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Oak Harbor, Washington

Oak Harbor, Washington
City
Location of Oak Harbor, Washington
Location of Oak Harbor, Washington
Coordinates: 48°17′42″N 122°39′31″W / 48.29500°N 122.65861°W / 48.29500; -122.65861Coordinates: 48°17′42″N 122°39′31″W / 48.29500°N 122.65861°W / 48.29500; -122.65861
Country United States
State Washington
County Island
City May 14, 1915
Government
 • Mayor Robert Severns
Area
 • City 9.47 sq mi (24.53 km2)
 • Land 9.42 sq mi (24.40 km2)
 • Water 0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2)
Elevation 92 ft (28 m)
Population (2010)
 • City 22,075
 • Estimate (2015) 22,693
 • Density 2,343.4/sq mi (904.8/km2)
 • Metro 79,275 (US: 69th)
Time zone Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes 98277-98278
Area code(s) 360
Telephone exchanges 240, 257, 279, 395, 632, 675, 678, 679
FIPS code 53-50360
GNIS feature ID 1512518
Website www.oakharbor.org

Oak Harbor is a city located on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington. The population was 22,075 at the 2010 census. Oak Harbor was incorporated on May 14, 1915.

Oak Harbor is Whidbey Island's largest incorporated city. Named for the Garry Oak trees which grace its skyline. The city's growth coincided with two major events: the building of Deception Pass Bridge on July 31, 1935, and the completion of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island on September 21, 1942. Oak Harbor's history goes back to the early 1850s, when two settlers staked claims where the city now stands—Zakarias Toftezen, a shoemaker from Norway; C.W. Sumner from New England.

Houses and businesses sprouted up along the shores of Oak Harbor as the pioneers relied entirely on water transportation until the 1900s. For the next thirty years, steamers and freighters carried passengers and freight from the Island to the mainland and back as well as Fidalgo Island to the north.

The Irish came in the late 1850s, making Oak Harbor grow and prosper as they fished and farmed the area, and the city's Dutch heritage arrived in the 1890s. Churches, schools, and more businesses followed the arrival of the Dutch. A high school was built in 1906. Oak Harbor flourished as a small country town until Deception Pass Bridge and the U.S. Navy Base connected the city to the rest of the region and the world.


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