Seward’s post office opened in 1895, and 10 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 54% of U.S. towns · #4 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it
Most of Seward was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Seward post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1903.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Seward’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Seward is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #4 of 41 in Alaska. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Seward’s overall grade.
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 Seward’s 42.9 sits above most of its state (93% of Alaska towns have fewer) while its 12 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1903.
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 Seward’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1793, Alexander Baranov of the Shelikhov-Golikov company (precursor of the Russian-American Company) established a fur trade post on Resurrection Bay where Seward is today and had a three-masted vessel, the Phoenix, built at the post by James Shields, an English shipwright in Russian service.
The 1939 Slattery Report on Alaskan development identified the region as one of the areas where new settlements would be established through Jewish immigration. This plan was never implemented.
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.
The Seward post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.
How does Seward rank for history?
Seward is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns, #4 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 Seward?
10 listings: 8 buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 12 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Seward?
6% of Seward’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 0.3% for an Alaska town; the median home was built in 1982.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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.
1868
1880
