Ebey's Landing Administrative History

Chapter Four:
THE MOVEMENT TO PRESERVE CENTRAL WHIDBEY ISLAND

This story began simply enough, with one family's decision in 1970 to rezone a portion of their farm. Little in the history of Whidbey Island to that point had suggested that a quiet request to the Island County Board of Commissioners would trigger a prolonged dispute among citizens of central Whidbey Island. In fact, the controversy that erupted would require more than a decade to resolve. Once the dust settled, the farm remained intact and the local residents had achieved a unique partnership with the National Park Service and local government. Not surprisingly in a small community whose roots are deeply entwined, some bitter feelings linger. Even within Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, the future state of the landscape is by no means assured.

Ebey Family Plot, Sunnyside Cemetery

Isaac Ebey staked his claim in 1850 in a bowl-shaped prairie amid the low hills of central Whidbey Island. The old claim is one mile square and extends inland from the western shore, slanting in a northeasterly direction. The northeast end points toward Coupeville and Penn Cove, the southwestern edge opens onto Ebey's Landing, a beach on Admiralty Inlet. Wooded uplands border its sides on the southeast and northwest, forming the bluffs on either side of Ebey's Landing. On the northwestern ridge overlooking Isaac's land stands his father Jacob's weathered homestead and blockhouse, a few scattered houses, and Sunnyside Cemetery, where the Ebeys and other settlers' families are buried. Standing at a National Park Service wayside installed near the cemetery in 1988, one can gaze across the woodlots and prairies of central Whidbey Island to the Cascade Range spanning the eastern horizon. It is easy to pick out some of the original settlers' structures in the prairie below. To the left sits the old Kineth home, overshadowed by the snowy mass of Mt. Baker in the background. Near the center of the prairie stands the two-story Gould farmhouse, where present owner Bill Smith recently found Isaac Ebey's Donation Land Claim patent concealed behind a plaster wall. To the far right stands the old ferry house overlooking the landing. Several miles across the water lie Port Townsend and the Olympic Peninsula; in the distance, the jagged Olympic peaks frame the western horizon.

The National Park Service has placed a photograph at this wayside, taken at the turn of the century, which duplicates the panoramic view of the prairie. It is evidence that here endures a landscape little changed in 140 years.

After Isaac Ebey's death, his sons Eason and Ellison divided his land straight up from the beach, allowing each man a long, rectangular plot with a half mile of beachfront. Ellison's (southeastern) half today is divided among the Shermans, Burton Engle, and Robert Pratt. [1] Eason sold his (northwestern) half to John Gould in 1880. In 1917, Harry Smith bought Gould's 320-acre estate, which his two sons, Knight and George, inherited. It is with the Smith brothers that the evolution of Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve really begins.

Throughout the 1960s, George and Knight, along with their wives Marion and Roberta, bred cattle and horses on their farm, and planted diversified crops. By the late 1960s the brothers had come to believe that farming was an unprofitable enterprise; they also realized that they were getting older and would not continue to farm much longer. Aware of the demographic changes occurring around the Puget Sound and of the land's residential potential, the family decided to develop part of their farm. They had no immediate plans to build on the property, but the first step was to get the land rezoned. In June 1968, the Smith brothers requested that the Board of Island County Commissioners reclassify 82 acres of their land along the northwest boundary from agricultural to rural residential. The Commissioners complied. In March 1970, the brothers requested that an additional 124 acres be rezoned along the beach. But, unlike the usual zoning request on Whidbey Island, this one attracted notice. Ebey's Prairie was not an ordinary piece of ground; it was, some said, one of the most spectacular spots on the island, and in the entire Puget Sound region. [2]

Al Sherman, whose dairy farm abutted the Smith property, was among the first to question the new development and its impact on the prairie. A local representative on the County Planning Commission, Sherman alerted his neighbor, artist Albert Heath, to the proposed land use change. Albert Heath lived in a house atop the northwestern ridge. He had moved to Whidbey Island in 1947, drawn, he said, to the beauty of Ebey's Prairie. The old ferry house, owned at the time by Lena Kohne (Mrs. Frank) Pratt, needed a caretaker, and Heath gladly took the job. As his relationship to Mrs. Pratt and her son Robert deepened, Heath moved across Ebey's Prairie into a Pratt-owned house on the northwest ridge, near Knight and Roberta Smith's home, where he looked after the house and a flock of sheep. In 1965, Mrs. Pratt left to Heath in her will the old Jenne home southeast of the Smith Farm, which he later traded to her son Robert for a 125-acre parcel with 300 feet of waterfront and bluff overlooking Perego's Lake. Although also a friend of the Smiths, Heath was disturbed by the size and density of their proposed development on the open spaces. "That suddenly made me an environmentalist," Heath remarked. Sherman and Heath decided to speak out. [3]

