The link between the Pacific Ocean and Puget Sound is the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, a 96 mile long by 24 mile wide stretch of water between the Olympic Peninsula (US) to the south and Vancouver Island (Canada) to the north. Once through the strait the waters of Puget Sound flow in and around a myriad of islands, large and small, as ocean waters reach nearly one hundred miles south to the southern point of the sound near the city of Olympia, Washington. Dense forests blanket the land on all sides and during the late 1800’s the timber industry flourished around the sound. The discovery of gold in the far north in the Yukon and Alaska towards the end of the century also contributed to a burst of growth along the sound as many miners started their journey north on boats departing from various ports around the sound. While Seattle and Tacoma quickly grew to prominence as the great cities of the Puget Sound area, several other smaller villages around the sound flourished at the same time.
Fairhaven
“Dirty Dan” Harris arrived on the eastern shores of northern Puget Sound in 1854 and homesteaded on the flats at the base of a line of tree-covered hills that rise sharply from the ocean. He founded the town of Fairhaven in 1883, just south of the neighboring town of Bellingham. Cities along the eastern shore of Puget Sound vied for the honor (and economic stability) of being the western terminus of the Great Northern Railroad which was stretching across the northern United States in the last part of the nineteenth century and even though the honor eventually fell to Seattle, Fairhaven built a substantial city core stretching up Harris Street from the ocean with an economy based upon timber and fishing industries. Incorporated as part of Bellingham in 1903 today Fairhaven flourishes as a tourist destination, home to numerous restaurants, bars and shops in the Victorian buildings that line both sides of Harris Street. New buildings in the historic district are required to conform to strict building codes that maintain the character of the district.
The drive up to Fairhaven from Mount Vernon follows Chuckanut Drive, the old (narrow!) highway that hugs the coast of Puget Sound, giving stunning views out over the sound, even on a rainy day.
A grand Victorian mansion guards the entrance to Fairhaven from the south.
Harris Street reaches down from the heights on the east to the docks to the west.
The dock area and the flats around it used to be home to canneries and lumber mills. Long gone, the area is beginning to be redeveloped with new buildings that mimic the Victorian style of the blocks immediately above.
Fairhaven is still the southern terminus of the State Alaska Ferry System and a ferry rests at the docks, waiting to head north.
The hills above town are dotted with cottages, many built in the early 1900’s to house the workers who labored on the flats below.
South of Fairhaven the mountains retreat further east leaving in their wake some of the most fertile agricultural land in the world. In this picture the hills of Fidalgo Island rise in the distance to the west of Mount Vernon.
Virtually anything can grow here, but in particular the area around Mount Vernon is known as the largest tulip-growing area in the world. Early settlers rushed to the area and a small trading post was established west on the banks of Swinomish Slough, a sheltered inlet of Puget Sound.
La Conner
John Conner purchased the trading post in 1869 and the town of La Conner was established shortly thereafter. The town prospered as a port that allowed the farmers to ship their products to Seattle as well as an outlet for the logging and fishing industries in the area. By passed by the railroad La Conner dwindled in importance as the neighboring town of Mount Vernon was named the county seat. In the 1940’s artists and writers discovered La Conner and today the small village is home to a thriving arts community as well as a favorite tourist destination with its small restored village center housing art galleries, shops, restaurants and many of the Victorian homes tucked into the surrounding hills are weekend retreats and/or bed and breakfast establishments.
The west side of the main street in the second picture above backs onto Swinomish Channel, which separates the mainland from Fidalgo Island.
Many of the homes, large and small, in the trees above the main street have been restored to their Victorian grandeur.
Northwest of La Conner the highway passes over Swinomish Slough and onto Fidalgo Island, the commercial center of the northern San Juan Islands. The highway ends at the town of Anacortes.
