Though Wrangell is known as one of Alaska’s first non-native settlements, the area’s history nonetheless can be traced back to the Native Alaskan tribe of the Tlingit who held sway over this vast wilderness in prehistoric times. In 1811, on the site of present day Wrangell, it was the Russians who began trading with the natives. The name of the town comes from the man who held the position of Head of Russian Government Interests in what was then referred to as Russian America – Baron Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangell.
The Russians built a stockade just 13 miles north of a large Tlingit village in close proximity of the Tlingit clan house of Chief Snakes, which then was leased to the British Hudson’s Bay Company and renamed Fort Stikine in 1840, after the principal river in the region. As in many other cases, the native population was virtually decimated due to smallpox epidemics and any protest towards foreign exploitation was not heard. The fort remained British until the US purchased Alaska in 1867.
Like many cities in Alaska at the end of the 19th century, it became a haven for miners in search of the big score in the Canadian Yukon Territory. The Stikine river was used to bring thousands of gold-diggers into Wrangell or other towns like Skagway where they would set off to the Klondike.
Today the miners and sadly, most of the indigenous population are gone; however, Wrangell is put to good use for outdoorsmen, campers, hikers and anglers who come from around the world to fish the salmon in the surrounding rivers or to get a glimpse of the native wildlife.
Highlights
Chief Snake’s Clan House: is a reminder of the native people that once were the sole inhabitants of this land, surrounded by beautifully carved totem poles.
Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park: see the carvings of the ancient peoples that once called the region home at this stunning park.
Wrangell Island: get lost in the remote temperate rainforests and navigate virgin rivers and deep forbidden lakes of this area.