As word got around about the Smith plans, many people grew alarmed at the threat to one of the island's prime open spaces. The Smith farm was halfway between Fort Ebey and Fort Casey state parks. An eight-mile beach hike between the two parks had been immensely popular for years, and teachers from Camp Casey often guided environmental classes there. On the bluffs above the tidelands an unusual cactus grew, as well as golden paintbrush, a plant on the state endangered species list. One of the island's most spectacular views was available to everyone by hiking an old sheep and deer trail that topped the bluff above Ebey's Landing and skirted the rim to the north. A half mile of the shoreline and portions of the bluff and forest were state school lands under the jurisdiction of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, but most of the bluffs between Fort Casey and Fort Ebey were in private hands, all with the potential to be developed. Although the beach owners--including the Smiths--had permitted public recreation, all of this could change with the proposed development. The public had little access to other beaches on the west side of Whidbey Island, and now it appeared that access to Ebey's Landing could be lost. [4]

Some residents of Island County felt development on Whidbey Island was both necessary and inevitable, and resented efforts to intervene in what they considered to be progress. At the very least, some property owners would argue, no one should tell them what to do with their land. Whidbey News-Times columnist Adele Ferguson, a beachfront landowner herself, argued in print with environmental lawyer and co-author of the pending shoreline management initiative, Roger Leed, insisting that paying taxes on beach property gave owners the right to control the land as they pleased. [5]

Like other rural areas, Island County lacked the kind of zoning and planning that required significant environmental protection. The members of the Island County Board of Commissioners tended to be pro-growth, and planners who attempted to restrict development and land use often found themselves on the outs with the three-man board. The board frequently overturned recommendations by the planning commissioners. Although Coupeville had developed a comprehensive plan in 1970 which sought to protect rural scenery, and Island County had its General Plan of 1964, a challenge to traditional land ownership values could raise powerful emotions. [6]

In March 1970, the county commission held a public hearing regarding the Smith brothers' rezoning request for the beachfront property. The meeting was well-attended, and evenly divided between supporters and opponents of development on Ebey's Prairie. Albert Heath objected from an aesthetic viewpoint, as did Pat Johnston of the Island County Citizens for Better Planning, a group consisting of landowners and "summer people" on the island. [7] Dewey Hoekstra, the president of the county park board, stated his interest in having the state purchase Ebey's Landing through the Inter-Agency for Outdoor Recreation. Nearly everyone at the hearing seemed reluctant to rezone the prairie for residential development, including the Smiths. But considering the diminished agricultural activity on the island and the growth of the population, the Smiths lamented, they "could not live on the scenery." With debts of approximately $50,000 on the farm, Knight and Roberta were especially anxious to begin development. [8]

The Smiths' request won out over public opposition, and the Island County Commissioners rezoned the additional acreage; in April 1970, the commission approved a preliminary plat to develop 48 acres along the northwest ridge. But Knight Smith died suddenly of a heart attack, and the family's building plans lapsed over the summer. Roberta Smith said that her whole world changed with her husband's death. Like her sister-in-law Marion, she worked for the county government in order to supplement her income, but it had not been enough to keep her farm out of debt, and now inheritance taxes compounded her financial problems. [9]

In the fall Roberta, and George and Marion Smith resumed preparations to develop the land. They joined with Robert Hanson, manager of the First Realty Corporation of Seattle, to form the Rocking K-Bar Ranch Corporation. The Smiths felt that First Realty was the answer to their problems. Hanson and Roberta's sons Karl ("Bill") and Steve would oversee a "tasteful" condominium project along the northwest ridge. [10] The new corporation promptly acquired development funds by mortgaging the Smith farm through the Federal Land Bank for $300,000. First Realty intended to purchase the farm from the Rocking K-Bar Ranch Corporation for $560,000 and later recover this outlay by selling the developed property. Hanson immediately paid the Smiths $90,000 out of the mortgage money, which would help them pay off an earlier mortgage and other expenses. In addition, he issued promissory notes for the $470,000 balance. The Smiths also retained one-quarter of the land, which they expected to continue in agriculture. [11]

Unfortunately for the Smiths, First Realty would soon divert its attention to another project at Keystone Spit. In the end this not only postponed the Smith development but depleted the corporation and nearly cost the Smiths their entire farm. The delay gave the local citizens determined to stop development on the prairie time to organize, further exacerbating the Smith widows' financial woes. Ebey's Prairie became a catalyst for several spirited campaigns to preserve historic vistas, open space, and tidelands in central Whidbey Island.