Anacortes, WA
Amos Bowman moved his family to the northern tip of Fidalgo Island in 1877 and began a campaign to get the area selected as the western end of the Northern Pacific Railroad, calling the area “New York of the West” before the town was even founded. The Seattle and Northern Company began building a rail line in 1888 and a short-lived real estate boom ensued. The town of Anacortes was established in 1891 but when the town failed to be named the terminus of the Northern Pacific the real estate boom burst. However, the town’s site on an excellent harbor in the center of a booming timber and fishery area insured its success and the protected harbor was lined with fish canneries and timber mills. The end of Fidalgo Island resembles an inverted “J” and standing at the tip I have great views over the town to the west and south as well as Puget Sound to the east as I rotate from right to left.
Entering Anacortes from the south the main street stretches due north before ending at the tip of the island. The tree-covered hills in the distance are actually islands out in Puget Sound. Anacortes is not a “cute” Victorian town, this is a working town still rooted in an economy based upon timber, fishing and shipping. It is also the port of departure for the multiple ferries that connect the San Juan Islands. The small historic city center huddles just west of the harbor at the tip of the island. The modern town stretches in a long strip along the highway leading down to the harbor.
South of Anacortes our path takes us across Deception Pass (a very narrow channel not able to be used by ships) south from Fidalgo Island to Whidbey Island, largest of the San Juan Islands. The island was a center of Native American activity for hundreds of years, the temperate climate providing a plentiful supply of food from the land and sea. Whidbey Island was first noted by Europeans during the 1790 Spanish expedition that explored Puget Sound and the island itself was mapped and explored by members of Captain George Vancouver’s British expedition of 1792. Today the island has a diverse economy based on agriculture and tourism, along with the not insignificant impact of the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station near Oak Harbor. Most of the island is rural in nature, home to a significant number of artists and weekend residents who take the ferry from the nearby mainland. The views are emerald green, even under wet skies (note the mist on the camera lens) as we wander down the island.
Whidbey Island narrows towards the middle and makes a slight curve to the southeast. Penn Cove is the bay formed by this curve and the protected area by the sea was home to three permanent Native American villages when Europeans appeared on the scene. The first trading post opened in the area in 1853 and the small town of Coupeville developed around it. The narrow town stretches along the shore for a few blocks with homes on the hills above.
Coupeville, WA
Incorporated in 1910 Coupeville now is a tourist destination for those who flock to the peace and quiet of Whidbey Island. The small town center of shops and restaurants hugs the shore at the base of bluffs dotted with restored Victorian homes.
At the end of the pier is a visitor center and gift shop, turning around on the pier one gets a great view of the back of Coupeville.
A resident herd of deer wander around the homes on the hills above.
A major contributor to the economy of the area was the construction of Fort Ebey 5 miles to the west of Coupeville in 1890 and Fort Casey to the south the next year. Both sit on the western side of Whidbey Island commanding the entrance to Admiralty Inlet, the only feasible shipping entrance to Puget Sound from the ocean heading south to Seattle. The gap between Whidbey Island and the Olympic Peninsula is only 3.7 miles wide at its narrowest point.
Fort Casey Fort Casey was part of a triumvirate of forts (Fort Casey on Whidbey Island, Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, and Fort Worden on the Olympic Peninsula at Port Townsend) that were built to guard the entrance to Puget Sound. The ferry terminal to Port Townsend sits right next to the fort (now a state park) and my campground nestles at the base of the bluff between the fort and ferry terminal. The fort buildings are now part of a conference center complex.
Between the conference center and the barracks the former parade ground frames the view across the ocean to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula.
The officer’s quarters are now an inn, providing housing for tourists.
Standing in my campsite I have a great view of the ferry coming in from Port Townsend.
Climbing up the bluff, the fortifications are open for exploration. The view northeast reaches along the crest of the bluff to gun emplacements in the distance.
Turning to my left the back of gun emplacements stretch along the shore of Admiralty Inlet, pointing out across the passageway into the interior of Puget Sound.
Turning around and facing southwest across the water I can see the buildings of Port Townsend and a plume of steam from the mill just south of town.
Walking back down the bluff to the campground the ferry passes by. We’ll be catching it in the morning to cross to Port Townsend.
Next up: The Olympic Peninsula
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