Anacortes American

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Anacortes American

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

07/23/2025

The Anacortes City Council approved Monday, July 21, a one-year contract extension and 6% rate increase for waste management and recycling services provided by WM.

07/22/2025

Now certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry paying passengers, the 56-foot Valkyrie will for the first time voyage beyond the waters around Fidalgo Island on Friday, July 25, passing under the Deception Pass Bridge at about 10:45 a.m.

Now certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry paying passengers, the 56-foot Valkyrie will for the first time voyage beyond the waters around Fidalgo Island on Friday, July 25,

07/22/2025

Antique typewriters, handsaws, a microscope and a trumpet — these were only a few of the goods for sale at Barry Anson’s booth on Saturday, July 19, at Shipwreck Festival in Anacortes.

Antique typewriters, handsaws, a microscope and a trumpet — these were only a few of the goods for sale at Barry Anson’s booth on Saturday, July 19, at Shipwreck Festival

07/21/2025

The commissioners heard a presentation on two draft interlocal agreements — one for design and construction and another for operation — for a 7,400-square-foot, 400-guest event center that would sit a block from downtown at Cap Sante Marina.

07/18/2025

A draft of how Anacortes should grow over the next 20 years has been released for review and feedback after more than a year of community outreach and work by city staff and resident volunteers.

A draft of how Anacortes should grow over the next 20 years has been released for review and feedback after more than a year of community outreach and work by

07/18/2025

“All children should feel seen, included, and that they belong — and language plays a key role in that,” said Cynthia Aguirre, who helped create a multilingual scavenger hunt for summer-campers.

“All children should feel seen, included, and that they belong — and language plays a key role in that,” said Cynthia Aguirre, who helped create a multilingual scavenger hunt for

07/17/2025

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

07/16/2025

In the six months since President Donald Trump's inauguration, protests in Anacortes have ramped up to unprecedented levels.

In the six months since President Donald Trump's inauguration, protests in Anacortes have ramped up to unprecedented levels. Similar to many small towns across the country, Anacortes has seen consistently

07/16/2025

These are some of the calls the Anacortes Police Department responded to between Friday, July 4, and Thursday, July 10.

07/16/2025

The Fidalgo Pool and Fitness Center plans to float a once-failed ballot measure that would allow it to change its form of government to make its key funding source more dependable.

The Fidalgo Pool and Fitness Center plans to float a once-failed ballot measure that would allow it to change its form of government to make its key funding source more

07/15/2025

The Port of Anacortes’ free summer concert series returned last week with concerts planned for upcoming Wednesdays and Fridays from 6-8 p.m. at Seafarers' Memorial Park.

07/15/2025

Appearing alongside his public defender, Josue Manuel Flores, 49, was arraigned Monday, July 14, in Skagit County Superior Court.

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Anacortes, WA

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+13602933122

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http://www.goanacortes.com/

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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.

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