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History · Kasaan

Kasaan’s post office opened in 1900, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Kasaan was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kasaan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kasaan began

When was Kasaan founded?

1900

The Kasaan post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1976.

First census: 129 in 19102020 census: 30126 years
Founding year: the first Kasaan post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1976.The full story ↓

What stands out about Kasaan’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1868–1900.
★ What stands out · By decade

Kasaan, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1880s5 items
Kasa-an [Kasaan] village.Alternate Title: Popular Seriesc. 1868Kasa-an [Kasaan] village.Alternate Title: Popular Ser…Kasa-an [Kasaan] village.Alternate Title: Popular Seriesc. 1868Kasa-an [Kasaan] village.Alternate Title: Popular Ser…Buildings and totem poles as seen from the beach, Kaigani Village, Kasa-an, Skowl Bay, Alaska, 18851885Buildings and totem poles as seen from the beach, Kai…Kaigani Village of Kasa-an, as seen from the east, Skowl Bay, Alaska, 18851885Kaigani Village of Kasa-an, as seen from the east, Sk…Kaigani Village of Kasa-an, as seen from the water, Skowl Bay, Alaska, 18851885Kaigani Village of Kasa-an, as seen from the water, S…
1890s12 items
Kasa-an (Kasaan) village, 6 totem poles and Indian homes1890Kasa-an (Kasaan) village, 6 totem poles and Indian ho…Kasa-an [Kasaan] village, 6 totem poles and Indian homes.Alternate Title: American and Foreign Viewsc. 1890Kasa-an [Kasaan] village, 6 totem poles and Indian ho…Kasa-an [Kasaan] village, 6 totem poles and Indian homes.Alternate Title: American and Foreign Viewsc. 1890Kasa-an [Kasaan] village, 6 totem poles and Indian ho…Kasa-an (Kasaan) village, Alaska1890Kasa-an (Kasaan) village, AlaskaKasa-an [Kasaan] village, Alaskac. 1890Kasa-an [Kasaan] village, AlaskaKasa-an [Kasaan] village, Alaskac. 1890Kasa-an [Kasaan] village, AlaskaOld Kasaan by Theodore Richardson, 18951895Old Kasaan by Theodore Richardson, 1895FMIB 38725 Falls in Stream at Skowl Arm, Kasaan Bay, Southeast Alaska1899FMIB 38725 Falls in Stream at Skowl Arm, Kasaan Bay, …FMIB 38763 Totems at Kasaan Village1899FMIB 38763 Totems at Kasaan VillageFMIB 38773 Fishing Huts on Skowl Arm, Kasaan Bay1899FMIB 38773 Fishing Huts on Skowl Arm, Kasaan BayPeople standing on beach with Haida totem poles and dwellings in background, Kasaan, ca. 1899c. 1899People standing on beach with Haida totem poles and d…Totem poles and buildings, Kasaan Village, ca. 1899c. 1899Totem poles and buildings, Kasaan Village, ca. 1899
1900s1 item
Haida graves and totem poles, Kasaan, Alaska, circa 1900c. 1900Haida graves and totem poles, Kasaan, Alaska, circa 1…
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Kasaan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kasaan.

Read it all →

Kasaan is one of the main historical communities of the Kaigani Haida. It is the northernmost Haida settlement. It was established by the Haida in protohistoric times or earlier, as part of a migration across the Dixon Entrance, from Dadens and other villages of Langara Island, Haida Gwaii, to Dall Island and Prince of Wales Island.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Kasaan, 1868 to 1971

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868In the archiveKasa-an [Kasaan] village.Alternate Title: Popular Series
  3. 1885In the archiveBuildings and totem poles as seen from the beach, Kaigani Village, Kasa-an, Skowl Bay, Al…
  4. 1890In the archiveKasa-an (Kasaan) village, 6 totem poles and Indian homes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveHaida graves and totem poles, Kasaan, Alaska, circa 1900
  7. 1900Post officeThe Kasaan post office opens
  8. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1971Post officeThe Kasaan post office closes
On the map

Kasaan on the map, 1949 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kasaan. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Kasaan on the 1949 USGS mapKasaan on the 1951 USGS mapKasaan on the 1994 USGS map1949Craig C-2 sheet · 1:63,360

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kasaan.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Kasa-an [Kasaan] village.Alternate Title: Popular Series
Retake this viewKasa-an [Kasaan] village.Alternate Title: Popular Series, c. 1868

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Kasaan’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Kasaan

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2002
Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Histor…
Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District
Districts
Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic DistrictDistrict

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Kasaan, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 129

Between 25 and 129 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kasaan’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Kasaan

Nobody well known was born in Kasaan itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Lisa MurkowskiUnited States Senator from Alaska since 2002 · b. 1957
Rudy PankowAmerican actor · b. 1998
J
John SelfridgeAmerican mathematician · b. 1927
T
Tallie MedelAmerican actor · b. 1986
D
Damen Bell-HolterAmerican basketball player · b. 1990
F
Frank PeratrovichAmerican politician · b. 1895
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Kasaan had its own post office from 1900 to 1971.

Kasaan
1900–1971
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Kasaan Post Officepost officePoor Man Minemine

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Kasaan’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewKasa-an [Kasaan] village.Alternate Titl…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Kasaan’s history

What year was Kasaan founded?

The Kasaan post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1976.

What is on the National Register in Kasaan?

One place: the Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House and Totems Historic District (listed 2002).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.