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History · Klawock

Klawock dates to 1868

Most of Klawock was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1880.

1868founded
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Klawock’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Klawock began

When was Klawock founded?

1868

Klawock dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 27 in 18802020 census: 720158 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1882.The full story ↓

What stands out about Klawock’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1899–1999.
★ What stands out · People over time

Klawock, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020287 in 1890Low: 19

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

By decade

Klawock, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s5 items
FMIB 38813 Sketch of Klawak Stream and Lake1899FMIB 38813 Sketch of Klawak Stream and LakeFMIB 38825 Cannery at Klawak1899FMIB 38825 Cannery at KlawakFMIB 38830 View of Klawak, Looking West1899FMIB 38830 View of Klawak, Looking WestFMIB 38841 Hatchery at Klawak1899FMIB 38841 Hatchery at KlawakFMIB 38847 Plan of Klawak Hatchery1899FMIB 38847 Plan of Klawak HatcheryMap
1900s–1910s5 items
Hanging nets and pallets of cans inside N.P.T. & P. Company cannery in Klawock, Alaska, circa 1908c. 1908Hanging nets and pallets of cans inside N.P.T. & P. C…N.P.T. & P. Company cannery buildings and dock in Klawock, Alaska, circa 1908c. 1908N.P.T. & P. Company cannery buildings and dock in Kla…Native village of Klawock from the water, circa 1908c. 1908Native village of Klawock from the water, circa 1908Water and islands at Klawock, circa 1908c. 1908Water and islands at Klawock, circa 1908Cannery worker stripping salmon, Klawak, Alaska, August 27, 19101910Cannery worker stripping salmon, Klawak, Alaska, Augu…
1940s1 item
194709XX-FS-Tongass-LF-4473051947194709XX-FS-Tongass-LF-447305
1950s–1980snothing 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
1990s1 item
AKW-a1999AKW-a
The story

How Klawock came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Klawock.

Read it all →

Klawock's first settlers were Tlingit who came from the northern winter village of Tuxekan. They used it as a fishing camp for the summer period, and called it by several different names: Klawerak, Tlevak, Clevak, and Klawak. The name "Klawock" is derived from the Tlingit name Lawá, the man who founded the community. In 1853 a Russian navigator referred to the village as "Klyakkhan", and in 1855 as "Thlewakh".

In 1868, European Americans opened a trading post and a salmon saltery; some years later, in 1878, a San Francisco firm opened the first cannery in Alaska. In the following decades, several others were established. A United States post office was established in 1882. The 1890 census recorded the town's population as 260.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Klawock, 1868 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868
    FoundingKlawock is established
  3. 1882Post officeThe Klawock post office opens
  4. 1895Born hereFrank Peratrovich is born here
  5. 1899In the archiveFMIB 38813 Sketch of Klawak Stream and Lake
  6. 20th century
  7. 1908In the archiveHanging nets and pallets of cans inside N.P.T. & P. Company cannery in Klawock, Alaska, c…
  8. 1910In the archiveCannery worker stripping salmon, Klawak, Alaska, August 27, 1910
  9. 1947In the archive194709XX-FS-Tongass-LF-447305
  10. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1999In the archiveAKW-a
  12. 21st century
  13. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 854
On the map

Klawock on the map, 1949 to 1951

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

Klawock on the 1949 USGS mapKlawock on the 1951 USGS map1949Craig C-4 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 Klawock.

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.

FMIB 38813 Sketch of Klawak Stream and Lake
Retake this viewFMIB 38813 Sketch of Klawak Stream and Lake, 1899

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Klawock’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFMIB 38813 Sketch of Klawak Stream and …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Klawock’s history

What year was Klawock founded?

In 1868, according to Wikidata. Klawock’s post office opened in 1882, and the census of 1880 counted 27 people here.

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 (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.