History of Seldovia, Alaska

Seldovia, Alaska, An Historical Portrait of Life in Herring Bay, by Susan W. Springer, 1st Edition, was published in 1997 and is an excellent compilation of Seldovia's history (also has hundreds of great pictures). You can purchase this book from the Herring Bay Mercantile, The Main St. Market and from other merchants in Seldovia; or you can order it on-line from the publisher's Web Site.

• View sample pictures from the book •

1889 Map of Alaska

Seldovia Historical Time Line
to late 1800's	The History of Seldovia Athabascan Indians, Aleuts and Eskimos have camped at Seldovia for hundreds of years, but its modern history began in the late 1800's. It is possible that prehistoric evidence of a village site may lie beneath the Russian Orthodox Church or other homes in the Seldovia city. Other excavations of ancient skeletal remains have turned up around the MacDonald Spit.
1840	Chief manager of the Russian Colonies in North America, Mikhail Dmitrievich Teben'kov, sent Captain to explore Cook's Inlet, including Seldovia.
1852	Captain Archimandritov named the bay "Zaliv Seldevoy" or translated, "Herring Bay." The Kenaitze Indian name for the Bay was Chesloknu.
1867	Alaska purchased from Russia. Many Russians departed for their mother country; however heritage of the Russian culture still remain in Seldovia.
1870	Russians and Natives who were engaged in fur hunting and trading settled here by the 1870's. This makes it one of the oldest settlements in the Cook Inlet area. Over the years the processing of herring, crab and salmon have been important. An Indian village once flourished at the mouth of the Seldovia River. Also Captain Nathaniel Portlock discovered what may be the first coal mine in Alaska --- 8 miles south of Seldovia. It was mined by the Russians for their settlements and the Russian fleet.
1884	10th U.S. Census Population of Seldovia: 74 (including "island" which may have been the Yukon Island)
1898	The Post Office in Seldovia was established.
1900's	At the turn of the century, Seldovia was a stop for prospectors enroute to the gold fields in the Interior.
1908	First Public School in Seldovia was established.
1910	The first salmon cannery was built around 1910.
1910	Juneau became the capital city of Alaska.
1920	A herring boom in the 1920's brought Scandinavians to town and they stayed on to fish salmon, halibut, crab. First record of a 4th of July Celebration in Seldovia.
1925	More than fifty fox farms were established in the bays and coves of the peninsula, many of them using Seldovia as the point of supply. During these years, Seldovia was the commerce center for all of Western Alaska. Powder Island also had a sawmill, which caught fire and burned down.
1927	Seldovia's canneries were thriving businesses.
1931	In 1931 a wooden boardwalk was built along the waterfront to facilitate travel through town. Businesses in buildings set on pilings flourished along the intimate wooden walkway, and Seldovia became known throughout Southcentral Alaska as "the boardwalk town." The boardwalk was also social gathering place. Even today, the charm of old Seldovia is retained in an original section of the old boardwalk which remains along the Seldovia Slough.
1945	Seldovia's first airplane service: Miller's Seldovia Air Service - 6 passenger double wing Waco float plane, pilot was Dick Miller. The plane was tethered to the Seldovia dock. This was also the year that Seldovia was incorporated as a "Second Class City," with 285 residents. Seldovia's canneries were no longer a thriving business.
1946	Seldovia's current air strip was built.
1947	Children's ski tow built on the Frank Raby Hill (behind the old Beachcomber Hotel) by Dr. Melvin Belz and Everd Jones. The first radio telephone transmitter was installed in June, enabling communication between Seldovia and Anchorage.
1962	Seldovia was reclassified as a "First Class City."
1964	The 1964 earthquake changed Seldovia forever. The land mass subsided four feet, allowing high tides to wash over the boardwalk and into its buildings- houses and stores. The waterfront boardwalk was replaced and renewed with fill from surrounding hills so the the town could be rebuilt on higher ground, above high tides.
1971	Construction began on the Susan B. English School. First classes held on August 30, 1972. Dedication Ceremony on September 30, 1972.
1975	Seldovia Native Association sold some of its logging rights to Robertson & Sons who milled about 5 million feet of Sitka spruce. In later years more logging was done.
Today	Seldovia is an active and fun community, has a wonderful school (grades 1-12), invites tourism, is an attractive retirement place, and supports the sport fishing industry.

www.seldovia.com

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