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History · Saxman

Saxman’s post office opened in 1897, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Saxman was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1900.

1897first post office
2on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Saxman’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Saxman began

When was Saxman founded?

1897

The Saxman post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1930.

First census: 142 in 19002020 census: 384129 years
Founding year: the first Saxman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1930.

What stands out about Saxman’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.
★ What stands out · People over time

Saxman, census by census

01002003004001900192019401960198020002020154 in 1910Low: 103

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story so far

Saxman, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Saxman yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Saxman (Lingít: T’èesh Ḵwáan Xagu) is a town on Revillagigedo Island in Ketchikan Gateway Borough in southeastern Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census, Saxman had a population of 384. Saxman is the headquarters of the Organized Village of Saxman, a federally recognized tribe of Tlingit Native Americans. The city of Ketchikan lies just to its northwest.

Its first post office opened in 1897. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 411 to 384 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Saxman, 1897 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1897Post officeThe Saxman post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900Post officeThe Saxman post office closes
  5. 1910In the archiveChief Kashakes totem pole, Saxman, Alaska, between 1905 and 1915
  6. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 431
By decade

Saxman, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Chief Kashakes totem pole, Saxman, Alaska, between 1905 and 1915c. 1910Chief Kashakes totem pole, Saxman, Alaska, between 19…
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
Date unknown4 to date
View of Saxman, Alaska, from the water. Edward Marsden's Presbyterian mission was at SaxmanDate?View of Saxman, Alaska, from the water. Edward Marsde…Totem ParkDate?Totem ParkTotem Park, Tribal HouseDate?Totem Park, Tribal HouseChief Kashakes' House, Mile 2.5 South Tongass HighwayDate?Chief Kashakes' House, Mile 2.5 South Tongass Highway
Today1 recent
Eagle Pole2017Eagle Pole
On the map

Saxman on the map, 1954 to 1991

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

Saxman on the 1954 USGS mapSaxman 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 Saxman.

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.

Chief Kashakes totem pole, Saxman, Alaska, between 1905 and 1915
Retake this viewChief Kashakes totem pole, Saxman, Alaska, between 1905 and 1915, c. 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Saxman

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Saxman Totem Park
Saxman Totem ParkChief Kashakes House
BuildingsDistricts
Saxman Totem ParkDistrict
Chief Kashakes HouseBuilding

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Saxman had its own post office from 1897 to 1900.

Saxman
1897–1900
18901960today

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

Help out

Start Saxman’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo4 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewChief Kashakes totem pole, Saxman, Alas…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Saxman’s history

What year was Saxman founded?

The Saxman post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1930.

What is on the National Register in Saxman?

Two places: the Saxman Totem Park (listed 1979) and the Chief Kashakes House (1993).

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), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.