Anacortes American

Home
United States
Anacortes, WA
Anacortes American

A community weekly newspaper covering Fidalgo Island since 1890. Owned by Skagit Publishing / Adams Publishing Group

09/02/2025

As the school year begins and the state-champion Seahawks' football team looks to continue its success on Friday night, another Anacortes High School team is looking for redemption.

09/01/2025

Housing — particularly the need for more of all types — was the top concern for Anacortes residents who spoke during the first public hearing on the city’s draft 2025-2045 comprehensive plan.

Housing — particularly the need for more of all types — was the top concern for Anacortes residents who spoke during the first public hearing on the city’s draft 2025-2045

08/29/2025

A jury trial has been pushed to December in the case of an Anacortes man who allegedly killed motorcyclist Dennis James Thornlow of Anacortes in early July.

08/28/2025

Time to take a step back into local history. Take a look back decades at a time at this date in Anacortes history ...

08/28/2025

“Eliminating the hearing-examiner appeal doesn't take away the public's opportunity to engage on legislative matters,” City Attorney Darcy Swetnam said, “because the real decision-makers are council.”

08/27/2025

People of all ages took to the streets of downtown Anacortes on Sunday, Aug. 24 — not in protest but in pursuit of a perfectly pedestrian experience.

08/27/2025

These are some of the calls the Anacortes Police Department responded to between Friday, Aug. 15, and Thursday, Aug. 21.

08/27/2025

Four months after Secret Cove suddenly closed its doors, fans of the beloved Anacortes restaurant are finding familiar dishes and familiar faces 6 miles south at the Corner Bar & Grill.

Four months after Secret Cove suddenly closed its doors, fans of the beloved Anacortes restaurant are finding familiar dishes and familiar faces 6 miles south at the Corner Bar &

08/26/2025

Karla DeCamp took the stage at Seafarers Memorial Park on Saturday morning, Aug. 23, to welcome about 100 participants to the 10th annual Anacortes Cancer Walk.

08/26/2025

“We’re a group of almost all retired people who haven't played kickball and haven't run around bases in a very long time,” Anacortes retiree Wendy Wands said of The Spitfires, an informal kickball team the 67-year-old organized this summer.

“We’re a group of almost all retired people who haven't played kickball and haven't run around bases in a very long time,” Anacortes retiree Wendy Wand said of The Spitfires,

08/23/2025

Chonka's name will still appear on the Nov. 4 general election ballot, but she encouraged voters to support her opponent, Bob Papadakis, who said he was saddened by the news.

08/22/2025

The price tag includes about $41,000 to upgrade trash enclosures and about $47,000 to add rooftop solar panels at Cap Sante Marina's north basin restroom and laundry building.

Address

901 6th Street
Anacortes, WA
98221

Telephone

+13602933122

Website

http://www.goanacortes.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Anacortes American posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Anacortes American:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Media Company in Anacortes?

The Anacortes American — Anacortes and Fidalgo Island’s news and information source since 1890

Anacortes was a city of great promise when Douglass Allmond and Frederick H. Boynton established the Anacortes American in 1890. The town’s founders envisioned Anacortes becoming the New York City of the West as the terminus of an anticipated railroad.

The first edition of the American was published on May 15, 1890, delivering eight pages of news, stories and advertisements every Thursday to the people of Anacortes and Skagit County. In its initial issue, the American proclaimed its purpose was “To publish an honest, independent, aggressive newspaper that shall tell the story of our marvelous city and its surroundings.”

The Anacortes American was made the official newspaper of Skagit County in 1891, and soon acquired the title of official newspaper of Anacortes.

The town founders’ dreams for Anacortes were derailed, however, by the economic depression of 1893-97. Anacortes was not selected as the railroad terminus. The local real estate market crashed. Businesses closed and many residents left in search of opportunities elsewhere, some walking away from their mortgages.

Boynton left the newspaper by 1893, leaving Allmond as the sole publisher of the now Republican Anacortes American. Allmond sold the American in 1907 to move on to other ventures — he founded Anacortes’ first public water and power utility. Allmond’s successor, James Morton Post, invested in new equipment and, in 1913, constructed the building out of which the Anacortes American still operates. Although the city’s New York-of-the-West aspirations proved unfulfilled, Post declared Anacortes the “Gloucester of the Pacific” on the front pages of the American.

In 1930, after 23 years at the helm of the American, Post sold the newspaper to Vernon McKenzie and Carl A. Sandquist. In his first editorial, Sandquist assured the American’s readership that the newspaper would stay true to its initial objective of producing news of, by, and for the community of Anacortes.

During McKenzie and Sandquist’s time managing the American, the Great Depression hit, greatly affecting the economy of Anacortes and causing more local businesses to fail. The pair ran the newspaper as best as they could throughout these difficult years. They sold the American in 1939 to Cornelius Root, but he proved to be a relatively indifferent and absent publisher during his decade of tenure.

Wallie Funk and John Webber bought the American in 1950 from Root, reviving the newspaper and focusing heavily on its role as a voice of and for the Anacortes community. During this period, the economy of Anacortes shifted; the lumber industry was replaced as a leading employer by gas and oil companies that established up refineries on March’s Point. Funk, a native of Anacortes and descendant of one of the city’s founders, used the American to champion the community and engage in projects designed to improve the infrastructure and quality of life of the city.

A competitor to the American, the Daily Mercury, led by Joe and Margaret McNary, folded months after the pair began publishing the newspaper. In response, Funk and Webber launched the American Bulletin, a smaller tabloid that appeared a month after the Daily Mercury ceased production, scooping up the former newspaper’s advertising revenue and readership. The weekly Anacortes American and the almost-daily American Bulletin were published concurrently by Funk and Webber until the men merged their newspapers with the Skagit Valley Herald on Jan. 1, 1962. The American Bulletin merged with the Herald, but the Anacortes American continued as its own publication.

The Anacortes American and the Skagit Valley Herald were bought by Scripps League Newspapers in 1964. The newspapers are now owned by Adams Publishing Group.

The Anacortes American has survived nationwide economic downturns and technological changes, and is now celebrating well over a century of uninterrupted publication. News and information published by the American is available in print and online, and the newspaper continues to be invested in — and is proud to be embraced by — the community it serves.

Anacortes American

09/02/2025

09/01/2025

08/29/2025

08/28/2025

08/28/2025

08/27/2025

08/27/2025

08/27/2025

08/26/2025

08/26/2025

08/23/2025

08/22/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category

The Anacortes American — Anacortes and Fidalgo Island’s news and information source since 1890