Whidbey Island
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Whidbey Island (historical spelling Whidby) is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington State, in the United States. Whidbey is located about 30 miles (50 km) north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington. The island forms the northern boundary of Puget Sound.
Whidbey Island is home to 58,211 residents (according to the 2000 census)[1], also known as Whidbey Islanders. An estimated 29,000 of Whidbey Islanders live in rural locations.
Whidbey Island is between 36 miles (58 km) and 62 miles (100 km) long (from the extreme north to extreme south, depending on the source of the measurement), and 1.5 to 12 miles (2 to 18 km) wide, with 168.67 mi² (436.85 km²), making it the 40th largest island in the United States. It is ranked as the fifth longest and fifth largest island in the contiguous United States, behind Padre Island, Texas (the world's longest barrier island); Long Island; and Isle Royale, Michigan. In Washington, it is the largest island, followed by Bainbridge Island.
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[edit] History
Whidbey Island was once inhabited by members of the Lower Skagit, Swinomish, Suquamish, Snohomish and other Native American tribes. The first known European sighting of Whidbey Island was during the 1790 Spanish expedition of Manuel Quimper and Gonzalo López de Haro on the Princesa Real.[2] The island was fully explored in 1792 by Captain George Vancouver. In May of that year, Joseph Whidbey along with Peter Puget began to map and explore the areas of Puget Sound. Whidbey circumnavigated Whidbey Island in June, and Vancouver named it after him.
The first known overnight stay on Whidbey Island by a non native American was by Catholic missionary, while traveling across Puget Sound, on 26 May 1840.
Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, commander of the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842, sailed the USS Vincennes into Penn Cove in 1841. There he found the largest Indian settlement of Puget Sound[citation needed] and noted that a mission had been started with a two acre fenced garden. Wilkes named the lower cove Holmes Harbor, after his assistant surgeon, Silas Holmes.
In 1850, Colonel Isaac N. Ebey became the first permanent settler on Whidbey Island, claiming a square mile (2.6 km²) of prairie with a southern shoreline on Admiralty Inlet. Even though he was farming potatoes and wheat on his land, he was also the postmaster for Port Townsend, Washington and rowed a boat daily across the inlet in order to work at the post office there. On August 11, 1857, Colonel Ebey was murdered and beheaded by Haida Indians who travelled from the Queen Charlotte Islands. Ebey was 39 years old. Ebey was slain in retaliation for the killing of a Haida chief at Port Gamble. Fort Ebey was established in 1942 on the west side of the central part of the island, just northwest of Coupeville. The fort was named Ebey's Landing, in honor of Colonel Ebey. The house that Ebey lived in with his family still stands, near the beachfront.
Admiralty Head Lighthouse is located in this area, on the grounds of Fort Casey State Park. The area around Coupeville is the federally protected Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, named in honor of Isaac Ebey.
In 1984, the island was the site of a violent encounter between law enforcement and white nationalist and organized crime leader Robert Jay Mathews.
[edit] Government
Whidbey Island, along with Camano Island, Ben Ure Island and six uninhabited islands, comprises Island County, Washington. The county seat is located in the town of Coupeville on Whidbey Island.
Population centers of Whidbey Island include the City of Oak Harbor, the Town of Coupeville, the City of Langley, the Village of Freeland, the Community of Greenbank, the Village of Clinton and the Community of Bayview. Only Oak Harbor, Coupeville and Langley are incorporated.
[edit] Economy
Whidbey Island is divided economically into two different regions: the northern end of the island (encompassing Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island Naval Air Station), and the remainder of the island (encompassing Coupeville, Langley, Freeland, Greenbank, Clinton and the smaller communities in-between).
The economy of the northern end of Whidbey Island is strongly influenced by the presence of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station near Oak Harbor (N.A.S. Whidbey). N.A.S. Whidbey is Oak Harbor’s largest employer; thus, Oak Harbor has a predominately service based economy and several national chain stores have been attracted to the Oak Harbor area.
