Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve is a unit of the National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

 near Coupeville, Washington

Coupeville, Washington

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,723 people, 737 households, and 426 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,346.7 people per square mile . There were 814 housing units at an average density of 636.2 per square mile...

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Description

The Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, a rural historic district, preserves and protects an unbroken historical record of Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

 exploration and settlement from the 19th century to the present. Historic farms, still under cultivation in the prairies of Whidbey Island

Whidbey Island

Whidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...

, reveal land use patterns unchanged since settlers claimed the land in the 1850s under the Donation Land Claim Act. The Victorian seaport community of Coupeville, one of the oldest towns in Washington is in the reserve. Also included are two state park

State park

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

s: Fort Casey and Fort Ebey

Fort Ebey State Park

Fort Ebey State Park in Island County, Washington is a camping park in the Washington State Park System. Fort Ebey was originally built during World War II as a coastal defense near the mouth of Puget Sound...

. The Central Whidbey Island Historic District, on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 and with the Sergeant Clark House

Sergeant Clark House

The Sergeant Clark House built in 1892 is a Vernacular style farmhouse located in Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve in Coupeville on Whidbey Island, Washington...

, is also part of the reserve.

Ebey's Landing provides a vivid historical record of Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...

 history, including the first exploration of Puget Sound by Captain George Vancouver

George Vancouver

Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...

 in 1792; early settlement by Colonel Isaac Ebey, an important figure in Washington Territory; growth and settlement resulting from the Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...

 and the Westward migration; the Donation Land Laws (1850–1855); and the continued growth and settlement of the town of Coupeville.

Jurisdictions

Unlike many National Park Service units, the Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve encompasses a mixture of federal, state, county and private property, all managed in a way that preserves its historic essence. Authorized November 10, 1978. The reserve is a partnership managed by a local Trust Board. Limited federal facilities are available. Only 209.06 acres (0.846 km²) of the reserve is federally owned.

See also

• Battle of Port Gamble
• USS Massachusetts
  USS Massachusetts (1845)
  USS Massachusetts was a steamer acquired by the U.S. Navy prior to the American Civil War. She was used by the U.S. War Department as a transport during the Mexican-American War and traveled widely, including transiting Cape Horn several times as part of her official duties on both sides of the...
  
  

Sources

• Roberts, George; Roberts, Jan (1999). Discover Historic Washington State, Gem Guides Book Company, ISBN 1889786071.
• The National Parks: Index 2001-2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior
  United States Department of the Interior
  The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
  
  .

External links

• National Park Service: Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve