Public votes to preserve Ferry House at Ebey’s Landing

A project to improve a prominent historic building on Ebey’s Prairie is a finalist for a preservation contest. Local preservationists needs people’s votes to make sure they win a piece of the prize money. The Ferry House, located near Ebey’s Prairie off Hill Road, is one of 25 finalists in the Puget Sound region competing for a piece of $1 million worth of funding through Partners in Preservation, which is sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express.

April 19, 2010 6:33 pm
The Ferry House at Ebey’s Prairie is one of 25 projects in the Puget Sound region competing for a part of $1 million in funding provided by Partners in Preservation.
The Ferry House at Ebey’s Prairie is one of 25 projects in the Puget Sound region competing for a part of $1 million in funding provided by Partners in Preservation.

A project to improve a prominent historic building on Ebey’s Prairie is a finalist for a preservation contest. Local preservationists needs people’s votes to make sure they win a piece of the prize money.

The Ferry House, located near Ebey’s Prairie off Hill Road, is one of 25 finalists in the Puget Sound region competing for a piece of $1 million worth of funding through Partners in Preservation, which is sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express.

The Ferry House, which was built in 1860 by Winfield Ebey, originally served as a wayside stop for folks traveling to Whidbey Island and arriving at Ebey’s Landing. The T-shaped building functioned as a boarding house and post office, said Mark Preiss, manager of Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve. He said the building has never had such amenities as electricity or indoor plumbing.

“It has a great degree of integrity,” Preiss said. The Ferry House was last regularly used decades ago as a rental in the summer.

The Ferry House has been owned over the years by the Ebey family, the Pratt family and The Nature Conservancy. It is currently owned by the National Park Service.

Preiss said the Reserve needs $155,000 to reconstruct the front porch and stabilize the building. Work took place several years ago to repair the foundation and the roof of the historic structure.

People can learn about all the selected entries and cast their vote by going to www.partnersinpreservation.com. “We encourage people to vote once a day for the Ferry House,” Preiss said. The voting started April 15 and continues through May 12.

Although the Ferry House is generally closed to the public, people can get a chance to tour the building early next month.

Tours will be available of the Ferry House Sunday, May 2 from noon to 3 p.m. In addition to the tours, food, music and other activities are also available. Preiss said he is trying to track down former users of the ferry house to see if they would be willing to share their experiences.

Tour Ferry House

Rare tours will be available of the Ferry House Sunday, May 2, from noon to 3 p.m. In addition to the tours, food, music and other activities are will also be available. Turn onto Ebey Road from Highway 20 and look for the banner on the left as approaching Ebey’s Landing and the intersection with Hill Road.