The economy of Whidbey Island south of Oak Harbor relies heavily on tourism related commerce and, to some degree, on small-scale agriculture. Tourism is especially important for the towns of Coupeville and Langley while Penn Cove Mussel Farm exports large quantities of its highly renowned Penn Cove Mussels. This aquaculture facility, along with a number of small farms, reflects the rural agricultural nature of most of central Whidbey Island.
The southern end of Whidbey Island serves as a minor bedroom community for the nearby cities of Everett, where the Paine Field Boeing plant is located, and Seattle. Commuters to and from those areas use the Washington State Ferries system's run between Clinton and Mukilteo.
[edit] Parks and Reserve Areas
Whidbey Island contains Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, the first national historic reserve in the US created by the National Park Service to preserve the rural history and culture of the island and to protect the area's rare and sensitive plants.
Washington State Parks located on the island include Deception Pass State Park (the most visited state park in Washington), Joseph Whidbey State Park, Fort Ebey State Park, Fort Casey State Park, and South Whidbey State Park.
[edit] Festivals
Whidbey Island hosts many festivals and celebrations throughout the year.
- Island County Fair, which takes place the third weekend of August, includes rides, food, and animal shows.
- Whidbey Island Kite Festival, in September
- Langley's Mystery Weekend in March or February. For the weekend the Town of Langley turns into the setting of a fictional murder mystery.
- Penn Cove Mussel Festival, which takes place in March, celebrates the bounty of the sea, especially the mussel.
- Loganberry Festival at the Greenbank Farm in July
- Maxwelton Beach Fourth of July Parade and fireworks show, which takes place at the southern end of Maxwelton Beach Road at Dave Mackie Park. After the parade, there are events for all ages, including three-legged races, divided into age groups, and the most popular event, the egg toss.
- Choochokam is the annual street fair and arts festival, held in downtown Langley during the second weekend of July, detailed schedules and other information is generally available on the festival website.
- Tour de Whidbey, in September, is a bike race spanning the length of Whidbey Island.
- April 13-14, 2008: Nature's Path Whidbey Island Marathon, a half and full marathon featuring Melanie McQuaid, an 3 time Xterra Championship and Dean Karnazes, Ultra marathon Man and Time Magazine's one of 100 Most Influential People. [1]
[edit] Climate, vegetation, and animal life
Whidbey Island lies partially in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountain Range to the west, and has a variety of climate zones. This can be observed by rainfall amounts - wettest in the south with average rainfall of 30 inches (760 mm), driest in the central district of Coupeville with average rainfall of 18 to 20 inches (460 to 510 mm), and turning moister again farther north with average rainfall of 26 inches (660 mm). Microclimates abound, determined by proximity to water, elevation and prevailing winds. Additional variation comes from soil type. The sandy clay and gravely soils of the southern end of the island give way to soils composed of mostly rock at the northern end of the island.
Vegetation varies greatly from one end of the island to the other. Vegetation in the south is more similar to that of mainland Washington. The principal trees are douglas-firs, red alders, bigleaf maples, western redcedar, and western hemlocks with the exception of Vine maples that are notably absent, except where they have been planted. Other under-story plants include the Evergreen Huckleberry, lower longleaf Oregon-grape, red elderberries, salal, oceanspray, and nettles. Non-native introduced plants such as foxgloves, ivies and hollies are also evident.
Farther up the island, however, the shorter Oregon-grape and the blue Evergreen Huckleberry is seen less, while tall Oregon-grape and Red Huckleberry predominate. The native Pacific rhododendron is much more visible. Garry oaks (from which Oak Harbor takes its name) become quite common deciduous trees. Pacific madrone are also notably present. Grand firs are seen more often. Sitka spruces and shore pines also increase in the conifer mix. There are three open prairie areas on Whidbey Island: Smith, Crockett and Ebey's Prairie. Interestingly, some patches of Prickly-Pear cactus are found along the slopes near Partridge Point.
Gray whales migrate between Whidbey and Camano Islands during March and April of each year and can be seen from both ship or shore.[citation needed]
[edit] Education
[edit] Public School Districts
Whidbey Island is served by three public school districts.
Oak Harbor School District operates in Oak Harbor. Within the district, there is one High School, one Alternative High School, two Middle Schools, and five Elementary Schools.
