Fidalgo Island was
first settled in the 1850s by William Munks, who opened a store on
the water. At that time there were no roads or railroads in
Washington Territory and all transportation was water-based
. The Puget Sound
area was explored by Vancouver in 1790s but the entrance - the
Strait of Juan de Fuca - was named in 1788 by the English Captain
John Meares. Fidalgo Island was named for Spanish explorer Lt.
Salvador Fidalgo, and Anacortes is located at the north end of the
Island. However, Amos Bowman "discovered" the area in 1876 when he
was working as a geologist and mapmaker for the Canadian Pacific
Railroad. He tried to convince the line to make this area its
western terminus, without success. He continued to promote the area
even though he had never seen it, and then bought land and built a
home, store, and wharf and in 1879 was granted the right to operate
a post office. He named the post office and town after his wife,
Annie Curtis Bowman, but this became altered to be closer to
Spanish-type names then prevalent around the area. Thus, it became
Anna Cortez, shortened to Anacortes.
Placed with
permission on private property.
A hearty FTF
Congratulations go out to the tenacious team, Moink and Moinkman
who obviously know their Jack!