People and scenery lend charm to this historic town

By DON CARTER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Murder, rape and the other heinous stuff of big-city news are practically non-existent in history-rich Coupeville on Whidbey Island.

So, perhaps by default, artist Alice Martin became front-page news week after week in the Coupeville Examiner earlier this year. "I was the center of a seething hotbed of controversy," she said.

Martin's leap to notoriety came when she decided to paint her house.

But her house was just not any house, and her proposed paint job was not just any paint job. Martin's home is one of Coupeville's many historic houses, and she wanted to use no less than five colors to accent its fussy Victorian trim.

That launched a long-running flap with the town's historical design review board, which thought the color scheme a bit much. Martin owns what's called the "Zylstra House," built in 1889 and named for longtime occupant James Zylstra, a Dutch immigrant who became a lawyer and early Island County prosecuting attorney.

Martin eventually hired a color consultant from San Francisco, who helped convince the design board that it's appropriate to paint Victorian houses colorfully. Martin's house, with its mansard and dormers done in fancy shaped shingles, now sports paint in varying shades of teal with touches of lavender accents and gold-leaf trim.

Martin said there are no hard feelings and she's still glad she moved to Coupeville and wouldn't consider moving elsewhere.

Coupeville residents are almost unanimous on that subject. They love the quiet, the scenery, the history, the people and quality of life.

Coupeville is kind of like a Norman Rockwell painting, a portrait of yesteryear that seems forever frozen in time by changing economics and transportation.

Although the Rockwellian appearance is important, Coupeville isn't stuck in the 19th century. The town itself is growing slowly, having added about 300 residents since 1990, and the area surrounding it has grown even faster.

Coupeville is the place where many of the 10,200 residents of Central Whidbey Island work, go to school, shop and play soccer.

With its mild climate, low rainfall and attractions of small-town lifestyle, the area is increasingly popular with retirees.

Tourists, too, love to visit.

Continued:

• Lack of water limits growth -- but that's fine by the locals
• Stronger economy is a goal