Places - Sitka Borough AKGenWeb

1895 Rand McNally Atlas
Courtesy of Pam Reitsch

Populated Places

Baranof

Located at head of Warm Spring Bay, on E coast of Baranof I., 19 mi. E of Sitka. A post office named Baranoff was established here in 1907 and was discontinued in 1912. It was reestablished in 1917; name changed to Baranof in 1930. The town was probably named for Baranof Island.

Chatham

Located on W shore of Sitkoh Bay, on Chichagof I., 22 mi. SE of Tenakee Springs. Cannery village named for Chatham Strait, established about 1905. The Chatham post office was established in 1906; discontinued in 1963 (Ricks, 1965, p. 10).

Goddard

Located on NE side of Hot Springs Bay, on W coast of Baranof I., 15 mi. S of Sitka. This is the site of a health resort locally named about 1924 for Dr. F. L. Goddard, a local businessman. It was probably established about 1800 by the Russians who called it "Teplyya Tseplitel Yuchya Klyuchi," meaning "sheltered curative hot springs" (Sarichev, 1826, map 19). They had a hospital here in 1841. In 1908 a post office named "Sanitarium" was established here, but the name was changed to "Goddard" in 1924; discontinued in 1944 (Ricks, 1965, p. 23, 56).

Port Alexander

Located on a small sliver of land at the SE corner of Baranof Island. It was once the salmon fishing capital of the world. It was part of Sitka Borough, but broke away into Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area in 1974.

Port Armstrong

Located on N shore of Port Armstrong, 3.3 mi. N of village of Port Alexander, on S coast of Baranof I. Former cannery, now a herring reduction plant. In 1933 its population was estimated to be 100. The Port Armstrong post office was approved in 1913 but was never in operation (Ricks, 1965, p. 52).

Sitka

Located on the west side of Baranof Island and the south half of Chichagof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean, southwest of Juneau. It is the only city in southeastern Alaska that lies on the Pacific Ocean. Sitka, historically the most notable Alaskan settlement. Its colorful past is a unique blend of native Tlingit culture and Russian history. The state's first newspaper, The Sitka Times, was published by Barney O. Ragan on September 19, 1868. Sitka served as the territorial capital until 1906, when the seat of government was moved to Juneau. The U.S. government built a naval air base there during World War II, which swelled the population to nearly 40,000. The base is now operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Todd

Located on Chichagof I., 9 mi. W of Chatham Strait and 27 mi. NW of Baranof, Alex. Arch. Name of a former cannery; published by USC&GS in the 1943 Alaska Coast Pilot (p. 378).

Mount Edgecombe

Located on the southern end of Kruzof Island. The indigenous Tlingit people considerd the mountain to be sacred.