PRESERVATION PRINCIPLES

Penn Cove

Location and Access

The Penn Cove area includes the 4,000 acres of water that constitute the cove itself and the ten miles of shoreline along

its edge.

Exhibiting a distinct beach character the shoreline varies from high sandy cliffs to muddy tidelands, with points of land

extending into the cove.

Primary access is along a series of shoreline roads which circle the cove including Parker Road, Front Street in

Coupeville, Madrona Way and Scenic Heights Road.

Significance and Integrity

Occupied and used by Indians and white settlers for nearly 600 years, the lands surrounding Penn Cove are richly layered

with cultural history.

The oldest known significant resources are the 34 archeological sites, including three permanent Salish villages.

White settlers also realized the value of the water resource and eleven original donation land claims were taken up along

the shores of the cove.

The first trading post on the entire island located along the shores of Penn Cove on Captain Barstow's claim. An overland

road, developed in 1854, linked the cove and Ebey's Prairie following portions of what is now Madrona Way.

Nearby, and associated with the period of early settlement, the county seat was established at Coveland where it

remained until 1881 when Coupeville became the primary service area for the region. Also in the vicinity of Coveland, a

small resort area grew around the cove at the turn of the century. The Captain Whidbey Inn (1901) was built during this

time, and it, along with several small cabins, echo the subsequent historic trends in recreation and tourism around the

cove.

Today, similar recreation-related activities including the development of seasonal homes, boat launches, and beach areas,

reflect the use of Penn Cove as a significant natural resource and recreational area on the reserve.

Seventeen contributing and historically significant structures remain on the shores of Penn Cove. Because of these

structures, the thirty-four known archeological sites, and the cove itself, Penn Cove remains a valuable cultural and

natural landscape area.

Preservation Principles

Preservation principles for Penn Cove focus on the protection of significant cultural and natural resources.

1. In order to protect known archeological sites around Penn Cove, archeological clearance from the state should be

Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve

Reading the Cultural Landscape

A cottage on Snakelum Point built as a summer home

for Seattle residents in the 1940s.

Several homes are located along the shores of Kennedy's Lagoon

just across the road from Penn Cove.

Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve: Reading the Cultural Landscape Page 1 of 2

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obtained before any new. construction occurs along the cove.

2. Maintain all significant historic structures as well as natural areas reflecting historic settlement patterns including

Monroe's Landing, San de Fuca, Captain Whidbey Inn, Good Beach, Kennedy's Lagoon, the Coupeville

waterfront, Long Point and Snakelum Point.

3. Maintain the visual quality of the cove by encouraging appropriate design and thoughtful and sensitive siting of

new structures.

4. Maintain Penn Cove as a recreational resource by providing clear public access to the water.

NEXT>>> Ebey's Prairie

http://www.nps.gov/ebla/rcl/rcl6f.htm

Last Updated: 07-Jun-2000

Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve: Reading the Cultural Landscape Page 2 of 2

http://web.archive.org/web/20080519191143/http://www.nps.gov/archive/ebla/rcl/rcl6f.htm 11/29/2011