One of the first to form an official committee was Joan McPherson of Coupeville. In the spring of 1971, she hit upon the idea of a national seashore, reasoning that this was the only type of park that fit the area, and even hoping that someday such a park could expand to incorporate other scattered island beaches in the Puget Sound region. She and her husband, Navy Commander Jack McPherson, had only recently moved to the island. Living in the old hotel that they purchased in Coupeville, and lacking even a telephone, the McPhersons formed a committee of two, the Committee to Create a Whidbey Island National Seashore and Historic Site. At the county commission meeting in May 1971, they offered their plan for a national seashore to protect the eight-mile strip of beach from Fort Ebey south to Keystone Spit. "How much beauty and historic value can the county afford to lose?" they posed to the commission, but the commissioners were lukewarm to the proposal. A national seashore might be a good idea, but the county would lose too much in taxes and gain too little in revenue. "You can't run a county on beauty," County Assessor Carl Mecklenberg responded. The McPhersons would also learn that some otherwise supportive residents felt uneasy about the kind of facilities and policing problems that a federal park would invite. But they opened their home for public meetings in June 1971, and started a letter-writing campaign to organizations and congressmen. [12]

Another group of people who lived on or frequented Ebey's Landing had been meeting informally since 1969. Despite changes in membership over the years, this group, which began to call itself the "Friends of Ebey's," would remain tenaciously in pursuit of protection for central Whidbey Island's open spaces. Among the members was Albert Heath of Coupeville, who provided the "thread of continuity" as membership shifted. Because many original members were outsiders, they did not suffer the intense anger of neighbors and friends which would burden locals who joined later; on the other hand, they did endure the acrimony of some hostile residents who resented outside interference. These members included Doug and Tams Marsh of Everett, Dr. Fred Darvill of Mount Vernon, Barbara James of La Conner, Matt Brown of Anacortes, and Ned and Pat Johnston of Everett, people who were involved in a number of environmental organizations and issues in the region. They shared an immediate goal to prevent development of the Smith farm and maintain public access to the beach and bluff trail. The group began to gather supporters, and lobbied Governor Dan Evans and state agencies to purchase the property for open space. At this stage, however, Washington State insisted that it could not afford the land, and recommended that the local planning process be used to achieve their goals instead. [13]

One man whom the McPhersons and the Friends of Ebey's contacted, local U. S. Representative Lloyd Meeds (D-Everett), favored preserving Ebey's Landing, although he was not at first convinced that federal protection was the appropriate solution. A congressman since 1964, Meeds had supported Senator Henry M. Jackson (D Washington), whose former congressional district he now represented, in establishing North Cascades National Park, and he was sympathetic to the seashore concept. Meeds was already familiar with the general area, having assisted Washington State Parks and Recreation Director Charles Odegaard in obtaining the two guns for Fort Casey State Park in 1968. Meeds' regular column in the Whidbey News-Times encouraged local park projects. He sent the McPhersons the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation's Islands of America, which recognized the recreational potential of Whidbey Island, as well as examples of legislation for other seashores, notably Cape Cod, and suggested that their committee contact the National Park Service. Meeds notified the National Park Service of his concern for the area, as had Senator Henry Jackson, who suggested to NPS director George B. Hartzog, Jr. a gateway-style project similar to those in New York and San Francisco. [14] It was Lloyd Meeds' continuing interest, however, that would be vital to the future of Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve. [15]

Between June 10-11, 1971, the National Park Service sent a team to tour Ebey's Landing. The Pacific Northwest Region's associate regional director for park management, Bennet T. Gale, and the assistant director of cooperative activities, Rodger W. Pegues, made the preliminary reconnaissance. They agreed that Ebey's Landing should be protected, but concluded that, by itself, it lacked sufficient size and recreational opportunity to become a national seashore. 'The property owners," they noted, "want the area to remain as it is but cannot avoid forever the Charybdis of potential profit and the Scylla of rising taxes." However, Gale and Pegues affirmed that the Puget Sound area represented a "tremendous opportunity" for recreational pursuits. Ebey's Landing possessed outstanding recreational potential and natural beauty, and the resources were "clearly of national significance." The area would be appropriate within a "cluster" of seashore properties if a larger Puget Sound park were established. But Pegues and Gale did not make policy and could only send the hopeful back to the state legislature for support. Pegues suggested again in December 1972 that the National Park Service might be more likely to recommend the "cluster" national seashore if the state, through its department of natural resources, first acquired the Ebey's Landing tidelands. The NPS Pacific Northwest Regional Office would not be directly involved with Ebey's Landing again for several years. In the meantime, community and environmental activists were busy. [16]

The McPhersons transferred temporarily to Oregon in late 1971, but the Friends of Ebey's and the Northwest National Seashore Alliance, to which many of them belonged, continued to work for land protection. [17] They invited the public to join in an outdoor meeting for the first time in October 1972, and approximately one hundred people attended. The group's efforts and influence began to grow. [18] In fact, two types of preservation movement were forming which would embrace the entire midsection of Whidbey Island. One focused on the conservation of open space and the other on historic preservation, but they had much in common. [19]