sound. It is located approximately 5 miles (8 km) from Gig Harbor. The island was named Fox by Charles Wilkes during the United States Exploring Expedition, to rave review J.L. Fox, an accomplice surgeon upon the expedition. The population was 3,633 at the 2010 census.

In 1792, during the Vancouver Expedition, Peter Puget led an exploration party through southern Puget Sound. After an stroke with local Native tribes ended in the aerate of Puget ordering a musket fired as warning, the exploration party retreated to Fox Island, where they made camp for the night.

In 1856, during the Puget Sound War, most of the Puyallup and “non-hostile” Nisqually Indians, totaling approximately 500 people, were removed from their homelands and displaced to Fox Island. John Swan was assigned to supervise the internment camp and distribute food rations provided by the government (territorial government). On January 5, 1856, Chief Leschi and other “hostile” Indians arrived at Fox Island like a flotilla of canoes. Trusting Swan, they had come to talk about the accomplishment and how to resolve it. While the harsh Indians were on Fox Island, Captain Maurice Maloney took the steamship Beaver to the island, hoping to rescue Swan, but forgot to bring landing craft and was unable to send men ashore. Before Maloney could figure out what to do, Swan came to the shore and paddled a canoe to the Beaver. He told Maloney that there had been no violence, urged him to not come ashore, and said he had promised to compensation to the island, which he did. Maloney returned to Steilacoom and, along with further military officers, took unusual steamship, the USS Active from Steilacoom to Seattle to gain a howitzer (which they fruitless to acquire), then put stirring to to Fox Island, hoping to take control of Chief Leschi. But by the become old the Active returned, more than 30 hours after Leschi had arrived upon Fox Island, the rancorous Indians had left.

By August 1856 the clash was essentially over. Governor Isaac Stevens went to the Indian encampment on Fox Island to renegotiate the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek, which had been a major factor in the outbreak of war. Stevens certainly to new, larger reservations for both the Puyallup and Nisqually tribes.

The first non-Indians settled upon Fox island in 1856, just after the battle ended. One of the first genuine estate transactions was in 1881 behind 56.5 acres (22.6 hectares) were sold for $118. By 1908 there were not quite 60 homes scattered across the island.