Ebey's Turns 30

Register Now for the first ever Ebey's Forever Conference. Experience an American working rural community as our Nation’s first National Historical Reserve Celebrates 30 years of protecting what is timeless while accommodating change, November 7 & 8, 2008, Whidbey Island, Washington. Be a part of this nationally significant cultural landscape during the Ebey's Forever Conference featuring hands on farming and historic preservation workshops, walking tours, nationally recognized keynote speakers, homegrown and homemade foods and goods, music, a traditional barn dance, and much more.

Rural America of the Last Century

The reserve was set aside by Congress in 1978 to preserve and protect a rural community—a cultural landscape—that is a laboratory of Pacific Northwest history. Today, historic land uses continue, with the rich prairie soils still being farmed, the forests being harvested, and century-old buildings being used as homes or places of business.

Stories within a Cultural Landscape

Some of the important stories the reserve interprets to the public are those of Isaac Ebey, a person significant in early territorial government and the first European-American settler to claim land on Central Whidbey island before Washington became a state; the story of settlement under the Donation Land Claim Act between 1850 and 1855; the explorations of Captain George Vancouver in 1792; and the development and growth of the historic town of Coupeville.

A Unique Partnership

The reserve is a non-traditional unit of the National Park system. It is the first unit of its kind in the system, with most of the land under private ownership. A unit of local government, the Trust Board of Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, is charged with management as called for in the legislation creating the Reserve. The Trust Board is a partnership of local, state and federal governments working collaboratively to ensure the historic and natural resources of the reserve are protected for future generations to enjoy and experience.

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