In 1877, railroad surveyor and town founder Amos Bowman moved his family to the northern tip of Fidalgo Island.

Bowman established the town's first newspaper, The Northwest Enterprise, to promote his vision of the New York of the West.

Speculators lost money and the Oregon Improvement Company could no longer afford to complete tracks over the Cascades.

[8] After the bust, the town became prominent for its fishing tradition, thriving canning industry, and timber mills.

[9] The area around the city includes cliffs and bluffs with bedrock deposits that date to 160 million years before present.

The weather is milder than other areas of the Pacific Northwest, because it lies within the Olympic Mountain rain shadow.

First known as Ship Harbor, Anacortes was established with a name and a post office in 1879 in the vain hope that it would be selected as the western terminus of the transcontinental railroad.

Refining remains the area's largest industry, but the economic base now includes yacht construction/shipbuilding, tourism.

As a result of Anacortes' proximity to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the area provides opportunities for whale-watching.

The waters off of Anacortes and Fidalgo Island are home to several varieties of marine-life, including three resident Orca pods.

Anacortes hosts many long-distance cyclists,[citation needed] as it is the western terminus of the Adventure Cycling Association's Northern Tier cross-country bicycle route, which ends in Bar Harbor, Maine.Anacortes' sister cities are:[25][26]