In the early 1900s, Anacortes was a thriving community whose economy was based on fishing and lumbering. The Great Northern Railroad had also arrived, allowing passenger and train traffic to reach the town. This activity attracted more people and the town grew and became more established. It was in this context that the Anacortes Public Library Association, whose members were women, developed plans to build the library in 1908. They contacted Andrew Carnegie who responded saying he would donate $10,000 if the town agreed to acquire a site and set aside $1,000 per year for books and maintenance. Construction got underway in September 1909 and the library appears to have been built fairly quickly.In terms of architecture, the building takes the shape of a Greek cross and incorporates Renaissance and Neoclassical elements into its design. Notable features include a grand stairway leading up to the main entrance, which has four Ionic columns and an arch, and the words "Carnegie Library" above the entrance. It became the museum sometime in the late 1960s or 1970s.

Housed in the historic Carnegie Library, the Anarcortes Museum preserves and promotes local history.

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Housed in the historic Carnegie Library building, the Anacortes Museum is a small museum dedicated to local history. It houses a collection of artifacts and historic objects, maps, charts, and many photographs (more than 50,000). Many of these items have been digitized and are available to see on the museum's website. As for the building, which was built in 1909, it is historically significant in a few ways. It was the city's first purpose-built library facility and its construction was funded in part by steel magnate and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, who donated money to communities all over the country to build libraries. Furthermore, the library was was the only public library in Anacortes until the late 1960s.

Anacortes Museum

Director

This tour through Anacortes begins at the local museum and includes landmarks such as the Wilson Hotel, Causland Memorial Park, the W. T. Preston Museum, and the town's historic rail depot. 

John Baptiste LePage was born in Canada in 1857. He was an intelligent man, skilled in math, Greek, Latin, and French. He was also a talented artist (drawing). As became a map maker in Ottawa before buying a ranch in Saskatchewan in 1910. Five years later, he moved to Montana where he spent two years helping build a retaining wall in a park in the town of Butte called Columbia Gardens.After it was completed, LePage moved to Anacortes and submitted a bid to design Causland Park. City officials were impressed and selected him. The name for the park was originally Great Northern Park, named after the Great Northern Railroad, whose subsidiary—the Seattle and Northern Railroad—sold the property where the park is to the city. LePage and his workers gathered rocks from the area, transporting them using barge and wagons. After they finished the park, LePage moved to San Francisco. The city has maintained the park and it remains in good condition. It is a popular place to visit for tourists and locals alike.

Dedicated in honor of a local soldier who served in World War I, Causland Memorial Park was designed by artist, mason, and architect John Baptiste LePage (1857-1939). Retaining walls surround the park along with terraces, stairways, and an amphitheater with an accompanying band shelter—all made with stones that vary in size and form beautiful mosaic designs. The style of the stonework has been compared to the work of Spanish artist Antonio Gaudi. The park was built between 1920-1926 and a is named after Harry Leon Causland, a soldier who was killed in World War I. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the park is also a memorial to veterans from World War I to the Vietnam War. 

Causland Memorial Park

During the late 19th century, the Northwest was developing fairly quickly. In the area around Fidalgo Island, settlers started to arrive in the late 1850s after the U.S. Congress passed the Oregon Donation Land Claim Act, which offered a few hundred acres of free land to single and married men in what was then the Oregon Territory (it encompassed present-day Oregon, Washington, Utah and part of Montana). In the early 1870s, the various communities along the coast were anticipating the possible arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad, which was being built westward across the country from Minnesota to Washington. Fidalgo Island and the other communities attracted speculators who sought to develop them in order to convince Northern Pacific to select them as the terminus site. Northern Pacific didn't announce where the terminus of the railroad would be until 1873 (it started building tracks in 1870) when it chose Tacoma, where it finally arrived in 1883.Railroads didn't reach Fidalgo Island until the 1890s. In anticipation of its arrival, the land where Anacortes is now was cleared and the town was platted (it was officially incorporated in 1891). Buildings, including the Wilson Hotel, were constructed at this time. Within a year, Anacortes was well established with graded streets, stores, saw mills, banks, and other businesses. The Wilson Hotel was thought to be one of the best hotels north of Seattle and a popular place for visitors. David Wilson built two other buildings in Anacortes but they no longer exist.In the coming decades, a variety of businesses and establishments occupied the building on the first floor. These include saloons, restaurants and a number of different stores. The upper floors were used as a hotel or rooming house at different times; they were also vacant for periods of times as well. It was converted into low-income housing in the mid-200s. Despite its many changes in usage, the former Wilson Hotel has remained an important landmark, symbolizing the city's early period of significant growth.

