page_title: Anacortes, Washington
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Anacortes, Washington / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: On verso of image: Robinson Fisheries Co., Anacortes, Wash. Skinning codfish in Cutting and Skinning Department . In Folder 206 Subjects (LCTGM): Canneries--Washington (State)--Anacortes Subjects (LCSH): Codfish--Washington (State)--Anacortes; Cannery workers--Washington (State)--Anacortes; Robinson Fisheries Company; Robinson Fisheries Company--Employees
context_page_description: 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 15,778 at the time of the 2010 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 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.
context_section_description: Anacortes is on Fidalgo Island. Rosario Strait and the San Juan Islands are to the West while to the South, Deception Pass separates Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands. To the East, the Swinomish Channel separates Fidalgo Island from the mainland. The weather is milder than other areas of the Pacific Northwest, because it lies within the Olympic Mountain rain shadow. Fidalgo Island gets 21 inches of rain per year, only half as much as Seattle.
  First known as Ship Harbor, Anacortes was established with a name and a post office in 1879 in the vain hope that it would be selected as the western terminus of the transcontinental railroad. The town was officially incorporated in 1891 shortly after the railroad bust, and became a lumber and fishing center.
  In the 1950s, oil companies built big refineries near Anacortes. Two of the five refineries operating in Washington are located near the town. One is owned and operated by Marathon Petroleum (opened in 1955, it was originally built and owned by Shell Oil and later operated by Andeavor [formerly Tesoro]), operating as the Marathon Anacortes Refinery, the other is owned and operated by Shell Puget Sound Refinery Company (opening in 1957, and originally built and owned by Texaco). Refining remains the area's largest industry, but the economic base now includes yacht construction/shipbuilding, tourism, and residential services for the nearby Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
caption: Workers at the Robinson Fisheries Co. Skinning codfish in the Cutting and Skinning Department
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