Coupeville is a town on

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...

, in

Island County Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 86,857. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor. The county's name reflects the fact that it is compose ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, United States. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Island County. The population was 1,831 at the 2010 census.

History

Prior to European colonization, Coupeville and the bay in which it is located, Penn Cove, was inhabited by the

Lower Skagit The Lower Skagit (sometimes called Whidbey Island Skagits) are a tribe of the Lushootseed Native American people living in the U.S. state of Washington. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally rec ...

, a

Lushootseed Lushootseed (txʷəlšucid, dxʷləšúcid), also Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish or Skagit-Nisqually, is a language made up of a dialect continuum of several Salish tribes of modern-day Washington state. Lushootseed is one of the Coast Salish ...

-speaking Coast Salish people. There were three villages around the bay, with the largest being ''bəc̓adᶻali'', meaning "snake place", located at the site of present day Coupeville. There was an abundance of salmon, clams, and other resources, as well as offering easy access to the water, making it an excellent village site. When Europeans arrived to explore the Puget Sound, it was

Joseph Whidbey Joseph Whidbey Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (1757 – 9 October 1833) was a member of the Royal Navy who served on the Vancouver Expedition 1791–95, and later achieved renown as a naval engineer. He is notable for having been the first Eu ...

who first visited the bay, naming it Penn Cove in honor of his good friend. Captain George Vancouver later wrote after meeting the Skagit at the village that their population had quickly fallen due to disease. Coupeville was laid out in the 1850s by Captain

Thomas Coupe Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, and named for him. Coupeville was officially incorporated on April 20, 1910. Coupeville is a historic district within the federal

Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve is a unit of the National Park Service on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound, near Coupeville in Island County, Washington, United States. Description The Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve i ...

. The reserve was established by Congress in 1978 as the first and only National Historical Reserve in the nation. Its also encompass farmlands,

Fort Ebey State Park Fort Ebey State Park is a public recreation area occupying the site of former Fort Ebey on the west side of Whidbey Island, west of Coupeville in Island County, Washington, United States. The state park covers overlooking the Strait of Juan ...

Fort Casey State Park Fort Casey State Park is located on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington state. It is a Washington state park and a historic district within the U.S. Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve. Admiralty Inlet was considered so strategic ...

, shorelines and beaches, parks, trails, and 91 buildings and structures on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Geography

Coupeville is located at (48.218250, -122.683556). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

Coupeville experiences significantly lower rainfall than much of western Washington, due to its location within the rain shadow of the

Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easter ...

. Due to the significant drying trend in summer, Coupeville's climate is classified as warm-summer

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2010, there were 1,831 people, 806 households, and 428 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 933 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 87.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 1.6%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.6% Native American, 1.9%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.3%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 4.2% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 4.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 9.0% of the population. There were 806 households, of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.9% were non-families. 40.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.77. The median age in the town was 51.1 years. 17.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.1% were from 25 to 44; 29.9% were from 45 to 64; and 27.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 44.3% male and 55.7% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,723 people, 737 households, and 426 families living in the town. The population density was 1,346.7 people per square mile (519.7/km²). There were 814 housing units at an average density of 636.2 per square mile (245.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.8% White, 1.6% African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 2.8% from

, and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or [Latino of any race were 5.3% of the population. There were 737 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were

living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.81. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 25.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,938, and the median income for a family was $47,721. Males had a median income of $33,235 versus $27,100 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,720. About 8.9% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.9% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

In 1987, 42 percent of the county's population were employed by the military. Major employers in Coupeville are Island County and WhidbeyHealth Medical Center. Service and retail businesses serve the island population and visitors attracted to the town's historic waterfront district and

. Retail businesses are located along North and South Main Street, Coveland, and Front Street along the waterfront. In addition to 11 restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops, stores include art galleries, gourmet food, clothing, souvenir, and home decor retailers. With few exceptions, these businesses are operated by individual local owners.

Notable people

* Guy Bond, psychologist. *

Adrienne Lyle Adrienne Lyle (born 2 January 1985 in Coupeville, Washington) is an American Olympic dressage rider. Representing the United States, she competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London where she finished 37th in the individual competition, and t ...

, Olympic

dressage Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...

rider.

References

External links

History of Coupeville
at

HistoryLink HistoryLink is an online encyclopedia of Washington state history. The site has more than 8,100 entries and attracts 5,000 daily visitors. It has 500 biographies and more than 14,000 images. The non-profit historical organization History Ink prod ...

Coupeville & Central Whidbey Island Chamber of Commerce

Coupeville Visitors' Information

Island County Historical Museum

Sunnyside Cemetery - Coupeville's historic pioneer cemetery

* ttp://www.nps.gov/ebla/learn/historyculture/index.htm NPS: History and culture of Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve and Central Whidbey Island
Historic Admiralty Head Lighthouse

Coupeville Arts & Crafts Festival

The Whidbey Examiner newspaper, based in Coupeville

Oliver S. Van Olinda Photography Collection
- Former editor of the Island County Times a Coupeville newspaper; University of Washington Library {{Authority control Towns in Island County, Washington County seats in Washington (state) Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state) Populated places established in 1852 1852 establishments in Oregon Territory Towns in Washington (state) National Register of Historic Places in Island County, Washington