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Pelican (5664824431)Photo: Joseph from Cabin On The Road, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
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History · Pelican

Pelican dates to 1938

Most of Pelican was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1940.

1938founded
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Joseph from Cabin On The Road, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answers

How Pelican began

When was Pelican founded?

1938

Pelican dates its founding to 1938 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 48 in 19402020 census: 9888 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1940.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pelican’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Pelican are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 222 in 1990; 98 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pelican’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pelican’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Pelican, census by census

010020019401960198020002020Peak: 222

Peaked at 222 in 1990; 98 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

The story

How Pelican came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pelican.

Read it all →

According to legend, many years ago when Russian ships roamed Alaska waters, one foundered in the uncharted waters of Cross Sound. Survivors rowed their lifeboat up an inlet that would later be known as Lisianski. In a sheltered cove, they founded a settlement. They cleared and planted gardens, trapped, and hunted game. The story goes that a shipyard was built and a ship constructed, which allowed them to return to their homeland.

When the Russian settlement died, the land again reverted to wilderness. Early hunters and trappers noticed the clearing in the woods and found iron and copper tools along with sunken graves. They named the abandoned settlement "Sunnyside".

ChaptersShipwreckMining exploration1938–1941 fish processing and storage developmentRecent history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pelican, 1938 to 1990

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1938
    FoundingPelican is established
  3. 1940Post officeThe Pelican post office opens
  4. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 222
By decade

Pelican, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Pelican Alaska in August 20192019Pelican Alaska in August 2019Pelican2011PelicanBeaver2011Beaver
On the map

Pelican on the map, 1951 to 1997

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

Pelican on the 1951 USGS mapPelican on the 1997 USGS map1951Sitka D-7 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 Pelican.

Questions about Pelican’s history

What year was Pelican founded?

In 1938, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pelican’s post office opened in 1940, and the census of 1940 counted 48 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 (3), 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.