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Petersburg Alaska from the air NOAAPhoto: John Bortniak · Public domain
B−History
History · Petersburg

Petersburg’s post office opened in 1900, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #6 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Sons of Norway Hall, the CHUGACH (Ranger Boat) and the F/V CHARLES W (Schooner). Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1961 on, and the census since 1910.

1900first post office
3on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Petersburg’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Petersburg began

When was Petersburg founded?

1900

The Petersburg post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1910. Another post office, Doyhof (1918), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 585 in 19102020 census: 3,043126 years

How historic is Petersburg?

B−

More historic than 51% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Petersburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1910.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Petersburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Petersburg is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #6 of 41 in Alaska. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Petersburg’s overall grade.
Founding era1900, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194019.6% of homes (±5.0) · typical AK town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register3 listings, 9.3 per 10,000 residents · typical AK town 3.3 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 51%
NewerOlder
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)Ahead of 88%

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 Petersburg’s 9.3 sits above most of its state (78% of Alaska towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1910 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Petersburg’s past

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

A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1880–1914.
★ What stands out · By decade

Petersburg, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s7 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - Firs…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - Firs…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - Firs…1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - Firs…[Loading boxes of salmon] Petersburg1900[Loading boxes of salmon] PetersburgHarbor of cannery at Petersburg, Alaska, 19081908Harbor of cannery at Petersburg, Alaska, 1908Pacific Coast and Norway Packing Co. Cannery, Petersburg, 19081908Pacific Coast and Norway Packing Co. Cannery, Petersb…
1910s5 items
Fish scows at the dock at Petersburg, Alaska, September 24, 19101910Fish scows at the dock at Petersburg, Alaska, Septemb…View of Petersburg, ca. 1912c. 1912View of Petersburg, ca. 1912Waterfront and fishing boats, Petersburg, ca. 1912c. 1912Waterfront and fishing boats, Petersburg, ca. 1912Cannery of the Pacific Coast and Norway Packing Co., Petersburg, ca. 1914c. 1914Cannery of the Pacific Coast and Norway Packing Co., …Fishing boat docked at the cannery of the Pacific Coast and Norway Packing Co., Petersburg, Petersburg, ca. 1914c. 1914Fishing boat docked at the cannery of the Pacific Coa…
1920s–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 Petersburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Petersburg.

Read it all →

Tlingits from Kupreanof Island had long used a summer fish camp at the north end of Mitkof Island. Earlier cultures of Indigenous people also used the island: remnants of fish traps and some petroglyphs have been carbon-dated back some 10,000 years. Shell middens have been dated to 1,200 years ago.

European explorers to Mitkof Island encountered the Tlingit. In the 19th century, Peter Buschmann, a Norwegian immigrant, settled here, building a cannery, sawmill, docks and early structures. The settlement was named Petersburg after him, and it flourished as a fishing port. Icebergs from the nearby LeConte Glacier provided a source for cooling fish.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Petersburg, 1880 to 1961

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
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900In the archive[Loading boxes of salmon] Petersburg
  5. 1900Post officeThe Petersburg post office opens
  6. 1910In the archiveFish scows at the dock at Petersburg, Alaska, September 24, 1910
  7. 1911Born hereElizabeth Peratrovich is born here
  8. 1918Post officeThe Doyhof post office opens
  9. 1936Post officeThe Doyhof post office closes
  10. 1937Born hereRosita Worl is born here
  11. 1961On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Petersburg on the map, 1961 to 1992

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

Petersburg on the 1961 USGS mapPetersburg on the 1992 USGS map1961Petersburg D-3 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 Petersburg.

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
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Alaska - First Judicial Division, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Petersburg

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Sons of Norway Hall
Sons of Norway HallCHUGACH (Ranger Boat)F/V CHARLES W (Schooner)
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Wooden Motor Vessel1
Schooner Rigged Beam Trawler1
Sons of Norway HallBuilding
CHUGACH (Ranger Boat)Wooden Motor Vessel
All 3 listings
F/V CHARLES W (Schooner)Structure · listed 2006

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

People over time

Petersburg, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,224

Between 585 and 3,224 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Petersburg

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

See all →
Elizabeth PeratrovichCivil rights activist from Alaska · b. 1911
Rosita WorlAmerican anthropologist · b. 1937
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Petersburg’s post office has been open since 1900. Another post office, Doyhof, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Petersburg
1900–today
Doyhof
1918–1936
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
DoyhofScow Bay
1cemetery inside Petersburg
Petersburg Memorial

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

Help out

Finish Petersburg’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 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
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

KupreanofIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Petersburg’s history

What year was Petersburg founded?

The Petersburg post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1910.

How does Petersburg rank for history?

Petersburg is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #6 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 Petersburg?

Three places: the Sons of Norway Hall (listed 1979), the CHUGACH (Ranger Boat) (1992) and the F/V CHARLES W (Schooner) (2006).

How old are the homes in Petersburg?

20% of Petersburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 0.3% for an Alaska town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.