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List of National Historic Landmarks in Alaska facts for kids

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The National Historic Landmarks in Alaska represent Alaska's history from its Russian heritage to its statehood. There are 50 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) in the state. The United States National Historic Landmark program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar resources according to a list of criteria of national significance. Major themes include Alaska's ancient cultures, Russian heritage, and role in World War II, but other stories are represented as well. In addition, two sites in Alaska were designated National Historic Landmarks, but the designation was later withdrawn. These sites appear in a separate table further below.

The National Historic Landmark Program is administered by the National Park Service, a branch of the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service determines which properties meet NHL criteria and makes nomination recommendations after an owner notification process. The Secretary of the Interior reviews nominations and, based on a set of predetermined criteria, makes a decision on NHL designation or a determination of eligibility for designation. Both public and privately owned properties can be designated as NHLs. This designation provides indirect, partial protection of the historic integrity of the properties via tax incentives, grants, monitoring of threats, and other means. Owners may object to the nomination of the property as an NHL. When this is the case the Secretary of the Interior can only designate a site as eligible for designation.

NHLs in Alaska

The table below lists all of the National Historic Landmark sites, along with added detail and description.

Landmark name Image Date designated Location County Description
1 Adak Army Base and Adak Naval Operating Base
Historic aerial photograph of the Adak Army Base and Adak Naval Operating Base in early 1944, a busy harbor ringed by installations with snowy mountains in the background.
February 27, 1987
(#87000841)
Adak Station
51°52′19″N 176°38′10″W / 51.872°N 176.636°W / 51.872; -176.636 (Adak Army Base and Adak Naval Operating Base)
Aleutians West Established in 1942 as part of World War II, this military base was the launching pad for the American attack on the Japanese-held Aleutian Islands of Kiska and Attu.
2 Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall
1991 HABS photo
June 2, 1978
(#72000192)
235 Katlian Street, Sitka
57°03′03″N 135°20′28″W / 57.0507°N 135.34099°W / 57.0507; -135.34099 (Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall)
Sitka This 1914 meeting hall and headquarters building served the original chapter of Alaska Native Brotherhood, founded by Tlingits in the early 1900s to fight discrimination and represent interests of natives.
3 Amalik Bay Archeological District
Amalik Bay Archeological District
April 5, 2005
(#05000460)
Address restricted , Katmai National Park and Preserve
Kodiak Island An archeological site located in Kodiak Island Borough
4 American Flag Raising Site
Castle Hill in 2013
June 13, 1962
(#66000162)
On Castle Hill, Sitka
57°02′55″N 135°20′16″W / 57.0487°N 135.33783°W / 57.0487; -135.33783 (American Flag Raising Site)
Sitka In 1867, site of Russian flag lowering and American flag raising marking the transfer of Alaska to the U.S.; in 1959, after Alaska admitted as 49th state, site of first official raising of 49-star U.S. flag; also known as Castle Hill and Baranof Castle.
5 Anangula Site
Anangula Site
June 2, 1978
(#78000512)
Nikolski
53°00′02″N 168°54′40″W / 53.00056°N 168.91111°W / 53.00056; -168.91111 (Anangula Site)
Aleutians West Site of earliest signs of human occupation in the Aleutian Islands.
6 Attu Battlefield and U.S. Army and Navy Airfields on Attu
Attu Battlefield and U.S. Army and Navy Airfields on Attu
February 4, 1985
(#85002729)
Attu Island
52°54′02″N 172°54′34″E / 52.9005°N 172.9094°E / 52.9005; 172.9094 (Attu Battlefield and U.S. Army and Navy Airfields on Attu)
Aleutians West Site of bloody battle in which only 29 of 2,500 Japanese survived, only land battle on U.S. soil during World War II.
7 Bering Expedition Landing Site
Photograph of Kaykak Island from offshore, believed to be the Bering Expedition Landing Site.
June 2, 1978
(#77001542)
On Kayak Island
59°53′40″N 144°29′08″W / 59.89444°N 144.48556°W / 59.89444; -144.48556 (Bering Expedition Landing Site)
