At last Jacob Anthes may get his due, thanks to the Langley Community Club.

The longtime civic group has decided to bestow an award in honor of the founder of Langley to community-minded individuals, said Tucker Stevens, president of the club.

Stevens said it is yet to be decided how often the honor will be awarded, but it will carry a stipend of $500.

“There’s never been an Anthes award,” Stevens said. “We felt he should get some notoriety from this poor little town.”

Anthes, a native of Germany, arrived on South Whidbey in 1881 and began buying land. In 1890, he bought the tract that became the town of Langley.

The Langley Community Club has been a fixture in the area for more than 40 years, and helped kick off the city’s successful Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program.