Editing Oak Harbor, Washington (section)

==History==
[[File:Pioneer Way in downtown Oak Harbor, WA.jpg|thumb|right|Pioneer Way in downtown Oak Harbor]]

The [[Swinomish Indians of the Swinomish Reservation of Washington|Lower Skagit people]] have inhabited Oak Harbor ({{Langx|lut|təqucid}})<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Puget Sound Geographical names |date=January 16, 2017 |url=https://tulaliplushootseed.com/places/ |access-date=January 26, 2023 |publisher=Tulalip Tribes}}</ref> and the nearby Crescent Harbor ({{Langx|lut|č̓itusəb}})<ref name=":0" /> since time immemorial.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Marian W |date=1941 |title=The Coast Salish of Puget Sound |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=197–211 |doi=10.1525/aa.1941.43.2.02a00050 |jstor=662952 |doi-access=free }}</ref> There were several villages in the vicinity, and the modern settlement of Oak Harbor was built over one such village.<ref name=":1" />

In the early 1850s, two [[settlers]] staked claims where the city now stands&mdash;[[Zakarias Martin Toftezen]], a shoemaker from [[Norway]]; C.W. Sumner from [[New England]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sahs-fncc.org/?page_id=58|title=Toftezen Memorial, Lutheran Cemetery, Pioneer Highway|publisher=Stanwood Area Historic Society|access-date=April 1, 2016}}</ref> Irish and Dutch immigrants also arrived and settled in the area. Oak Harbor was named for the area's [[Garry Oak]] trees and was incorporated in 1915 with a population of 401. Houses and businesses sprouted up along the shores of Oak Harbor as the [[settler|pioneers]] relied entirely on water transportation until the 1900s. For the next 30 years, [[Steamboat|steamers]] and [[cargo ship|freighters]] carried passengers and freight from the [[Whidbey Island|Island]] to the mainland and back as well as Fidalgo Island to the north. The city grew following the completion of [[Deception Pass Bridge]] on July 31, 1935, and [[Naval Air Station Whidbey Island]] on September 21, 1942.<ref name="HistoryLink">{{cite web |last=Wilma |first=David |date=July 30, 2007 |title=Oak Harbor — Thumbnail History |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/8223 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |accessdate=January 27, 2023}}</ref> The bridge, which linked [[Whidbey Island]] to [[Fidalgo Island]] and the mainland, was a [[Public Works Administration]] project built by the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]]. A [[Deception Pass State Park|nearby state park]] with {{convert|4100|acre|km2|0}} of forest, campsites, and trails was also developed.