History
La Conner was first settled in May 1867 by Alonzo Low and was then known by its post office name, Swinomish. Its location on the Swinomish channel was an ideal safe harbor for ships. In 1869, J.S. Conner bought the settlement's trading post and in 1870 had the name changed to honor his wife, Louisa Ann Conner. The French-appearing "La" represented her first and middle initials. When Skagit County was created out of Whatcom County in 1883, La Conner was chosen as the county seat, but would only hold that designation until November 1884 when the seat was moved to Mount Vernon. In early 2020, nine businesses in downtown La Conner announced their closures—mostly attributed to lost revenue during theGeography
La Conner is located along the Swinomish Channel, across from the Swinomish Indian Reservation on Fidalgo Island, in western Skagit County. The Rainbow Bridge, a steel arch bridge, connects La Conner to the Swinomish Indian Reservation. The town is north of Skagit Bay and is connected to nearby highways by local roads. The center of town, known as "the Hill", roughly bounded by Second, Morris and Commercial streets and the Swinomish Channel, is a historic district and is listed on theEconomy
La Conner is located at the edge of the Skagit Valley, the largest tulip-growing region in the world and host of an annual tulip festival in April. Other crops grown in the area include potatoes, vegetable seed and grain.Demographics
As of 2000 the median income for a household in the town was $42,344, and the median income for a family was $52,083. Males had a median income of $40,074 versus $26,875 for females. The2010 census
As of the 2010 census, there were 891 people, 467 households, and 224 families residing in the town. TheLandmarks
La Conner's Rainbow bridge connects La Conner to Fidalgo Island, which includes the gated Shelter Bay Community, the Swinomish reservation, and the city of Anacortes. The center of town—roughly bounded by 2nd, Morris, and Commercial streets and Swinomish Channel—is a historic district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Also on the NRHP is the Bethsaida Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church Parsonage east of town.Notable residents
* Guy Anderson, painter * Brian Cladoosby, politician and president of the National Congress of American Indians * Morris Graves, painter * Art Hupy, photographer and founder of the Museum of Northwest Art * Tom Robbins, novelist * Joseph C. Shell, politician * Barbara Straker James, painter and curator * Hulet M. Wells, radical labor activistEducation
The city lies within the boundaries of the La Conner School District.Arts and culture
The Museum of Northwest Art showcases a permanent collection of northwest artists and revolving shows throughout the year. The town is also home to the Skagit Historical Museum, with perhaps the best view in town, and the Quilt Museum, located in one of the oldest homes in town, the Gaches Mansion. The town of La Conner is home to several fine art galleries, including La Conner Seaside Gallery, Forum Arts, Earthenworks, and Alek's Art Studio. Visual artists, painters, and photographers have also worked from spaces in and around La Conner, including Northwest School members Guy Anderson, Morris Graves, and Richard Gilkey. Fishtown, an informal artists' community housed in a cluster of old cabins and fishing shacks on the north fork of the Skagit River delta, housed many artists from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. Also famous for its many feral domestic turkeys, the town named the turkey as their "Official Town Bird in 2005". On August 8, 2006; however, a debate was heard in town council about whether the birds should be removed because of nuisance complaints about noise, fecal matter, and ingestion of garden materials. As of October 2010, the town council declared the turkeys to be a nuisance and has since taken action to have them removed from the town limits. La Conner's public library, which is run by the town government and serves residents of the local school district, opened on November 26, 1993, at a former storefront. Plans to construct a permanent library were announced in 2012 with a ten-year fundraising campaign. Construction on the new library began in October 2021 and was completed the following year at a cost of $5 million. The building opened on October 18, 2022, and includes community spaces, a rooftop solar array, and signage in English, Spanish,Sister cities
La Conner has the following sister cities. * White Rock, BC, Canada * Kenmare, IrelandReferences
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