Valdez-Cordova Site of first recorded contacts between natives and Europeans
8 Birnirk site
Birnirk site
December 29, 1962
(#66000953)
Address restricted , Barrow
North Slope Sixteen prehistoric mounds of the Birnirk and Thule cultures.
9 Brooks River Archeological District
Brooks River Archeological District
April 19, 1993
(#78000342)
Address restricted , Katmai National Park and Preserve
Lake and Peninsula An archaeological site located along an ancient beach and modern river. There are twenty separate well preserved sites which have provided a large number of Arctic Small Tool Tradition artifacts.
10 Cape Krusenstern Archeological District
Aerial photograph of the Cape Krusenstern Archeological District, showing the coast where the archeological strata are found.
November 7, 1973
(#73000378)
Address restricted , Kotzebue
Northwest Arctic The archeological district comprises 114 ancient beach ridges which formed nearly 60 years apart. They provide a rare sequential look at over 5000 years of inhabitation.
11 Cape Nome Mining District Discovery Sites
Cape Nome Mining District Discovery Sites
June 2, 1978
(#78000535)
Nome
64°33′49″N 165°22′17″W / 64.56361°N 165.37139°W / 64.56361; -165.37139 (Cape Nome Mining District Discovery Sites)
Nome Significant for role in the history of gold mining in Alaska
12 Chaluka Site
Chaluka Site
December 29, 1962
(#66000155)
Address restricted , Nikolski
Aleutians West Includes a large mound; yields information about origins of Aleuts
13 Chilkoot Trail and Dyea Site
alt=Historical photograph of a dense line of miners climbing over the Chilkoot Trail during the Klondike Gold Rush.
June 16, 1978
(#75002120)
Skagway
59°35′14″N 135°19′56″W / 59.58719°N 135.33234°W / 59.58719; -135.33234 (Chilkoot Trail and Dyea Site)
Skagway Major access route from the coast to Yukon goldfields in the late 1890s.
14 Church of the Holy Ascension
alt=Photograph of the Church of the Holy Ascension on a sunny day, with red roofs, green onion domes, and a small churchyard.
April 15, 1970
(#70000112)
Unalaska
53°52′33″N 166°32′11″W / 53.8758°N 166.5363°W / 53.8758; -166.5363 (Church of the Holy Ascension)
Aleutians West Built in 1826 by the Russian American Fur Company to help acclimate indigenous population in Russian Alaska.
15 Dry Creek Archeological Site
Photograph of archaeologists working at the Dry Creek site
June 2, 1978
(#74000442)
Address restricted , near Healy, Alaska
Denali This archeological site has provided evidence which supports the Bering land bridge theory
16 Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army
alt=Historic photograph of U.S. Marines in defensive trenches during the Japanese attacks of 1942, while fuel tanks burn in the background.
February 4, 1985
(#85002733)
Unalaska
53°53′16″N 166°32′23″W / 53.8878°N 166.5397°W / 53.8878; -166.5397 (Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army)
Aleutians West Only U.S. fortifications in the Aleutian Islands prior to bombing of Pearl Harbor, attacked by the Japanese Navy during the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942.
17 Eagle Historic District
Eagle Historic District
June 2, 1978
(#70000919)
Eagle
64°47′10″N 141°12′00″W / 64.7861°N 141.2°W / 64.7861; -141.2 (Eagle Historic District)
Southeast Fairbanks Historic district with over 100 well-preserved buildings from the Gold Rush years on the Yukon River. Roald Amundsen announced his successful traverse of the Northwest Passage from here in 1905
18 Fort Durham Site
June 2, 1978
(#78000529)
Address restricted , near Taku Harbor in Juneau City and Borough, Alaska
Juneau One of three Hudson's Bay Company posts set up in Alaska
19 Fort Glenn
Fort Glenn
May 28, 1987
(#87001301)
Fort Glenn
53°22′39″N 167°53′24″W / 53.37750°N 167.89000°W / 53.37750; -167.89000 (Fort Glenn)
Aleutians West Well preserved World War II defense base.
20 Fort William H. Seward
Fort William H. Seward
June 2, 1978
(#72000190)
Haines
59°13′36″N 135°26′41″W / 59.2267°N 135.4446°W / 59.2267; -135.4446 (Fort William H. Seward)
Haines Last of a series of 11 military posts established in Alaska during the gold rush era
21 Gallagher Flint Station Archeological Site
Gallagher Flint Station Archeological Site
June 2, 1978
(#78003208)
Address restricted , Sagwon
North Slope Discovered in 1970 during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, it was at the time the earliest dated archaeological site in northern Alaska.
22 Holy Assumption Orthodox Church
Photograph of the front of the Holy Assumption Orthodox Church, behind a white picket fence with white clapboard and a blue roof and onion dome.
