The town of Langley, tagged Village by the Sea, is perched on a low
bluff near the southern end of Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. Town
founder Jacob Anthes first purchased land here at age 15, helped plat
the town in 1891, and built a wharf. As new families arrived, First
Street filled with businesses and homes, and the town was incorporated
in 1913. Fishing resorts sprang up, but when the passenger ferry service
shifted from Langley to Clinton, the town languished. During the 1970s,
an influx of young artists and hippies arrived with an appreciation of
the area's unspoiled natural setting. Today, Langley offers a quiet,
off-the-main-highway lifestyle with seaside beauty and the cultural
stimuli of theater, art, and music.