Love local history? Here’s how you can learn more…
Bill Haroldson, President of the SWHS
Become a Member
Join the South Whidbey Historical Society and receive special discounts and access to special events and sections of the website reserved for members, It’s easy and inexpensive. Just visit our Membership Page.
Your Support Matters We are always grateful for financial donations. Simply CLICK HERE donate safely via PayPal, or mail a check to SWHS / PO Box 612 / Langley, WA 98260.
Donating Local Historical Items
We love receiving items of local historical interest! If you have items to donate, our curator would love to hear from you. We’ll find a convenient and safe manner to pick them up or meet you.
Join Our Legacy Circle
When you remember the South Whidbey Historical Society in your will or estate plan, you help keep your community Historical Society and Museum serving our community. Contact us for details at (360) 221-2101.
Become Involved
Finally, we are seeking additional volunteers to serve as Museum docents and a few more Board members. Email us at SWHMuseum@gmail.com or you can telephone the museum at (360) 221-2101. Please leave us a message and we will return your telephone call or email.
Follow Us on Facebook
Join the 3,585 people who follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SouthWhidbeyHistory.
Our Museum is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.
The South Whidbey Historical Society collects, preserves and presents information, stories and artifacts of our history, weaving together the diverse experiences of our people as context for today’s decision makers and inspiration for tomorrow’s leaders.
We accomplish this mission by maintaining a Museum in Langley to house our collections and through our displays at the Island County Fairgrounds.
In addition, the Society sponsors regular “Then and Now” evening presentations that focus on South Whidbey Island history and maintains our “Virtual Museum” which contains digital images of our collections
Some of SW’s Notable People…
Langley’s All-Woman City Council
In 1919, a special election was held in Langley which resulted in an all-woman administration who took office in January 1920. This is but one part of Washington State's interesting road to women's suffrage as local historian Bob Waterman explains in this video. If...
Omer Porter
Found this fascinating article in our archives about Omer Porter, which was written by John Watkins and which appeared in the South Whidbey Record on October 7, 1980. It gives a glimpse into what life was like on South Whidbey around the turn of the last century....
Chief William Shelton: A Bridge Between Two Worlds
A Bridge Between Two Worlds: Chief William Shelton His Story Poles and Enduring Legacy Few Whidbey Islanders know of William Shelton. He was the last hereditary chief of the Snohomish Tribe and was born at Brown’s Point (now Sandy Point) on Whidbey Island in 1868. The...
SWHS Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
South Whidbey Historical Society seeks equity, diversity and inclusion in our organization, activities and make up of community partners.
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- We acknowledge that we gather on the ancestral homelands of the Coast Salish People, especially the Snohomish.
- We pledge to collaborate in a respectful exchange of ideas and experiences regardless of age, background, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic situation, religion, and ability.
- We strive to remove barriers through regular consultation with people and groups contributing a variety of voices and perspectives, to add new levels of meaning to our programming and deepen its relevance to the broader community.
- We seek to care for and share natural and cultural collections so all people can learn, be inspired, generate knowledge, and heal.
Posts From Our Facebook Page
Longtime Board Member and Past President Tom Nack Passes: Memorial Set for Friday, April 21 at 2 p.m.
It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that longtime South Whidbey Historical Society Board member and a past president, Tom Nack, died last week. His gentle humor, wise direction, and southern drawl, will be greatly missed. Our condolences to his...
Too many rabbits…
This June 10, 1942 column in the Seattle Star by Chick Garrett reports on the rising rabbit population on the Island, especially with WWII hunting restrictions. We were curious about the South Whidbey person who brought rabbits to the Island and found a 1900 Island...
Women’s History Month
March is Women's History Month and today is International Women's Day, so we thought this was a good time to repost information about a remarkable woman: Lillian Wylie. Perhaps no woman had a greater impact for good on early Langley than Lillian Wylie. She arrived...
