No place in Washington exists where one can find more structures still standing from the Territorial Era than in Coupeville.

Lynn Hyde, interpretation specialist with Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve, said she is aware of about 30 such structures erected during that period from 1850-1875 that have been preserved and are still upright.

All fall within the boundaries of the reserve, the National Park Service unit put in place in 1978 to help preserve the historic landscape.

It’s that sort of historical fact and more that Hyde and others plan to share during the 2014 Ebey’s Conference, “Discover Ebey’s,” from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 4, at Coupeville High School.

The mission for this year’s conference is to explore the history of the land and communities within the reserve.

“When we interpret our history in Coupeville it tends to be the Victorian era,” Hyde said. “What’s unusual about this place is there’s a whole generation older than Victorian.”

Talks will range from a study of Native American settlements on Penn Cove to a panel discussion tackling the issues of preservation, privacy and tourism.

The conference, which costs $40 with an additional $12 for lunch, will include two speaker sessions covering six different topics.

After lunch, attendees may attend one of three field trips offered.

Hyde said the Ebey’s Conference is back after a two-year break related to staff changes.

It started in 2008 as part of the reserve’s 30th anniversary of being designated the only unit of its kind in the National Park system.

“It’s a little bit different this year,” Hyde said. “In past years, we had a little bit more focus on agriculture and land use.”

Now, the conference is focusing on an integral part of what got the reserve designated as a National Park unit in the first place — its history.

Col. Isaac Ebey became the first permanent white settler on Whidbey Island in 1850, and the landing and prairie that bear his name remain largely unchanged 164 years later.

When Ebey and wife Rebecca claimed the 640 acres they got as part of the 1850 Donation Land Claim Act, their land was still part of Oregon Territory. It switched to Washington Territory in 1853.

Hyde and Sarah Steen, preservation coordinators with the reserve, will team up to give a presentation that will focus on the Territorial Era in Central Whidbey and the settlement of Coveland that stood where San de Fuca sits today.

The title for their presentation is “Port Townsend to Coveland: Revealing the World of Territorial Whidbey.”

Hyde said white settlement in Central Whidbey initially congregated largely in Coveland around Penn Cove, then migrated toward Coupeville. She said some of Coupeville’s oldest structures that still stand today were moved from Coveland.

She said an example is the Fairhaven log structure, which was built in 1852. It is Coupeville’s oldest standing structure, Hyde said.

“The name of the conference is ‘Discover Ebey’s,’” she said. “The whole idea is there’s a lot of hidden significance here that most people who live here aren’t aware of.”

Other topics Saturday will be a presentation about Scott Grimm’s accounts of raising what might be the lost anchor of Capt. George Vancouver’s consort ship, Chatham. The anchor was raised in waters off the west side of Whidbey Island in June.

The keynote speaker will be Nancy Nelson of Concord, Mass. Nelson has been superintendent of Minute Man National Historical Park near Boston, for 21 years. She will address the challenges she has faced at Minute Man.

Registration for the conference is available online at www.nps.gov/ebla or by calling the reserve’s Trust Board at 360-678-6084.