Sitka

The City and Borough of Sitka , formerly New Arkhangelsk, or New Archangel under Russian rule (Russian: Ново-Архангельск or Новоaрхангельск, t Novoarkhangelsk), is a unified city-borough located on Baranof Island and the southern half of Chichagof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean (part of the Alaska Panhandle), in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,881. In terms of land area, it is the largest city-borough in the U.S., with a land area of 2,870.3 mi2 (7,434.1 km2) and a total area (including water area) of 4,811.4 mi2 (12,460.8 km2). Urban Sitka, the part that is usually thought of as the "city" of Sitka, is situated on the west side of Baranof Island.

The current name Sitka (derived from Sheet’ká, a contraction of the Tlingit Shee At'iká) means "People on the Outside of Baranof Island", whose Tlingit name is Sheet’-ká X'áat'l (here contracted to Shee).

History

Sitka's location was originally settled by the Tlingit people over 10,000 years ago. The Russians settled Old Sitka in 1799, calling it Redoubt Saint Michael (Russian: форт Архангела Михаила, t Fort Arkhangela Mikhaila). The governor of Russian America, Alexander Baranov, arrived under the auspices of the Russian-American Company, a colonial trading company chartered by tsar Paul I. In June 1802, Tlingit warriors destroyed the original settlement, killing many of the Russians, with only a few managing to escape.:37–39 Baranov was forced to levy 10,000 rubles in ransom for the safe return of the surviving settlers.

Baranov returned to Sitka in August 1804, with a large force, including Yuri Lisyansky's Neva. The ship bombarded the Tlingit fort on the 20th, but was not able to cause significant damage. The Russians then launched an attack on the fort and were repelled. However, after a couple days of bombardment, the Tlingit "hung out a white flag" on the 22nd, and then deserted the fort on the 26th.:44–49

Following their victory at the Battle of Sitka, the Russians established New Archangel as a permanent settlement named after Arkhangelsk, the largest city in the region where Baranov was born. The Tlingit re-established a fort on the Chatham Strait side of Peril Strait to enforce a trade embargo with the Russian establishment. In 1808, with Baranov still governor, Sitka was designated the capital of Russian America.

The Cathedral of Saint Michael was built in Sitka in 1848 and became the seat of the Russian Orthodox bishop of Kamchatka, the Kurile and Aleutian Islands, and Alaska. The original church burnt to the ground in 1966, but was restored to its original appearance, with the deliberate exception of its clockface, which is black in photographs taken prior to 1966, but white in subsequent photos.

As out of the way as it appears now, the settlement was once known as the "Paris of the Pacific;" for the first half of the nineteenth century, it was the most important port on the West Coast.

Bishop Innocent lived in Sitka after 1840. He was known for his interest in education, and his house, parts of which served as a schoolhouse, the Russian Bishop's House has since been restored by the National Park Service as part of the Sitka National Historical Park. Swedes, Finns and other Lutherans worked for the Russian-American Company, and the Sitka Lutheran Church, built in 1840, was the first Protestant church on the Pacific coast. After the transition to American control, following the purchase of Alaska from Russia by the United States in 1867, the influence of other Protestant religions increased, and Saint-Peter's-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church was consecrated as "the Cathedral of Alaska" in 1900.

There are 22 buildings and sites in Sitka that appear in the National Register of Historic Places.

Post-Russia control

Sitka was the site of the signing of the Alaska purchase and where the transfer of power took place on October 18, 1867. Russia was going through economic and political turmoil after it lost the Crimean War to Britain, France, and Turkey in 1856 and decided it wanted to sell Alaska before it got taken over by Britain. Russia offered to sell it to the United States. Secretary of State William Seward had wanted to purchase Alaska for quite some time as he saw it as an integral part of Manifest Destiny and America's reach to the Pacific Ocean. While the agreement to purchase Alaska was made in April 1867, the actual purchase and transfer of power took place on October 18, 1867. The cost to purchase Alaska was $7.2 million.

On October 18, Alaska celebrates Alaska Day to commemorate the Alaska purchase. The City of Sitka holds an annual Alaska Day Festival. This week-long event includes a reenactment ceremony of the signing of the Alaska purchase, as well as interpretive programs at museums and parks, special exhibits, aircraft displays and film showings, receptions, historic sites and buildings tours, food, prose writing contest essays, Native and other dancing, and entertainment and more. The first recorded Alaska Day Festival was held in 1949.

