Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve is the nation's first historical reserve and a unique unit of the National Park Service, created after concerned residents in the 1970s opposed large-scale development that threatened to fragment Ebey's Prairie and diminish both its scenic character and its connection to the past. Established by Congress in 1978 as a partnership managed by a local Trust Board with representatives from the Town of Coupeville, Island County, Washington State Parks, and the National Park Service, it was created to preserve and protect a living rural community that provides an unbroken historical record of Puget Sound from the era of exclusive native habitation to the present. The reserve encompasses the first thorough exploration of the Puget Sound area by Captain George Vancouver in 1792, the first permanent Euro-American settlement on Whidbey Island by Isaac Neff Ebey, his contributions to the establishment of Washington Territory, and his death in 1857 during a period of Indian unrest, as well as early Euro-American settlement during the Donation Land Law years of 1850 to 1855 and after, and the growth of the historic seaport town of Coupeville, named for Captain Thomas Coupe, the first merchant seaman to establish a claim on the future town site. This preservation effort continues through partnerships between government and the private sector, and although about eighty-five percent of the 17,572-acre reserve is privately owned, collaboration preserves its rural character and the important stories held in its landscape for future generations.

Photo: William Fischer, Jr.

Coupeville, Washington · USA