LeSourd Farm, Barn, 209 Ebey Road, Coupeville, Island County, WA

Significance: With the passing of the Donation Land Claim (DLC) Act in 1850, Congress agreed to grant land in the Oregon Territory to American settlers willing to farm it. It was during this time when settlement of Central Whidbey Island accelerated. On October 15, 1850, Colonel Isaac Neff Ebey staked his claim on 640 acres of prairie south of Penn Cove. Along with farming, Ebey played a key political role in the area, helping to form Island County, the state of Washington, and serving as district attorney. After his beheading on August 11, 1857, by Tlingit Indians, his DLC was locked in litigation for ten years. It was eventually divided between his two sons. Jacob Ellison Ebey leased his share to local farmers, until 1886 when he sold a portion to Francis Le Sourd. The property passed between the generations of the Le Sourd family, remaining a diversified farm until the early 1950s when John and Edward Le Sourd began dairying. In 1964, the farm was sold to the Dorothy Le Sourd Sherman family. The Shermans developed the dairy into the 500-cow operation that remains today. This barn's central aisle flanked by haylofts is a unique plan type among the remaining historic barns of Central Whidbey Island. Also the design of the structural system in the lofts is not duplicated in neighboring structures.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1156
Survey number: HABS WA-252-A