The former Wilson Hotel is a historic building erected in 1890 (an addition was built in 1926) by David Wilson, a businessman based in Tacoma. It is significant for its architecture and association with a period when Anacortes was experiencing prosperity and growth. It is located on Commercial Street, which was and continues to be the city's main commercial thoroughfare. The three-story building features a red-brick facade and was designed combining the Romanesque Revival and Commercial architectural styles. Interesting features include arched windows and decorative brickwork. Today, retail establishments occupy the first floor and the rest of the building is used as low-income housing. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Wilson Hotel

Since the settling of the Pacific Northwest, riverine traffic served as one of the most vital parts of life. However, the ever-growing traffic proved a double-edged sword, causing obstructions to navigation. From log jams to shifting sand bars and buoys, the rivers were a dangerous place to operate. Because of this Congress authorized the creation of a snagboat to be built, which would help remove these obstructions. This was the Skagit, which was wooden hulled and began operating in 1884. This was then followed by the Swinomish, also wooden hulled and built in 1914. In 1929 the first iteration of the W.T. Preston was constructed, with a wooden hull and many parts taken from the first two vessels. Ten years later the Preston was retrofitted with a steel hull, which proved to be much sturdier than the earlier wooden one.(W.T. Preston Sternwheel Steamboat.)The Preston served under the Army Corps of Engineers which used her to remove any obstacle to navigation which they came across. This was done with the use of an assortment of “snagging gear”, which included a large wooden crane and winch, and two spuds which served as anchors. The crane itself is operated off of two donkey engines, essentially a small steam engines, which were taken off of the Swinomish. One engine operated the lift and the other operated the large turntable. This set up allowed for the use of a 70 foot boom, 30 ton snagging capacity and 15 ton bucket lift capacity for dredging. In order to operate the crane the ship would secure its position using two spuds, essentially large metal rods, which allowed the ship to remain in one position in up to twenty feet of water. While this may seem shallow, the ship would routinely operate in shallow areas and near the shore, as that’s where most sandbars and underwater obstacles occur. This set up, combined with the shallow draft of only three feet (Info) allowed the Preston to operate in almost any area it was needed. And if it were too shallow for her, her crane allowed the ship to extend its reach even further.She served faithfully, and with little change to her appearance or design, save the transition from a crude oil burner to diesel in 1967. However, by the mid-1960s her role began to change. Thanks to the increase in road and rail traffic during the 20th century, the tributaries and inlets of the Puget Sound area became less economically important. But during this same time recreational boating on the wider parts of the sound was becoming more popular. As a result, the Preston was called on to operate in wider, deeper waters than she was originally designed for. Despite this though, there was only limited instances of her being in any true danger.(W.T. Preston Sternwheel Steamboat)As her importance to the daily economic activity dwindled, her importance as a cultural icon increased. By 1979 she was placed on the National Register for Historic Places, and was retired from active service in 1981. She was now government surplus, but both the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Government Service Agency knew they wanted to preserve her somehow. The city of Anacortes offered a proposal to turn her into a museum ship, which was eventually chosen by the Corps. She was towed to the city and placed on land in 1983. In 1989 she was designated a National Historic Landmark and is continuing to proudly serve as a museum.(Ibid.)

The Anacortes Maritime Heritage Center sits on northern end of Fidalgo Island north of Seattle. It is home not only to a museum dedicated to the maritime traditions of the region, but also the paddleboat W.T. Preston. The museum has many interesting collections, including photos from Wallie Funk, who travelled with and recorded the lives of fishermen who travelled north to fish off of the Alaska coast. The W.T. Preston is a paddle steamer built in 1939 as a snagboat, it was in active use into the 1980s, and was turned into a National Historic Landmark in 1989. These two points of interest will certainly be worth visiting for anyone in the area. 


W.T. Preston Museum

The Great Northern Railroad built the depot during what is considered the city's "second boom" between 1900-1920 when the lumber and fishing industries were thriving. Great Northern erected the station to replace a smaller one that was no longer adequate for the city's needs and the increasing number of people settling here. The depot was a busy passenger hub until 1930 when ridership began to decline as people started to use cars. As a result, regular passenger service ended in the early 1930s. After that, excursion trains operated until the mid-1950s; freight service continued until 1973 when another depot was built in Mt. Vernon, Washington. The Great Northern Depot remained vacant for several years before the city bought it in 1981. It was at that point that it became the Depot Arts &amp; Community Center and home to the Anacortes Farmer's Market.

Built in 1911, the Great Northern Depot is a historic train station that is now home to the Anacortes Farmer's Market and the Depot Arts & Community Center. Architect Samuel L. Bartlett designed it in the Tudor (English) style and it has been well preserved. The one-story, wood-frame building features stuccoed walls with inlaid boards to mimic a timber frame, four large rooms (two passenger waiting rooms, a baggage room, and a freight room), and a terrazzo floor. The depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. 

Anacortes Washington Walking Tour

Anacortes Museum

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information