Colonial Tavern Night

Historic Whidbey celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with a Colonial Tavern Night fundraiser.

Celebrate the nation's Semiquincentennial (250th!) like the Patriots did! Enjoy an evening of traditional colonial drinks, desserts, music and games. Cost is $50 per person, which includes one spirited libation (additional drinks available to purchase). Proceeds support the rehabilitation of the 1866 Haller House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (street parking only)

Doors open at 6:45pm. 21+

For more info contact Historic Whidbey at historicwhidbey@comcast.net

Coupeville goes Colonial for American 250!

Get your Yankee Doodle Dandy on!

Join Coupeville in Commemorating
the 250th Anniversary of American Independence - 
Family Fun for everyone!

We had a fun day of living history and cannons fired!

Hosted by Historic Whidbey and the Coupeville Chamber of Commerce
Sponsored by the Town of Coupeville, the Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association, Kingfisher Bookstore, Kingfisher Arts & Letters, Windermere Real Estate, Coupeville Chamber Foundation and Historic Whidbey.

Check back for more fun events surrounding America’s 250th birthday!

America 250 Planning Session

The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the document that engraved our highest aspirations into the American ethos. Even here in the Far-flung Corner of the Nation, we can commemorate and rededicate ourselves to realizing the nation's founding ideals.  Yes, even in Coupeville we aspire to, “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”.

COUPEVILLE IS PLANNING!!

A radical cabal is forming to plan public events to take place in our community throughout the SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL season, including the COUPEVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, Historic Whidbey, the Island County Historical Society, and the Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association -SO FAR.. .  

Would you like to be involved in Planning?

ALL ARE WELCOME!!

LET'S PLAN A SEASON FOR WHIDBEY TO REMEMBER!

Let there be light!

An amazing step came this past week as our electrician started wiring in our numerous lights throughout the house. It is truly awe inspiring to see indoor light return to this home for the first time in years!

This fixture came from a local antique store. It is a repurposed oil fixture that has be converted to electric light. It is said to come from one of the historic homes here in Coupeville. It’s wonderful to be able to show off everyday history.

We are now working to finish the rest of the lighting and hook up our subfloor heating system.

Rare Tour Inside Two Central Whidbey Log Homes

We thank the owners for letting us in for a rare look into their historic homes.

Attendees got a rare intimate look inside these Swift family homes and were able to hear the Swift family’s tales of Whidbey and the Sea.

Fullington House

Architectural Landmarks

These private log homes are both living architectural artifacts and treasure troves of Washington’s narrative history.  Both are landmarks in the Central Whidbey Island National Historic District, and the Fairhaven may be the oldest continually occupied residence in the state of Washington.  Yet, as private homes they are rarely open to the public.

Fairhaven House

City of Sea Captains

Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve is best known for its stunning farmlands overlooking mountains and sea, but the Town of Coupeville at its heart was once known as the “City of Sea Captains.”  New England mariners were attracted to Penn Cove with its protected anchorage and scenery evocative of the bays and inlets of their native Massachusetts, Maine and New Brunswick.

James Henry Swift

One of these nautical men was Captain James Henry Swift, a long-time whaler out of New Bedford and Fairhaven, Massachusetts, who would sail the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans for over 40 years.  Swift first explored Penn Cove in 1855, hauling timber to Europe for spars.  Charmed, he bought the Coveland donation land claim and log cabin of Jacob Smith in 1857 for $3,000.  

Image courtesy of Island County Historical Society 1967.ATA

Bringing his family out to join him in 1863, they christened the 1852 cabin “Fairhaven” after the family’s home town.  Swift continued to sail the North Pacific into the 1870s, but the family turned to farming, eventually raising horses for the Hudson’s Bay Company in Victoria.

Moving from Coveland

Capt. Swift's daughter Hattie, her husband Puget Race, and their descendants owned the “Fairhaven” from the Captain’s death in 1892 until 1993.  But in 1928 Hattie and Puget Race moved it to Coupeville, realizing that the amenities of the Town across the Cove had distinct advantages over the rural north shore.  Carefully disassembled, each log numbered, it was reassembled on the bluff just west of the Coupeville Wharf. 

Maude Fullington, Hattie Swift’s sister, repeated the process at the same time with another Coveland cabin: an 1859 log cabin built by Francis DeLouri near the Swift farm.  Naming it the “Anchorage,” she bought it and had it moved in the same fashion to a nearby waterfront Coupeville lot.  Today the two cabins flank what is today the Coupeville Town Park – two extremely attractive residences and monuments to Coupeville’s past. 

TOUR

While this tour has passed sign up for emails, so you don’t miss the next opportunity to explore Whidbey’s history.

Victory in the Capitol!!

The boards of the Whidbey Island Maritime Heritage Foundation (Schooner Suva) and Historic Whidbey (Haller House) are thrilled to announce that our long-awaited "Nautical Northwest" specialty license plate was passed by the Legislature last month and Senate Bill 5444 was signed into law yesterday by Governor Bob Ferguson!  Proceeds of plate sales will support our two nonprofits in preserving Whidbey Island's heritage resources.

We began this process in 2020, but perseverance has won the day.  This bill authorized thirteen different new plates, but it also places a moratorium on any new plate applications until 2029.  We feel very lucky to be the "last car on the ferry"!

When will the plates be available?

Great question!  There are still a number of technological hurdles to pass before production can be scheduled.  Some of the organizations on the bill have been trying to pass even longer than we have and so we will be in line behind them.  We don't expect the plates to be available until later in 2026, but we will keep you posted!  

Boatloads of thanks to all our supporters for making this victory possible!!

Historic Whidbey's Lynn Hyde (far left) joins fellow beneficiaries of the bill from the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association, the Washington Tree Farm Program and the Washington State Beekeepers Association as Gov. Bob Ferguson signs Senate Bill 5444.