Editing Langley, Washington (section)

==History==

=== Pre-contact ===
Indigenous peoples, namely the [[Snohomish people]], have inhabited south Whidbey Island since [[time immemorial]].<ref name="SWHS">{{Cite web |title=Native Peoples |url=https://southwhidbeyhistory.org/special-topics/the-native-peoples/ |access-date=November 14, 2023 |website=South Whidbey Historical Society}}</ref> Langley is known in the [[Lushootseed|Lushootseed language]] as {{Langx|lut|sc̓q̓abac|label=none}},{{Efn|also spelled sc̓əq̓abac or c̓əq̓abac}} meaning "gooseberry bush."<ref name="Dictionary" /><ref name="Waterman" />

The site of Langley was a camping spot used during clam harvesting in the summer months.<ref name="Tweddell1953" /> Nearby, there was a village of the {{Langx|lut|dəgʷasx̌abš|label=none}}, a Snohomish band, approximately one mile east of Langley on Sandy Point ({{Langx|lut|č̓əč̓ɬqs|links=no}}).{{Efn|meaning "ripped nose"}}<ref name="Dictionary" /><ref name="Waterman" /><ref name="Tweddell1953" /> This village had a large [[potlatch]] house, which brought visitors, even as distant as the [[Samish people|Samish]], during festivities.<ref name="SWHS" />

For centuries, warfare was uncommon in Puget Sound, and mainly retaliatory in nature. The main dangers to the Snohomish at the time were the [[Haida people|Haida]] and other Northwest Coast peoples, who traveled in large war canoes from the far north to raid and pillage along the southern coasts.<ref name="Suttles-1990">{{Cite book |last1=Suttles |first1=Wayne |title=Southern Coast Salish |last2=Lane |first2=Barbara |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |year=1990 |series=Handbook of North American Indians |volume=7 |pages=485–502}}</ref>

In the 18th and 19th centuries, smallpox epidemics rocked the Northwest Coast, killing 90 percent of the population. In 1792, the village at {{Langx|lut|č̓əč̓ɬqs|label=none}} was seen by [[Joseph Whidbey]], who noted that the population seemed to be about 200 people.<ref name="SWHS" /> Later, the village would be abandoned in the late 1800s after the removal of the Snohomish people to the [[Tulalip|Tulalip Reservation]].

=== American settlement ===
Langley was founded in the 1890s by Jacob Anthes,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.langleywa.org/visitors/history_of_langley.php |title=History of Langley |access-date=December 17, 2020}}</ref> and was named for J.W. Langley of Seattle.<ref>{{cite book |last=Meany |first=Edmond S. |title=Origin of Washington geographic names |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027074981;view=1up;seq=158 |year=1923 |publisher=University of Washington Press |location=Seattle |page=142}}</ref> In 1902, Anthes built a logger bunkhouse that still stands in the downtown core (now functioning as the South Whidbey Historical Society Museum).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://southwhidbeyhistory.org/join/about-us/the-south-whidbey-historical-society-museum-logger-bunk-house/|title=The South Whidbey Historical Society Museum Logger Bunk House &#124; South Whidbey Historical Society}}</ref> Langley was officially incorporated on February 26, 1913.

In the late 1900s, a number of [[4H Club|4H]] [[rabbit]]s escaped their enclosures at the Island County Fair and went on to thrive as a large [[feral]] population initially residing around the county fairgrounds and later spreading throughout Langley and south Whidbey Island.<!-- <ref>[https://www.change.org/p/langley-city-council-fred-mccarthy-compassion-for-langley-bunnies-on-whidbey-island https://www.change.org/p/langley-city-council-fred-mccarthy-compassion-for-langley-bunnies-on-whidbey-island]</ref> --> In the 2010s the rabbits became a controversial issue in local politics, with citizens and groups advocating for public policy positions from removal and relocation to eradication. Some favored controlling the rabbit population using [[Bird of prey|raptor]]s, while others advocated for a more lenient position of community acceptance.<ref name="nbc20150907">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hundreds-bunnies-plague-langley-washington-n429186|title=Hundreds of Bunnies Have Overrun This Washington City|website=[[NBC News]] |date=September 17, 2015 }}</ref><ref name="seattletimes20151007">{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/northwest/its-not-cute-anymore-bunny-brouhaha-as-langley-is-overrun-with-rabbits/|title='It's not cute anymore': Bunny brouhaha as Langley is overrun with rabbits|date=October 7, 2015}}</ref><ref name="swr20170408">[http://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/news/rabbits-raid-langley-city-hall-garden-but-overall-population-appears-to-be-on-the-decline/ Rabbits raid Langley City Hall garden, but overall population appears to be on the decline], South Whidbey Record, April 4, 2017, accessed September 13, 2019.</ref><ref name="swr20180113">[http://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/news/langleys-rabbit-discussion-returns-port-weighs-options/ Langley's rabbit discussion returns; Port weighs options], South Whidbey Record, January 13, 2018, accessed September 13, 2019.</ref>

=== The Olympic Club ===
The Dog House was opened in 1908 as an elite [[gentlemen's club]] called "The Olympic Club". However, on opening night the founder realized that he didn't have enough money to pay the entertainers, so he left town with all the money.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historical Langley – 230 First St |url=http://ww2.whidbey.net/scharwat/data/house230.html |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=ww2.whidbey.net}}</ref> Over the years, the building has acted as host to many businesses.

During the [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] era, the building was host to underground boxing and wrestling matches which were illegal on the mainland.

When Prohibition ended, the club became a public bar, and operated as a restaurant and bar until its closure in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PCAD – Olympic Building, Langley, WA |url=https://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/14353/ |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=pcad.lib.washington.edu}}</ref> The Clyde Theatre began in the top floor of this building.