April 15, 1970
(#70000898)
Kenai
60°33′11″N 151°16′03″W / 60.55295°N 151.2675°W / 60.55295; -151.2675 (Holy Assumption Orthodox Church)
Kenai Peninsula Russian Orthodox church in Kenai, Alaska.
23 Ipiutak site
Ipiutak site
January 20, 1961
(#66000157)
Address restricted , Point Hope Peninsula
North Slope The type site for the Ipiutak culture
24 Iyatayet site
Iyatayet site
January 20, 1961
(#66000158)
Address restricted , Cape Denbigh Peninsula
Nome Shows evidence of several separate cultures, dating back as far as 6000 BC.
25 Kake Cannery
HABS photo
December 9, 1997
(#97001677)
About 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Kake
56°57′53″N 133°55′32″W / 56.96471°N 133.9255°W / 56.96471; -133.9255 (Kake Cannery)
Prince of Wales-Hyder Built 1912-1940; significant for role in history of salmon canning in Alaska
26 Kennecott Mines
alt=Photograph of the red-painted Kennecott Mines facilities rising up a hillside with grand mountain scenery in the far background and a field of bare glacial till in the middle background.
June 23, 1986
(#78003420)
East of Kennicott Glacier, about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north of McCarthy
61°31′09″N 142°50′29″W / 61.51909°N 142.84149°W / 61.51909; -142.84149 (Kennecott Mines)
Valdez-Cordova Site of discovery of copper in 1900 and subsequent mining activities
27 Kijik Archeological District
Kijik Archeological District
October 12, 1994
(#94001644)
Address restricted , Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Lake and Peninsula Related to the history of the Dena'ina Athabaskan Indians
28 Japanese Occupation Site, Kiska Island
alt=Historic photograph of Japanese troops raising the Imperial battle flag on Kiska Island.
February 4, 1985
(#85002732)
Kiska Island
51°58′02″N 177°29′31″E / 51.9672°N 177.4919°E / 51.9672; 177.4919 (Japanese Occupation Site, Kiska Island)
Aleutians West Site of the Japanese occupation of Kiska which along with nearby Attu were the only US land occupied by the Japanese during World War II
29 Kodiak Naval Operating Base and Forts Greely and Abercrombie
Kodiak Naval Operating Base and Forts Greely and Abercrombie
February 4, 1985
(#85002731)
Kodiak
57°44′19″N 152°30′17″W / 57.73861°N 152.50472°W / 57.73861; -152.50472 (Kodiak Naval Operating Base and Forts Greely and Abercrombie)
Kodiak Island World War II-related facilities
30 Ladd Field
Ladd Field
February 4, 1985
(#85002730)
Fairbanks
64°50′15″N 147°36′52″W / 64.8375°N 147.6144°W / 64.8375; -147.6144 (Ladd Field)
Fairbanks North Star Primary role during WWII was major stopping point for the Lend-Lease program.
31 Leffingwell Camp Site
Leffingwell Camp Site
June 2, 1978
(#71001093)
On Flaxman Island, about 58 miles (93 km) west of Kaktovik
70°11′07″N 146°03′10″W / 70.1852°N 146.05287°W / 70.1852; -146.05287 (Leffingwell Camp Site)
North Slope Campsite of geologist and polar explorer Ernest de Koven Leffingwell on Arctic coast of Alaska.
32 Nenana (river steamboat)
Nenana in 1988
May 5, 1989
(#72001581)
Pioneer Park, Fairbanks
64°50′19″N 147°46′20″W / 64.8386°N 147.77236°W / 64.8386; -147.77236 (Nenana (river steamboat))
Fairbanks North Star River steamboat; only surviving wooden one of this type.
33 New Russia Site
June 2, 1978
(#72001593)
South of Kardy Lake, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) southwest of Yakutat
59°31′37″N 139°49′36″W / 59.52694°N 139.82662°W / 59.52694; -139.82662 (New Russia Site)
Yakutat Site of Russian trading post attacked and destroyed by Tlingit natives.
34 Old Sitka
Old Sitka
June 13, 1962
(#66000166)
Mile 6.9 of Halibut Point Road, about 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Sitka
57°07′46″N 135°22′24″W / 57.12955°N 135.37342°W / 57.12955; -135.37342 (Old Sitka)
Sitka Also known as the Redoubt St. Archangel Michael Site, this was the site of a Russian-American Company settlement, established in 1799 and destroyed by Tlingit attack in 1802.
35 Onion Portage Archeological District
Onion Portage Archeological District
June 2, 1978
(#72000191)
Address restricted , Kiana
Northwest Arctic Perhaps most important archaeological site in Alaska; caribou river crossing; human presence for millennia.
36 Palugvik Site
December 29, 1962
(#66000957)
Address restricted , Hawkins Island
Valdez-Cordova Includes a large midden yielding information about Eskimo culture in the area.
37 Russian-American Building No. 29
Russian-American Building No. 29
May 28, 1987
(#87001282)
202-206 Lincoln Street, Sitka
57°02′59″N 135°20′11″W / 57.04965°N 135.33629°W / 57.04965; -135.33629 (Russian-American Building No. 29)
