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...

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!...

  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...

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....

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....

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...

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...

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...

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... 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...

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...

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,...

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...

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... 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/...

Sixty years ago today one of South Whidbey’s earliest and most enduring charities was started: Good Cheer Food Bank & Thrift Stores. It began near Christmastime in 1962, when a group of friends from various churches came up with an idea to spread some Good Cheer...

We are saddened at the passing of longtime SWHS Board member Charlie Pancerzewski last week. Charlie and his wife Gayle Cattron Pancerzewski, were benefactors for the digitizing of Island County Fair scrapbooks dating back to the 1950s, as well as donating to the...

We are beyond grateful to The Goose Community Grocer and Goosefoot to have been chosen as November's Round-Up charity. This morning South Whidbey Historical Society president Bill Haroldson, received a check for $6,467.07 from Goose store manager Kayla Leganza. It...

It was a beautiful day for the Langley Holly Jolly Parade. Thanks to SWHS docents and Board members, and a special shout-out to Patricia Friedman and Bill Haroldson for organizing the decorations.

Thanks to Dick Bryant for these photos he shared about Maxwelton in the 1950s. His father, Fulton, loaded a truck with hay and then had neighborhood children ride on it for the Maxwelton 4th of July parade. Let us know if you can identify any of the children.