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Anacortes is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. Anacortes' population was 17,637 at the time of the 2020 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area. Anacortes is known for the Washington State Ferries dock and terminal serving Lopez Island, Shaw Island, Orcas Island, and San Juan Island, as well as Victoria, British Columbia (via Sidney, British Columbia), on Vancouver Island. There is also a Skagit County-operated ferry that serves Guemes Island, a residential island located across Guemes Channel, north of Anacortes. [edit] History
Anacortes is within the historical territory of the Samish people. The Samish Indian Nation's headquarters are in Anacortes. Lands that the Samish Nation owns within the city limits include its administrative campuses on Commercial Avenue and on Highway 20 in the Summit Park area; Fidalgo Bay Resort, site of landings during the annual Canoe Journey; the waterfront Cannery Building adjacent to Seafarers Memorial Park; the Samish Longhouse preschool and child care center; a proposed commercial development site on Highway 20 and Thompson Road; a two-acre housing development site on 34th Street; and a future cultural center site on 78 acres of trust land near Campbell Lake. Anacortes was officially incorporated on May 19, 1891. In 1877, railroad surveyor and town founder Amos Bowman moved his family to the northern tip of Fidalgo Island. Bowman began promoting the area as an obvious terminus for the Northern Pacific Railway as it was built through the north Cascades to the Pacific. Bowman established the town's first newspaper, The Northwest Enterprise, to promote his vision of the New York of the West. Seattle and Northern Company began building a rail line from the town in 1888. Real estate and development boomed from 1888 to 1890 as a result of the railroad rumors, and the Oregon Improvement Company posted $15 million in bonds to develop the town.
In 1891, the real estate bubble burst. Speculators lost money and the Oregon Improvement Company could no longer afford to complete tracks over the Cascades. The town failed to become the railroad terminus Bowman had envisioned. After the bust, the town became prominent for its fishing tradition, thriving canning industry, and timber mills.[1] [edit] Research Tips
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