Photos from Port of South Whidbey’s post
The Port of South Whidbey posted this to its Facebook page on 2026-02-04 13:41:19.
Here is more history of the South Whidbey Harbor leading up to the 1960’s. Thank you langleyhistory.com/
The original town wharf at the foot of Anthes Avenue was 999 feet long. It was placed at the lowest point along the bank of the property owned by the Langley Land and Improvement Company.
It was severely damaged in a spring storm in 1894, and had to be extensively repaired.
In 1905, town founder Jacob Anthes decided to move the wharf to a more protected site around the point.
Marina
Original 1891 plat of Langley superimposed on a LIDAR image illustrating the locations of the original wharf and new wharf (Courtesy Robert Waterman).
The new wharf was U-shaped so a horse and wagon would not have to back up to turn around. Two warehouses, each with a smaller building at their end, and a privy were built at the end of the wharf. A flagpole, a water tank, and a small house completed the marina.
A breakwater of wooden pilings was constructed and riprap and dirt from the road scraped along the bluff were placed behind it to create land for several warehouses and a small shingle mill.
The new wharf was U-shaped so a horse and wagon would not have to back up to turn around. Two warehouses, each with a smaller building at their end, and a privy were built at the end of the wharf. A flag pole, a water tank, and a small house completed the marina.
Marina
A wooden plank sidewalk was added along “Anthes Road” (Wharf Street) for passengers arriving via mosquito fleet steamers.
Although the wharf was more protected from storms, its new location separated the activity associated with the marina from the developing town up on the bluff – a situation that continues to pose a problem for the city today.
Hans Peter Jensen bought the wharf in 1911 and began to make improvements. A canning company and adjacent creamery were built at the foot of the wharf. A new warehouse was constructed at the end of the wharf. Buildings at each end of the initial warehouses were moved to the foot of the north arm of the wharf and placed together to form a popular “watering hole” called the Sea Breeze Confectionary.
By 1918, the wharf and marina had become a busy commercial and social center.
A large dance pavilion was constructed in 1914. In addition to dances, the pavilion housed exhibits during the Island County Fair that was held at the marina from 1917 – 1920.
The marina was also a popular site for swimming, fishing, and community picnics and clambakes.
The dance pavilion was torn down in 1920. The Standard Oil Company purchased the property and constructed several oil storage tanks and an office on the site.
The first car ferry to the Island appeared in 1919. One of the ferries serving Langley beginning in 1923 was the “Whidby II”.
The Sea Breeze Confectionary also served as a waiting room for passengers. The Sea Breeze eventually moved into the vacated Cannery building.
After a protracted battle for routes between two ferry companies, the “Whidby II” made it’s last trip to Langley in December 1929, and all car ferries subsequently went to Clinton.
The Great Depression
Faced with decreasing traffic to Langley, a group of Langley’s citizens formed the Langley Dock Company, Inc. in 1926 with a goal of preserving economic activity at the Marina. They purchased the property along the waterfront and the Wharf in 1928.
In 1930, a berry packing plant replaced the original warehouses at the foot of the dock. Strawberries from all parts of the Island were packed in barrels and shipped to Everett and Seattle.
In 1936, the Dock Company divided the property into lots and platted the Sunrise Beach Addition to the Town. Members of the Dock Company each received one or more lots. Cottages and homes were built on lots north and south of the dock.
The deteriorating wharf was rebuilt by the WPA in 1939.
The Dock Company sold the wharf and tidelands to the Town of Langley for $1.00 in 1939 and disbanded.
1940 – 1971: Fishing Resort
In 1941, Leone and Arvid Hansen purchased lots 10 and 11 and began construction of what became the Sunrise Beach Resort. They built seven small cottages and remodeled a larger Langley Boat Works building to create a popular fishing resort. Walter Kinney purchased the resort in 1945 and added three more cottages. in 1959, the Kinney’s sold the resort to Hal and Flo Hahn who ran it until 1971.
Langley’s strawberry packing plant closed in 1941 and was replaced by a brush packing plant in 1943. Huckleberry, salal and sword ferns from the island were shipped to Everett and loaded onto box cars to be distributed to florists in the eastern United States.
Round-the-Island motorboat races began in 1954 with boats leaving from Holmes Harbor. The starting point was moved to Langley in 1957. The “Around Whidbey Island Outboard Marathon Race” sponsored by the Langley merchants drew approximately 50 boats of several classes.
Fredrick and Carl Frei won the race in 1958 in two hours and fifty-five minutes.
In 1961, two courses for different size boats were set out: one around the Island and a rectangular course in Saratoga Passage between Langley and Camano for boats making 10 laps.
Other events – Smorgasbord dinner, card party, bake sale, dance, pancake breakfast, bingo – preceded and followed race day at locations on the south end of the Island.
1959: Hein’s Langley Marina
Bernard (“Barney”) Hein and his wife Marjorie purchased the packing plant and remodeled it into the “Langley Marina” that opened in 1960. They added living quarters and built a dock.