Coupeville School District operates in Coupeville, Washington and Greenbank, Washington. Within the district, there is one Junior/Senior High School and one Elementary School.
South Whidbey School District serves the southern end of the island, including Freeland, Clinton, Bayview, and Langley. Within the district, there is one High School (9-12), one Alternative High School (9-12), one Middle School (6-8), one Intermediate School (3-5), and one Primary School (K-2), and the Whidbey Island Academy (K-12).
[edit] Colleges
Skagit Valley College has a campus located in Oak Harbor, and a limited service campus in South Whidbey.
Seattle Pacific University owns Camp Casey, a retreat center near Coupeville, which was once the barracks for the adjacent Fort Casey.
[edit] Infrastructure
[edit] Transportation
The only bridge that connects Whidbey Island is reached via State Route 20 over the Deception Pass Bridge on the north end of the island. Ferry service is available via State Route 20 on the Keystone to Port Townsend ferry, and via State Route 525 on the Clinton to Mukilteo ferry service on the southern east coast.
Travel on the island involves use of an extensive county road system, or city infrastructure depending on location, all of which act as feeders to the two state highways State Route 525 and State Route 20.
Whidbey Island's State Routes 525/20 is the only nationally designated Scenic Byway on an island. It is appropriately named the "Whidbey Island Scenic Isle Way."
Public transportation is provided by Island Transit, which provides a zero-fare bus service paid for by a 6/10th of 1% sales tax within the county. There are currently 10 bus routes serving Whidbey Island. Limited service is available on Saturdays (only 4 routes), and buses do not run on Sunday or major holidays.
Two public airports provide service to Whidbey Island. Whidbey Air Park is located 2 miles (3 km) southwest of Langley with a 2470 ft. (753 m) long runway. Oak Harbor Airpark is located 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Oak Harbor with a 3265 ft. (995 m) long runway. In addition, there are approximately half dozen private dirt strips on the island. Kenmore Air Express restarted scheduled airline service to Whidbey Island in 2006, serving the Oak Harbor airport. Kenmore Air Express offers daily scheduled airline service to Seattle and free connections to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The United States Navy operates two airports on Whidbey Island. The largest is a two-runway airport located at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station north of Oak Harbor. In addition, the Navy also operates a flight training facility named Coupeville Outlying Landing Field (Coupeville OLF) located just southeast of Coupeville. The Navy named USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41) in honor of the island.
[edit] Health systems
Whidbey General Hospital is the regional, county-run hospital. Located in Coupeville, the hospital has extension clinics in both Clinton and Oak Harbor. The Naval Air Station in Oak Harbor has a limited service hospital for military personnel, veteran retirees and their dependents only.
[edit] Communities
North to South:
- Deception Pass
- Oak Harbor
- West Beach
- San De Fuca
- Coupeville - County Seat
- Keystone
- Admiral's Cove
- Lagoon Point
- Greenbank
- Langley
- Freeland
- Bayview (Not to be confused with Bay View in Skagit County)
- Clinton
- Maxwelton
- Glendale
[edit] Writers and artists
- Steve Raymond, a former Seattle news reporter and author of many books on fishing in the Pacific Northwest. Among his many books is Steelhead Country. Raymond was also former editor of Fly-Fisher Magazine.
- Juliet Winters Carpenter, prize winning translator of Japanese literature and author.
- Carolyn Joyce Carty author, artist lived on Whidbey Island for many years. Carolyn wrote many of her memoirs while being a resident of the great island.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Island County, Washington and its subdivisions United States Census Bureau
- ^ Hayes, Derek (1999). Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of exploration and Discovery. Sasquatch Books, pp. 70-71. ISBN 1-57061-215-3.
[edit] External links
- Central Whidbey Island Chamber of Commerce
- Island County Government Website
- Island Transit
- University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Oliver S. Van Olinda Photog raphs A collection of 420 photographs depicting life on Vashon Island, Whidbey Island, Seattle and other communities of Washington State's Puget Sound from the 1880s to the 1930s.
- USGS GNIS: Whidbey Island