Sitka Siding covered log building; dates back to the years after the 1867 purchase of Alaska.
38 Russian-American Magazin
Russian-American Magazin
June 13, 1962
(#66000954)
101 East Marine Way, Kodiak
57°47′16″N 152°24′12″W / 57.78765°N 152.40338°W / 57.78765; -152.40338 (Russian-American Magazin)
Kodiak Island Storehouse building associated with the Russian and then the American trading companies active in Alaska.
39 Russian Bishop's House
alt=Photograph of the two-story, yellow Russian Bishop's House.
June 13, 1962
(#66000025)
501 Lincoln Street, Sitka
57°03′05″N 135°19′52″W / 57.05147°N 135.33101°W / 57.05147; -135.33101 (Russian Bishop's House)
Sitka One of four surviving examples of Russian Colonial Style architecture in the Western Hemisphere.
40 St. Michael's Cathedral
alt=Photograph of St. Michael's Cathedral in the sunlight, with bright white walls and green domes and spires reaching to the sky.
June 13, 1962
(#66000165)
240 Lincoln Street, Sitka
57°03′00″N 135°20′06″W / 57.05008°N 135.33512°W / 57.05008; -135.33512 (St. Michael's Cathedral)
Sitka Primary evidence of Russian influence in North America.
41 Seal Island Historic District
alt=Aerial view of St. Paul Island
June 13, 1962
(#66000156)
Pribilof Islands
57°N 170°W / 57°N 170°W / 57; -170 (Seal Island Historic District)
Aleutians West Historic buildings related to northern fur seal hunting in the Pribilof Islands and its restriction in 1911 and 1966.
42 Sheldon Jackson School
Sheldon Jackson School
August 7, 2001
(#72000193)
801 Lincoln Street, Sitka
57°03′03″N 135°19′25″W / 57.0509°N 135.32357°W / 57.0509; -135.32357 (Sheldon Jackson School)
Sitka Oldest institution of higher learning in Alaska
43 Sitka Naval Operating Base and U.S. Army Coastal Defenses
Sitka Naval Operating Base and U.S. Army Coastal Defenses
August 11, 1986
(#86003559)
Japonski Island, Makhnati Island and the causeway connecting them, near Sitka
57°02′58″N 135°21′35″W / 57.04941°N 135.35963°W / 57.04941; -135.35963 (Sitka Naval Operating Base and U.S. Army Coastal Defenses)
Sitka Commissioned as Sitka Naval Air Station in October 1939, it was redesignated the Naval Operating Base, July 1942. Protected the North Pacific during World War II.
44 Sitka Spruce Plantation
Sitka Spruce Plantation
June 2, 1978
(#78000513)
Unalaska
53°53′12″N 166°32′23″W / 53.8866°N 166.5397°W / 53.8866; -166.5397 (Sitka Spruce Plantation)
Aleutians West First recorded afforestation project in North America; Russian settlers began in 1805; attempt to make Unalaska self-sufficient in timber.
45 Skagway Historic District and White Pass
Photograph of the Golden North Hotel in the Skagway Historic District, and other historic buildings, across a broad, unbusy street with dramatic mountains behind.
June 13, 1962
(#66000943)
Skagway and White Pass
59°27′30″N 135°18′50″W / 59.4583°N 135.3139°W / 59.4583; -135.3139 (Skagway Historic District and White Pass)
Skagway Historic frontier Gold Rush town and trail leading to White Pass on the border of Canada. Over 100 buildings from the era survive, though they are threatened by continued development. Mentioned in The Call of the Wild by Jack London.
46 George C. Thomas Memorial Library
George C. Thomas Memorial Library
June 2, 1978
(#72001542)
Fairbanks
64°50′41″N 147°43′40″W / 64.844735°N 147.727652°W / 64.844735; -147.727652 (George C. Thomas Memorial Library)
Fairbanks North Star The public library for Fairbanks from its construction in 1909 until the opening of the Noel Wien Public Library in 1977. Site of 1915 meeting between U.S. officials and native Alaskans to settle land claims.
47 Three Saints Bay Site
Three Saints Bay Site
June 2, 1978
(#72001541)
Address restricted , Old Harbor
Kodiak Island Site of the first Russian settlement in Alaska in 1784.
48 Wales Site
Wales Site
December 29, 1962
(#66000161)
Address restricted , Wales
Nome Site of first discovery of how the Thule culture followed the Birnirk culture in precontact whaling populations of the Alaskan shoreline.
49 Walrus Islands Archeological District
Walrus Islands Archeological District
December 23, 2016
(#100000875)
mouth of Bristol Bay
58°36′42″N 159°59′27″W / 58.611633°N 159.990909°W / 58.611633; -159.990909 (Walrus Islands Archeological District)
Dillingham Census Area, Alaska Island group with deeply stratified sites covering 6,000 years of human occupation.
50 Yukon Island Main Site
Yukon Island Main Site
December 29, 1962
(#66000955)
Address restricted , Yukon Island
Kenai Peninsula Related to the Kachemak Bay Culture.

