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Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve

Ebey’s Landing is the nation’s first historical reserve, created in 1978 to protect a rural working landscape & community on Central Whidbey Island. The reserve contains 17,500 acres, 18 working farms, 400 historical structures, native prairies, two state parks, miles of shoreline, a network of trails and the second oldest town in Washington. The Reserve is managed by a 9-member Trust Board.

 
Ebey's Forever Conference Poster

Ebey's Forever Conference 2009

Join us Friday & Saturday, November 6 & 7 to experience a working rural community, protecting what is timeless while accommodating change.

The conference is held on beautiful Whidbey Island, Washington in the historic town of Coupeville. Be a part of this nationally significant cultural landscape during hands on farming and historic preservation workshops, walking tours, nationally recognized keynote speakers, homegrown and homemade foods & goods, music, a traditional pot-luck, and more.

More information: e-mail us

 
Ebey's Landing

Rural America of the Last Century

The reserve was set aside by Congress in 1978 to preserve and protect a rural community—a cultural landscape—that is a laboratory of Pacific Northwest history. Today, historic land uses continue, with the rich prairie soils still being farmed, the forests being harvested, and century-old buildings being used as homes or places of business.

 
Coupeville Cafe

Stories within a Cultural Landscape

Some of the important stories the reserve interprets to the public are those of Isaac Ebey, a person significant in early territorial government and the first European-American settler to claim land on Central Whidbey island before Washington became a state; the story of settlement under the Donation Land Claim Act between 1850 and 1855; the explorations of Captain George Vancouver in 1792; and the development and growth of the historic town of Coupeville.

 
Smith Farm

A Unique Partnership

The reserve is a non-traditional unit of the National Park system. It is the first unit of its kind in the system, with most of the land under private ownership. A unit of local government, the Trust Board of Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, is charged with management as called for in the legislation creating the Reserve. The Trust Board is a partnership of local, state and federal governments working collaboratively to ensure the historic and natural resources of the reserve are protected for future generations to enjoy and experience.

 

Write to

Reserve Manager
P.O. Box 774
162 Cemetery Road
Coupeville, WA 98239

Phone

Visitor Information
(360) 678-6084

Fax

(360) 678-2246

Climate

View current conditions and a multi-day forecast at Coupeville, Washington from the National Weather Service in Seattle.
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Cottage  

Did You Know?
Many historic summer cottages remain around Penn Cove. The picturesque character of the cove, surrounded by the beach cottages, reflects the recreational development that flourished in the early decades of the 20th century.

Last Updated: June 29, 2009 at 17:35 EST