Our Museum Is Open Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.
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 who may become Board members, and future docents for when our community opens up again –– a time we all look forward to. Email us at SWHMuseum@gmail.com or you can telephone the museum at (360) 221-2101. We likely won’t be there but please leave us a message and we will return your telephone call or email.
Follow Us on Facebook
Join the 3,400 people who follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SouthWhidbeyHistory.
Just drop us an email if you plan to attend: SWHMuseum@gmail.com
Click on the video play button below to learn more about the Museum and its collection.
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.
-
- 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
The boys of summer…
Here's a photo of the 1911 Langley Baseball team... Back row: (l to r) Leon Hartley, Elmer "Skinny" Rothgeb, Ed Boynton, Ed Howard (manager), Carl Gillespie, Harry Kraber, and Bill Howard. Seated: (l to r): Fred Howard, Charles Alex, Ray Howard (mascot), and Walt...
Memorial Day weekend
Lest we forget... the names of students of Langley High School who died in World War II and the Korean War... names that are etched on the monument at the South Whidbey Community Center (formerly Langley Middle School). Named on the memorial are Paul Applegate,...
“Women Run the Town”
Langley on Whidby Island, which has the distinction of being the first municipality in this part of the world to be governed entirely by women, is quick to challenge the claims of Jackson, Wyoming announced recently in a press dispatch printed In the dally papers that...
Spring cleaning? Settling an estate? Downsizing?
If you come across old photos of South Whidbey taken from at least 50 years ago, family histories, local maps, deeds, old local newspapers, etc., please contact us at the South Whidbey Historical Society at SWHMuseum@gmail.com or 360-221-2101. If our curator decides...
High School graduation classes of 1932 and 1942
With the upcoming graduation class of 2022, we thought you might enjoy photos from the Langley High School graduation classes of 1932 and 1942. Thanks to the South Whidbey School District and the Island County Historical Museum for digitizing the graduation...
Sign up now for Langley Walking History Tours
They're coming back: local Langley historian Bob Waterman's popular Langley Walking History Tours. Sign up for a Saturday morning tour on May 14, 21 or 28. The 1.5 to two-hour tours are limited to 10 people and start off in the Museum. Whether you've lived on...
Bob Frear’s old Meat Market on First Street, 1948 – 1971.
Most towns had butcher shops or meat markets before that function was brought inhouse to grocery stores and supermarkets. The South Whidbey Historical Society recently received meat cleavers, meat saws, and a butcher's apron from Bob Frear's old Meat Market on...
James C. Langley
As Spring rains continue, we thought you might get a chuckle from these 1919 real estate advertisements of James C. Langley, aka 'Fidelity Jim', nephew of Judge James Weston Langley, the man for whom the town of Langley is named. One of the longer ads reads as...
Anton Myre Anderson
It was August, 1904, and it was hot the day that Anton Myre Anderson debarked from the steamer Fairhaven onto the Langley dock with his wife, Josephine, his nine-year-old son, Otto, and his two-year-old daughter, Alma. They had come from Everett with all their worldly...
A Brief History of Our South End Communities…
(Click on the town name to open the page.)
Help Us Plan Activities for the Future
We want to know what interests you! Just click here to be taken to a brief survey of potential activities. Thank you!
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.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE VIA PAYPAL
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.
-
- 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.
Some of South Whidbey’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...
Posts From Our Facebook Page
The boys of summer…
Here's a photo of the 1911 Langley Baseball team... Back row: (l to r) Leon Hartley, Elmer "Skinny" Rothgeb, Ed Boynton, Ed Howard (manager), Carl Gillespie, Harry Kraber, and Bill Howard. Seated: (l to r): Fred Howard, Charles Alex, Ray Howard (mascot), and Walt...
Memorial Day weekend
Lest we forget... the names of students of Langley High School who died in World War II and the Korean War... names that are etched on the monument at the South Whidbey Community Center (formerly Langley Middle School). Named on the memorial are Paul Applegate,...
“Women Run the Town”
Langley on Whidby Island, which has the distinction of being the first municipality in this part of the world to be governed entirely by women, is quick to challenge the claims of Jackson, Wyoming announced recently in a press dispatch printed In the dally papers that...
Spring cleaning? Settling an estate? Downsizing?
If you come across old photos of South Whidbey taken from at least 50 years ago, family histories, local maps, deeds, old local newspapers, etc., please contact us at the South Whidbey Historical Society at SWHMuseum@gmail.com or 360-221-2101. If our curator decides...
High School graduation classes of 1932 and 1942
With the upcoming graduation class of 2022, we thought you might enjoy photos from the Langley High School graduation classes of 1932 and 1942. Thanks to the South Whidbey School District and the Island County Historical Museum for digitizing the graduation...
Sign up now for Langley Walking History Tours
They're coming back: local Langley historian Bob Waterman's popular Langley Walking History Tours. Sign up for a Saturday morning tour on May 14, 21 or 28. The 1.5 to two-hour tours are limited to 10 people and start off in the Museum. Whether you've lived on...
Bob Frear’s old Meat Market on First Street, 1948 – 1971.
Most towns had butcher shops or meat markets before that function was brought inhouse to grocery stores and supermarkets. The South Whidbey Historical Society recently received meat cleavers, meat saws, and a butcher's apron from Bob Frear's old Meat Market on...
James C. Langley
As Spring rains continue, we thought you might get a chuckle from these 1919 real estate advertisements of James C. Langley, aka 'Fidelity Jim', nephew of Judge James Weston Langley, the man for whom the town of Langley is named. One of the longer ads reads as...
Anton Myre Anderson
It was August, 1904, and it was hot the day that Anton Myre Anderson debarked from the steamer Fairhaven onto the Langley dock with his wife, Josephine, his nine-year-old son, Otto, and his two-year-old daughter, Alma. They had come from Everett with all their worldly...
A Brief History of Our South End Communities…
(Click on the town name to open the page.)