Historic areas of the NPS in Alaska

National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, some National Monuments, and certain other areas listed in the National Park System are historic landmarks of national importance that are highly protected already, often before the inauguration of the NHL program in 1960, and are then often not also named NHLs per se. There are three of these in Alaska. The National Park Service lists these three together with the NHLs in the state,

Cape Krusenstern National Monument is also an NHL and is listed above. The other two are:

Landmark name
Image Date established Location County Description
1 Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Klondike Gold Rush NHP Skagway.JPG Skagway Skagway Park of Klondike Gold Rush, an NHL shared with Seattle, Washington.
2 Sitka National Historical Park Native Alaskan Totem Pole.JPG Sitka Sitka

Former NHLs in Alaska

Landmark name Image Date
designated
Date withdrawn Locality Borough or
Census Area
Description
1 Gambell Sites Ayveghyaget Site.jpg 1962 1989 Gambell
63°46′34″N 171°42′3″W / 63.77611°N 171.70083°W / 63.77611; -171.70083 (Gambell Sites)
Nome These five archeological sites established a chronology of human habitation on St. Lawrence Island, with evidence of four cultural phases of the Thule tradition, beginning about 2000 years before the present. Over the 20th century, the archeological value of the sites was largely destroyed due to ivory mining, and landmark designation was withdrawn.
2 Sourdough Lodge Sourdough Lodge, Mile 147.5, Richardson Highway, Gakona vicinity (Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska).jpg 1978 1994 Gakona
62°18′07″N 145°18′07″W / 62.301940°N 145.30194°W / 62.301940; -145.30194 (Sourdough Lodge)
Valdez-Cordova Built of logs in 1903–05, this was one of a number of roadhouses built along the Valdez Trail. It was destroyed by fire in 1992, leading to withdrawal of its landmark status. By the time of its destruction, it was one of the oldest continuously operating roadhouses in Alaska.

See also

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