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Wrangell Alaska
Location and Climate
The City of Wrangell is located on the northern tip of
Wrangell Island, 155 miles south of Juneau and 89 miles
northwest of Ketchikan. It is near the mouth of the Stikine
River, an historic trade route to the Canadian Interior.
Wrangell is located in the Wrangell Recording District. The
area encompasses 59 sq. miles of land and 34 sq. miles of
water. Wrangell is in the maritime climatic zone and
experiences cool summers, mild winters, and year-round
rainfall. Summer temperatures typically range from 42 to 64;
winter temperatures range from 21 to 44. Average annual
precipitation is 82 inches, including 64 inches of snowfall.
Fog is common from September through December.
History, Culture and Demographics
Wrangell is one of the oldest non-Native settlements in
Alaska. In 1811, the Russians began fur trading with area
Tlingits, and built a stockade named Redoubt Saint Dionysius
in 1834. The Island was named for Ferdinand Von Wrangel,
manager of the Russian-American Co. around 1830. The British
of Hudson's Bay Co. leased the fort in 1840, and named the
stockade Fort Stikine. A large Stikine Indian village known
as Kotzlitzna was located 13 miles south of the fort. The
Tlingits claimed their own ancient trade rights to the
Stikine River, and protested when the Hudson Bay Company
began to use their trade routes. But two epidemics of
smallpox, in 1836 and 1840, reduced the Tlingit population
by half. The fort was abandoned in 1849 when furs were
depleted. The fort remained under the British flag until
Alaska's purchase by the U.S. in 1867. In 1868, a U.S.
military post called Fort Wrangell was established, named
for the Island. The community continued to grow as an
outfitter for gold prospectors in 1861, 1874-77, and in
1897. Riotous activity filled gambling halls, dance halls,
and the streets. Thousands of miners traveled up the Stikine
River into the Cassiar District of British Columbia during
1874, and again to the Klondike in 1897. Glacier Packing
Company began operating in Wrangell in 1889. The Wilson
& Sylvester Sawmill provided packing boxes for
canneries, and lumber for construction. By 1916, fishing and
forest products had become the primary industries - four
canneries and a cold storage plant were constructed by the
late 1920s. In the 1930s, cold packing of crab and shrimp
was occurring. Abundant spruce and hemlock resources have
helped to expand the lumber and wood products industry. The
Alaska Pulp Corporation sawmill, Wrangell's largest
employer, closed in late 1994.
20% of the population are Alaska Natives. A federally
recognized tribe is located in the community. Wrangell is
primarily a non-Native community with a mixture of Tlingit,
Russian, British, and American historical influences.
Logging and fishing support the community.
Economy and Transportation
Wrangell's economy is based on commercial fishing and
timber from the Tongass National Forest. Fishing and fish
processing are an important segment of the economy. 264
residents hold commercial fishing permits. A dive fisheries
is also under development - 60 divers harvest sea urchins,
sea cucumbers and geoducks. Renewed gold mining activities
up the Stikine River has enabled Wrangell to provide
transportation and staging services for these operations.
Although Wrangell offers a deep-water port, both large and
small cruise ship dockings are expected to total 27 during
1998. There are some independent tourists, attracted by
Stikine River sportfishing. The Alaska Pulp Corp. sawmill
closed in 1994, forcing approximately 225 mill workers and
loggers into unemployment - 20% of Wrangell's workforce. The
mill has been sold to Silver Bay Logging, and reopened in
April 1998 with 33 employees.
The City is accessible by air and water. The State-owned
6,000' paved runway enables jet service. A seaplane base is
available. Scheduled air taxi services are also available.
The marine facilities include a breakwater, deep draft dock,
State Ferry terminal, two small boat harbors with 498 slips,
and boat launch. Barges deliver goods from Seattle and
Juneau.
< Back to Alaska
Communities
Source: Department of Community & Economic
Development
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