The Forced Exodus of Whidbey Island’s Chinese Community

A campaign of economic exclusion and harassment leads to the near-total disappearance of Chinese residents from Whidbey Island by 1892.

Underground Railroad on Whidbey Island

Customs inspectors arrest nine men at a secret 'station' near Coupeville as the federal government ramps up enforcement of exclusion laws.

“The station is a house about 12x30 feet in the corner of a clearing about an acre in extent, and about a mile and a half from the beach or any other habitation.”

The Collision in the Fog

When the passenger steamer Premier and the collier Willamette crashed off Whidbey Island, passengers were left trapped in a splintered, half-sunken wreck.

“The sharp prow of the huge collier struck the passenger steamer at an angle of about fifty degrees... the huge wedge formed by the bow of the Willamette walked into the side of the Premier as though it had been made of paper instead of metal.”

The Son-in-Law from Hell

A pioneer father-in-law sues for extortion, alleging his relative seized his farm and tossed him out in the rain.

“He remonstrated and protested that the demand was robbery, whereupon, it is alleged, the old man was violently assaulted by his business manager, who dragged him across the floor and threw him out of doors on a rainy night.”

Mystery at the Admiralty Lighthouse

A teenage lighthouse keeper vanishes under suspicious circumstances after a mysterious robbery on the shores of Island County.

“The locality is very lonesome, and just below is a small uncanny harbor, a favorite rendezvous for smugglers and fishing crafts.”

Tragedy at Admiralty Head

Four soldiers drown in a boating accident off the coast of Whidbey Island, with a lone survivor found clinging to the overturned craft.

“The cause of the disaster was Sergeant Wetdlick, who was the boat's master, acting out of a habit of frolicsomeness.”

The Abduction of a Lighthouse Keeper's Son

A mysterious robbery at the Admiralty Head light station left a 16-year-old boy missing and officials suspecting passing opium smugglers or indigenous travelers.

“In the vicinity of the light is a favorite cruising ground for opium smugglers.”

A Steamboat Standoff on the Puget Sound

When a captain accused a passenger of skipping town on a fare, two witnesses stepped forward to detail a tense armed confrontation aboard the steamer 'Otter.'

“Captain Benjamin acted more like a mad brute than a steamboat captain, and followed Mr. James for at least twenty feet, striking at him and calling him names not to be published, threatening to break his head.”

The Price of a Human Life

A Seattle newspaper critiques the wildly inconsistent sentencing for murder in Washington Territory, highlighting how local bias and venue changes drastically altered justice for accused killers.

“It is a curious mockery of justice where a man charged with murder and robbery is convicted of murder in the first degree, and then on his second trial has his crime of throat-cutting and robbery reduced by the jury to murder in the second degree.”

The Territory's First Women Jurors Take Their Seats

A landmark moment in Washington history sees three women summoned for grand jury service in Island County, marking a first for the Pacific Coast.

“The novelty of the affair created an intense sensation in the little community.”

The Whidbey Island Job Scam

Workers are left stranded and out of pocket after a hiring agent vanishes.

“I paid $1 to go get a job on the island, and now the man is gone and we are left out in the cold.”

The Mystery of the Admiralty Bay Boatman

A lonely death in a remote bay leaves more questions than answers about a man whose final protest was written on a slip of paper.

“A paper was found in one of his pockets stating in substance that a man by the name of S. Anderson had entered his house and put some cloth on the walls, to which he had objected and torn it down.”

The Whidby Island Land Heist

A townsite development company claims a notary public fraudulently altered a contract to seize control of their Whidby Island property.

“It is claimed that while he had it he altered it, leaving out the portion providing for a deed and mortgage.”

The Widow and the Will: A Legal Battle Over the Ebey Donation Claim

After the death of Isaac N. Ebey, the courts faced a complex dispute between his widow, his children, and an unexecuted will, testing the limits of land ownership in the Washington Territory.

“It is proven by the evidence submitted in the case, that until, and after the death of his first wife, it was the intention of I. N. Ebey that the improved portion of his claim should be assigned to her.”

Four Drown Near Coupeville

A boat capsized in high winds while traveling from Port Madison toward Victoria, claiming the lives of four passengers.

“The wind came up very suddenly, capsizing the boat. All four of them clung to the bottom of the boat, but were able to remain there but a few minutes.”

The Whidby Island Land Boom

A remote island community sees land values double in four months as entrepreneurs push for a new industrial future.

“Captain Brown, who recently bought 800 acres of land across the bay, sold sixty acres this week on the water front for $100 an acre for land for which he paid $50 an acre only four months ago.”

The Bank of Coupeville Collapse

A disgraced bank manager is returned to face justice after his reckless dissipation leads to an $11,000 shortfall.

“Mrs. Allmans was ill with grief at her brother's disgrace and had an attack of hysterics.”

A Nun, a Frightened Team, and a Forty-Foot Plunge on Whidbey

Sister Gertrude was driving alone on church work when her buggy backed over an Admiralty Head bluff. She survived the fall—and was nursed at the lighthouse.

“While engaged in church work, and driving alone in a buggy, her team became frightened and backed over a bluff forty feet high.”

The Ghost of Whidby Island

A prominent Seattleite vanishes into the rural wilds, triggering a frantic search and a small-town communication breakdown.

“It was thought he might have started thus in his boat during one of the many windy days of late, and been capsized.”

Whidbey Island Land Speculation

A syndicate eyes 14,000 acres for fruit farming, signaling a shift in regional agricultural development.

“We intend to clear this land, which is now heavily timbered, and put at least 1,000 acres of the tract into prunes.”

A Coupeville Pioneer Takes His Own Life

Charles Crockett, a resident of Whidbey Island since 1854, is found dead at his home in a sudden and tragic suicide.

“For some time the deceased had been despondent without any apparent cause.”

A Deadly Encounter at Holmes' Harbor

A logger's simple attempt to protect his food from local wildlife ends in a tragic, accidental shooting.

“In attempting to pull it from behind his trunk where it was placed, the hammer was caught on the trunk, and was pulled back sufficiently to discharge the gun.”

A Sunday Journey to Whidbey Island in 1885

A traveler describes the primitive, thriving settlement of Coupeville and the muddy, adventurous trek to Oak Harbor via stage and skiff.

“At high tide, steamboats readily ride up to the wharf; but when the tide is out it is an ugly place of approach, as I well know from experience.”

The Wild New Town of Penn’s Cove

Construction is booming at the head of Penn’s Cove as a new town rises, while residents grapple with a local scarlet rash and the arrival of a new real estate office.

“There is a need of a restaurant in town.”