Alaska's first newspaper following the Alaska purchase, the Sitka Times, was published by Barney O. Ragan on September 19, 1868. Only four issues were published that year, as Ragan cited a lack of resources available at the time. The paper resumed publishing the following year as the Alaska Times. In 1870, it moved to Seattle, where the year following it was renamed the Seattle Times (not to be confused with the modern-day newspaper of the same name).

Sitka served as the capital of the Alaska Territory until 1906, when the seat of government was relocated north to Juneau.

The Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded in Sitka in 1912 to address racism against Alaska Native people in Alaska. By 1914 the organization had constructed the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall on Katlian Street.

Sitka's Filipino community established itself in Sitka before 1929. It later became institutionalized as the Filipino Community of Sitka in 1981.

Gold mining and fish canning paved the way for the town's initial growth. In World War II, when the United States Navy constructed an air base on Japonski Island, bringing 30,000 service personnel to the area, Sitka became much bigger. Today Sitka encompasses portions of Baranof Island and the smaller Japonski Island (across the Sitka Channel from the town), which is connected to Baranof Island by the O'Connell Bridge. The John O'Connell Bridge was the first cable-stayed bridge built in the Western Hemisphere. Japonski Island is home to Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (IATA: SIT; ICAO: PASI), the Sitka branch campus of the University of Alaska Southeast, Mt. Edgecumbe High School (a state-run boarding school for rural Alaskans), Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium's Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital, a U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka, and the port and facilities for the USCGC Maple.

The home rule charter of the City and Borough of Sitka was adopted on 2 December 1971 for the region of the Greater Sitka Borough, which was incorporated on 24 September 1963. On October 23, 1973, the city of Port Alexander was detached from the borough.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough is the largest incorporated city by area in the U.S., with a total area of 4,811 square miles (12,460.4 km2), of which 2,870 square miles (7,400 km2) is land and 1,941 square miles (5,030 km2) (40.3%) is water. The non-city Alaskan borough of North Slope Borough is the largest incorporated area in the U.S.

Sitka displaced Juneau, Alaska as the largest incorporated city in the United States upon the 2000 incorporation with 2,874 square miles (7,440 km2) of incorporated area. Juneau's incorporated area is 2,717 square miles (7,040 km2). Jacksonville, Florida, is the largest city in area in the contiguous 48 states at 758 square miles (1,960 km2).

Geology

Mount Edgecumbe, a 3,200-foot (980 m) dormant stratovolcano, is located on southern Kruzof Island. It can be seen on a clear day from Sitka.

Adjacent boroughs and census areas

• Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska - north, northeast
• Petersburg Census Area, Alaska - southeast

National protected areas

• Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (part of Gulf of Alaska unit)
  • Saint Lazaria Wilderness (formerly Saint Lazaria National Wildlife Refuge)
• Sitka National Historical Park
• Tongass National Forest (part)
  • South Baranof Wilderness
  • West Chichagof-Yakobi Wilderness (part)

Transportation

Sitka is only accessible by boat or plane as it is a series of islands in the Pacific Ocean. Vehicles are usually brought to Sitka via the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system. However, a vehicle is not an absolute necessity in Sitka, Alaska, as there are only 14 miles of road from one end of the island to another. Most everything is within walking distance from the downtown area which is where a majority of employers are situated. There is also public transportation available.

By air, Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport offers scheduled passenger jet service operated year round by Alaska Airlines and seasonally by Delta Connection as well as charter and bush air service provided by Harris Aircraft Services.

Delays in fall and winter due to Sitka's weather are frequent. The airport is located on Japonski Island, which is connected to Baranof Island by the O'Connell Bridge. The O'Connell Bridge, completed in 1972, was the first vehicular cable-stayed bridge in the United States. The Sitka Seaplane Base is seaplane landing area situated in the Sitka Channel, adjacent to the airport.

Ferry travel back and forth to Juneau, Ketchikan and other towns in Southeast Alaska is provided through the Alaska Marine Highway System. The ferry terminal is located 7 miles (11 km) north of downtown and a ferry ticket costs about $49 per person each way to Juneau (as of July 2013). Vehicles, pets and bicycles can also be taken on the ferry for an additional charge.

