Monroe's Landing

Monroe's Landing - Čǝ𝒌ʷ olá (pronounced Chekw-olá)

 The Lower Skagit village of Čǝ𝒌ʷ olá was reported to be a fairly large and permanent village with a cemetery. This village was situated almost due north of Coupeville on the north bank of Penn Cove in an area referred to as Monroe's Landing. The village population consisted of a mixture of skʷdabš and "true Skagit" and because the village was a place of mixed classes Čǝ𝒌ʷ olá was a destination for Skagit people during conflicts between high and low status.  

In an oral history performed by Judy Lynn, Charles Arnold talks about the Long House at Monroe's Landing stating: 

 "The building was just past the Robart place on the beach [...] and it was a kind of a pole building with split 1 x 12's on the side." he further recalls that the building was "pretty big when [he] was a kid" suggesting that it was about 15 feet wide and 40 feet long ( 2016 ).  

See photos below of the longhouse at Monroe's Landing

Penn Cove was widely recognized as a fishing area of great importance to the resident tribal communities prior to their relocation to reservations. As such, Penn Cove was considered an exclusive fishing area for those living in this community.  At Monroe's Landing - Čǝ𝒌ʷ olá the adjacent beach was very popular for harvesting horse clams and was the principal site to gather this resource. .

At Čǝ𝒌ʷ olá, the main pre-contact burial site washed out during the smallpox epidemic of the early 19th century.  At this time, tribal members reportedly relocated some human remains to burial sites at HoBqs and Bá?sac on Penn Cove.