Water Highways

Water Highways. . , The Coupeville Wharf was built in 1905 in response to the increased economic, military and social activities in the area, and was one of several that supported the busy shipping commerce to and from Whidbey Island., In the late 1800s, sailing ships transported cargo such as produce, grains, lumber, livestock and other household goods needed to sustain life and business necessary on the island. The sailing ships gave way to small steamships nicknamed the "Mosquito Fleet" in the early 1900s. Steamship delivery of cargo, mail and passengers was a popular community gathering event at the wharf., Vessels of the Mosquito Fleet - the Fairhaven, Calista, Camano, Whidby and Atalanta - served Puget Sound transporting goods and passengers to Whidbey Island communities., The last of the steamships sailed from the wharf in the 1930s. A new era of automobile-based access to the mainland soon followed, as the Mosquito Fleet evolved into a ferry system, and the island became linked to the mainland by the Deception Pass Bridge, which opened in 1935., [Photo captions, clockwise from top left, read] , . Perry Grove photo of five-masted schooner hauling timber, early twentieth century., . Fairhaven passenger and freight steamer., . Whidby steamship arriving with goods on foredeck., . Townspeople watching the Penn Cove Water Festival from Front Street dock, 1935., . Passengers disembarking from Mosquito Fleet steamship (possibly the Calista) on the Coupeville Wharf, early 1900s.