The Will of Joseph Whidbey
Feliks Banel, resident historian of KIRO Radio, and podcaster of MyNorthwest.com interviewed Bill Haroldson (SWHS Board President) on KIRO Radio this morning about the recently discovered will of Joseph Whidbey. Thanks for the shout-out, Feliks!...
John MacDonald
On the outskirts of the Langley area, to the southeast, on what is now Wilkinson Road, a Scottish man, John MacDonald, (sometimes spelled McDonald) and his wife, Mary, established their home. John left Glasgow, Scotland in 1879 and Mary and their three children...
Langley Mystery Weekend
Wow! What a turnout for Langley Mystery Weekend! Kudos to the Langley Chamber of Commerce! This event signifies the re-opening of the South Whidbey History Museum on weekends. The Museum is open today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m....
A Sea Serpent in Holmes Harbor?
A Sea Serpent in Holmes Harbor? This is one of the more unusual articles we have come across concerning South Whidbey. This article was found in the Chilliwack Progress newspaper in British Columbia dated Aug. 13, 1891 and also in the Montana newspaper, The Anaconda...
Tall Tales of Clams and Currents
TALL TALES of CLAMS AND CURRENTS... BUT TRUE We thought this brief article from the May 24, 1889 Mason County Journal worth sharing... ---------------- When General Winfield Scott was on the Sound to quiet the San Juan disturbance in 1859 [the Pig War], Lieutenant R....
Joseph Whidbey
Kudos to journalist Kira Erickson of the Whidbey News Times, and photographer David Welton, for the cover story on today's issue of the WNT about the will of island namesake Joseph Whidbey and how it made its way to the South Whidbey Historical Society. Click below to...
Mid-1880s Langley
By the mid-1880s the area that would become Langley had pretty much been clear-cut for cords of firewood to power the steamer ferries, and the brush was transported to Seattle to help fill in the dock areas. Tree stumps dotted the streets, and roads were muddy most of...
AGUE
Do you know what catarrh is? Ague? How about Dropsy? Apoplexy? Consumption? Scrofula? While doing research on South Whidbey residents prior to 1920, we have sometimes come across such terms in their obituaries or on their death certificates. We thought we would share...
Grocers’ and Butchers’ Picnic
Langley was quite the destination for the Everett Grocer's and Butcher's Picnic on Wednesday, July 22, 1914. According to the advertisement, ferries ran from the City Dock every few minutes, with adult fares 35 cents and children 25 cents both roundtrip. And what to...
Murder on South Whidbey…
Murder on South Whidbey... The year was 1872 and there were few white settlers on South Whidbey. As loggers cleared the forests within easy reach of the bays and inlets, men began to stake claims, build cabins and start farming. One such man was Daniel Dale of...
Island County was the second largest county in Washington
Did you know that at one time Island County was very large and comprised all of what would become Whatcom, Snohomish and San Juan counties? For a brief time, it was the second largest county in WA Territory. On this date (January 14) in 1861, Snohomish County was...
Coleman’s mill ship run aground
On December 30, 1875, the three-masted, 161-foot long bark Windward was pushed aground at Useless Bay by a strong southwesterly gale. The ship was carrying 525,000 feet of lumber from Colman's Mill in Seattle, heading for San Francisco. According to the January 6,...
Untangling a Web of History at Sandy Point
From our most recent newsletter... UNTANGLING A WEB OF HISTORY AT SANDY POINT An 1860 Snohomish Tribe village just south of Langley is the starting point of the Tangled Web of History research project being sponsored by the South Whidbey Historical Society. After...
Dode Bercot
Before he was a state game protector (now called a game warden) for 30 years on Whidbey, and before he owned Bercot's Fishing Resort on Holmes Harbor, Dode Bercot was a Pacific Northwest boxing sensation. It was just a little over 100 years ago that Dode first began...
Scenes of the season from yesteryear…
Scenes of the season from yesteryear... If you like the work we are doing at the South Whidbey Historical Society, please consider making a year-end, tax-deductible gift at the link below. Thank you! https://www.paypal.com/donate/...
A Brief History of Our South End Communities…
(Click on the town name to open the page.)
