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A−History
History · Ketchikan

Ketchikan was first counted by the census in 1890, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #1 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it

12 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 71 buildings between them. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1890.

1890first census
12on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ketchikan’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ketchikan began

When was Ketchikan founded?

1890

Ketchikan first appears in the census in 1890. Another post office, Bayview (1917), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 40 in 18902020 census: 8,192136 years

How historic is Ketchikan?

A−

More historic than 77% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Ketchikan’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ketchikan is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #1 of 41 in Alaska. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ketchikan’s overall grade.
Founding era1890, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.5% of homes (±2.9) · typical AK town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register12 listings, 79 historic buildings, 97.8 per 10,000 residents · typical AK town 3.3 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 77%
NewerOlder
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)#1 of 41

Alaska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Alaska town has 3.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ketchikan’s 97.8 sits above most of its state (99% of Alaska towns have fewer) while its 79 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Ketchikan’s past

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

A historic districtThe Stedman-Thomas Historic District takes in 33 historic buildings.A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers, 1880–1900.Landmarks on the Register12 places on the National Register.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Ketchikan, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

12 listings protect 79 historic buildings

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

places listed
12
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
79
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Alaska Totems
Alaska Totems, built 1976Walker-Broderick HouseBurkhart-Dibrell HouseZiegler HouseFirst Lutheran ChurchKetchikan Ranger HouseGilmore BuildingThe StarStedman-Thomas Historic DistrictKetchikan Federal BuildingCreek Street Historic DistrictDowntown Ketchikan Historic District
BuildingsDistrictsSites

Architectural styles listings

Craftsman Bungalow1
Queen Anne1
Gothic1
Modern1
Modern Movement1
Alaska TotemsBuilt 1976
Walker-Broderick HouseCraftsman Bungalow
Burkhart-Dibrell HouseQueen Anne
Ziegler HouseBuilding
First Lutheran ChurchGothic
Ketchikan Ranger HouseBuilding
Gilmore BuildingBuilding
The StarBuilding
All 12 listings
Stedman-Thomas Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1996Ketchikan Federal BuildingBuilding · listed 2006Creek Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2014Downtown Ketchikan Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2017

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

By decade

Ketchikan, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s5 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division - Ketchikan - ED 1-2, ED 1-3, ED 1-418801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - Firs…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division - Ketchikan - ED 1-2, ED 1-3, ED 1-418801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - Firs…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division - Ketchikan - ED 1-2, ED 1-3, ED 1-418801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - Firs…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division - Ketchikan - ED AK 1-23 to 3018801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - Firs…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division - Ketchikan - ED AK 1-23 to 3018801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - Firs…
1890s7 items
Hamilton and Simpson Sawmill, Port Gravina, Alaska. Taken by B.A. Haldane of Metlakahtla, Alaska, 18951895Hamilton and Simpson Sawmill, Port Gravina, Alaska. T…Clark and Martin salmon saltery, Ketchikan, Alaska, 18971897Clark and Martin salmon saltery, Ketchikan, Alaska, 1…Docks and waterfront, Ketchikan, ca. 1899c. 1899Docks and waterfront, Ketchikan, ca. 1899FMIB 38726 Salmon Saltery1899FMIB 38726 Salmon SalteryFMIB 38752 Rapids in Stream1899FMIB 38752 Rapids in StreamFMIB 38755 Cascade in Stream1899FMIB 38755 Cascade in StreamView of Ketchikan1899View of Ketchikan
1900s3 items
Gas cruiser TAKU near Ketchikan, Alaska, circa 1900-19081900Gas cruiser TAKU near Ketchikan, Alaska, circa 1900-1…Ketchikan from the water, Alaska, ca. 1900c. 1900Ketchikan from the water, Alaska, ca. 1900Waterfront1900Waterfront
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 Ketchikan came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ketchikan.

Read it all →

Ketchikan Creek served as a summer fish camp for Tlingit natives for many years before the town was established by Mike Martin in 1885. He was sent to the area by an Oregon canning company to assess prospects. He established the saltery Clark & Martin and a general store with Nova Scotia native George Clark, who had been foreman at a cannery that burned down.

Ketchikan became known as "Alaska's first city" due to its strategic position at the southern tip of the Inside Passage, connecting the Gulf of Alaska to Puget Sound.

In 1905 a mission house was built, which in 1909 became the Yates Memorial Hospital. In 2020, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the former hospital as one of America's most endangered historic places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ketchikan, 1880 to 1998

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division - Ketchikan - ED…
  3. 1892Post officeThe Ketchikan post office opens
  4. 1895In the archiveHamilton and Simpson Sawmill, Port Gravina, Alaska. Taken by B.A. Haldane of Metlakahtla,…
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveGas cruiser TAKU near Ketchikan, Alaska, circa 1900-1908
  7. 1917Post officeThe Bayview post office opens
  8. 1924Post officeThe Bayview post office closes
  9. 1927Born hereJohn Selfridge is born here
  10. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1957Born hereLisa Murkowski is born here
  12. 1976BuiltAlaska Totems is built
  13. 1986Born hereTallie Medel is born here
  14. 1998Born hereRudy Pankow is born here
On the map

Ketchikan on the map, 1954 to 1991

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

Ketchikan on the 1954 USGS mapKetchikan on the 1991 USGS map1954Ketchikan B-5 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 Ketchikan.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division - Ketchikan - ED 1-2, ED 1-3, ED 1-4
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division - Ketchikan - ED 1-2, ED 1-3, ED 1-4, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Ketchikan, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 8,263

Between 40 and 8,263 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

13 famous people were born in Ketchikan

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

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
Danny EdwardsProfessional golfer · b. 1951
Isaac UpdikeAmerican athletics competitor · b. 1992
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Ketchikan’s post office has been open since 1892. Another post office, Bayview, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ketchikan
1892–today
Bayview
1917–1924
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
CarlannaPeninsula PointShoreline Drive
1cemetery inside Ketchikan
Bayview

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

Help out

Finish Ketchikan’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Ketchikan’s history

What year was Ketchikan founded?

The Ketchikan post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Ketchikan rank for history?

Ketchikan is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #1 of 41 in Alaska. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Ketchikan?

12 listings: 8 buildings, 3 historic districts, the Stedman-Thomas Historic District, the Creek Street Historic District and the Downtown Ketchikan Historic District, with 71 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 79 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Ketchikan?

20% of Ketchikan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 0.3% for an Alaska town; the median home was built in 1971.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.