Sitka's location on the outer coast of the Alaska Panhandle is removed from routes run through Chatham Strait. This, in addition to the tides of Peril Straits that allow mainline vessels through only at slack tide combine to result in no designated service by a vessel and minimal service overall. However, the AMHS is often the mode of transportation of choice when the schedule proves convenient because of its much cheaper cost.

Alaska Marine Lines, a barge and freight company, also has the ability to move cars to other communities connected to the mainland by road systems.

A three-way partnership of non-profits Center for Community, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, and Southeast Senior Services offers public bus transit, funded by the Federal Transit Administration and the Alaska Department of Transportation. All buses are fully accessible, with services from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

In 2008, the League of American Bicyclists awarded Sitka the bronze level in bicycle friendliness making Sitka the first bicycle-friendly community in Alaska. In 2013, the Walk Friendly Communities program awarded Sitka with a bronze award, making Sitka the first Alaska community with a Walk Friendly Communities designation. Sitka is the only Alaska community to have both a Bicycle Friendly Community and a Walk Friendly Communities designation.

Attractions

Sitka's attractions include:

• Alaska Raptor Center
• Baranof Castle Hill
• Sheet'ká Kwáan Naa Kahídi
• Russian Bishop's House
• Saint Lazaria National Wildlife Refuge
• St. Michael's Cathedral
• Sheldon Jackson Museum
• Sitka Fine Arts Camp
• Sitka Historical Museum
• Sitka Jazz Festival
• Sitka Lutheran Church
• Sitka National Historical Park
• Sitka Pioneer Home
• Sitka Summer Music Festival
• Swan Lake
• Tongass National Forest

The flora and fauna of Sitka and its surrounding area are popular. Day cruises and guided day trips (hiking) are large enterprises in Sitka. Floatplane "flightseeing" excursions are a way to view the area's sights from above.

Outdoor opportunities

Sitka's position between the Pacific Ocean and the most mountainous island in the Alexander Archipelago creates a variety of outdoor opportunities:

• The Baranof Cross-Island Trail, which leads to the small community of Baranof Warm Springs on the eastern side of the island, is a popular summer backpacking trip. Only serious and experienced backpackers, or those with an experienced guide, should undertake such a trip due to volatile weather conditions in the mountains and the required crossings of icefields with crevasses.
• The dormant volcano Mount Edgecumbe is also a popular mountain to summit and features a seven-mile (11 km) trail up to the top. Guided day-trips are available, but the trip does not require much knowledge to undertake.
• The officially unnamed, but informally named Peak 5390 (the name is derived from its height in feet) is the highest point on Baranof Island and a demanding climb. Few people undertake this peak; those interested should consult with one who has summited previously.
• Kayaking is a popular activity and small guided day excursions are offered locally.
• There are a number of maintained trails in the Sitka area, many of which are accessible from Sitka's road system.

In popular culture

• Louis L'Amour penned Sitka, his fictional account of the events surrounding the United States' purchase of the Alaska Territory from the Russians for $7.2 million in 1867.
• Novelist James Michener resided at Sitka's Sheldon Jackson College while doing research for his epic work, Alaska.
• The 1952 film The World in His Arms has Russian Sitka as one of its settings.
• Sitka is the opening setting in Ivan Doig's 1982 historical fiction The Sea Runners.
• Sitka is mentioned in Chapter 53 of James Clavell's 1993 historical fiction about Japan Gai-Jin.
• Mystery author John Straley described Sitka as "...an island town where people feel crowded by the land and spread out on the sea."
• Part of the action in the novel César Cascabel by Jules Verne takes place in Sitka in May–June, 1867 during the transfer of ownership to the United States.
• A fictionalized Sitka, with a population in the millions and the host of a fictional 1977 World's Fair, is the setting of the alternate history detective story The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon.
• Sitka is a character in the 2003 Disney animated feature Brother Bear.
• Sitka is a setting used in the 2009 feature The Proposal, although the scenes were filmed in Rockport, Massachusetts.
• Sitka was featured in a 2012 episode of the Travel Channel's popular series Bizarre Foods, starring Andrew Zimmern. In this episode Zimmern ate herring eggs, stink heads, and sea cucumbers.
• Sitka was named one of the Top 20 Small Towns to Visit in 2013 by Smithsonian magazine.
• The Long Dark takes place in the area of the Sitka Islands