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Additional Information pages for Prince of Wales Island
132° 22' W Longitude - 56° 28' N Latitude
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.
 Climate:
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 degrees Far. and from 21 to 44 degrees Far.
in winter. Average annual precipitation is 82 inches, including
64 inches of snowfall. Fog is common from September through December.
History:
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.
Today, Wrangell is primarily a non-Native community with a mixture
of Tlingit, Russian, British, and
American historical influences. 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. There are
several bed & breakfast, hotels, motels, restaurants, a hospital,
a post office, museums, banks, camping areas, laundromat, grocery
and drug stores, services stations, lodges, a fish market and gift
shops.
Points of interest:
Wrangell Museum:
Located at 318 Church Street, features local history and several
displays representing Tlingit, Russian, Japanese, British, Chinese
and American influences in Wrangell. An exhibit on Wrangell's
economy bust with gold rush, trapping, logging and fishing.
Open from 10 am to 5 pm on week days and 1pm to 5 pm on Saturdays:
May through September.
Collections Museum:
Located on Evergreen Avenue, is a private collection of antiques
and Alaska memorabilia. Open when cruise ship are in port.
Totem Pole:
Located at the corner of Front and Episcopal Streets in the Kiksadi
Totem Park, has original replica of the last totems standing in
Wrangell that were cut down in 1981 for preservation and restoration.
Shakes Island:
Reached by boardwalk from Wrangell Harbor, is the site of several
totem poles and a replica of the Tribal House, that contains Indian
working tools and an original Chilkat blanket design carved on a
house panel. Other cultural items can be observed. The
Tribal House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Open when cruise ship are in port in summer.
Anan Observatory:
Located 35 miles south of Wrangell, and accessible only by boat
or float plane, is managed by the US Forest Service.
Excellent place to watch bears, bald eagle, salmon, crows, raven
and other wildlife. Fishing for salmon is allowed and guided
tours are available.
Stikine River Delta:
It lies north of Wrangell within the Stikine LeConte Wilderness.
Accessible by boat or plane only. Excellent habitat for numerous
migrating waterfowl, bear, moose and bald eagle.& During the
salmon spring run, the Delta is the second largest concentration
of Bald Eagles in the world.
Notes:
The Stikine River is the fastest navigable river of North America.
Raft, canoe, kayak, jet boat and skiffs can be run down the 165
miles of floatable river from Telegraph Creek in Canada to Wrangell,
Alaska.
LeConte Glacier:
Located at the head of LeConte Bay, near the Stikine River Delta,
and north of Wrangell. Accessible only by boat of plane. It
is the southern most tidewater glacier of North America known for
its prodigious iceberg production.
Local Facilities:
- City Park:
Located at milepost 1.9 mile on Zimovia Highway, has picnic area with
shelters, fire pits, restrooms and litter barrels. Allowed
only for tent camping and limited to 24 hours.
- Shoemaker Bay small boat harbor:
Located at milepost 4.9 mile on Zimovia Highway, has a boat launch, picnic,
camping and parking area. The Camping has 29 sites with
water, dump station and restrooms. Nearby are some tennis
court, hrseshoe pits and children play ground.
- Nemo Campsite:
Located at milepost 14, pass the end of Zimovia Highway, at the junction
with the USFS Road 6267. There are parking areas, picnic
tables, fire grills and outhouse for each sites. No fee required.
Spectacular view of Zimovia Strait and north Etolin Island.
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