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B−History
History · Sitka

Sitka’s post office opened in 1867, and 22 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #5 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it

Most of Sitka was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. 22 places in town are on the National Register, among them 8 National Historic Landmarks and four historic districts with 31 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1880.

1867first post office
22on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Sitka began

When was Sitka founded?

1867

The Sitka post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name. Eight smaller post offices, Chatham (1906), Port Armstrong (1913) and Port Walter (1918), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 916 in 18802020 census: 8,458159 years

How historic is Sitka?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Sitka’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sitka is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #5 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 Sitka’s overall grade.
Founding era1867, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.3% of homes (±0.9) · typical AK town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register22 listings, 51 historic buildings, 60.9 per 10,000 residents · typical AK town 3.3 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)Ahead of 90%

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 Sitka’s 60.9 sits above most of its state (97% of Alaska towns have fewer) while its 51 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% 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 (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

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 Sitka’s past

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

A National Historic Landmark22 places on the National Register, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks.Lost villages8 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Sitka, and 12 old place names are still on the map.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sitka are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Sitka Naval Operating Base and US Army Coastal Defenses, a National Historic Landmark, takes in 27 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

22 historic places in Sitka

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 8 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.

places listed
22
National Historic Landmarks
8
American Flag Raising Site
historic buildings protected
51
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
American Flag Raising Site
Sitka National Historical Park, built 1972W. P. Mills HouseMills HouseSt. Peter's ChurchSee HouseCable House and StationUS Coast Guard and Geodetic Survey Seismological and Geomagnetic HouseHanlon-Osbakken HouseMurray Apartments and CottagesSitka US Post Office and Court HouseSitka National Cemetery, built 1868Emmons HouseSitka Pioneers' HomeSitka Woman's Club BuildingAmerican Flag Raising Site, built 1804★Old Sitka Site, built 1799★Russian Bishop's House, built 1841★St. Michael's Cathedral, built 1848★Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall, built 1914★Sheldon Jackson School, built 1878★Sitka Naval Operating Base and US Army Coastal Defenses★Russian-American Building No. 29★
BuildingsDistrictsSites★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Gothic2
Federal1
Gambrel-Roof Cottage1
Queen Anne1
Moderne1
Art Deco1
★ Landmark
American Flag Raising SiteBuilt 1804
★ Landmark
Old Sitka SiteBuilt 1799
★ Landmark
Russian Bishop's HouseBuilt 1841
★ Landmark
St. Michael's CathedralBuilt 1848
★ Landmark
Alaska Native Brotherhood HallBuilt 1914
★ Landmark
Sheldon Jackson SchoolBuilt 1878
★ Landmark
Sitka Naval Operating Base and US Army Coastal DefensesDistrict
★ Landmark
Russian-American Building No. 29Building
All 22 listings
Sitka National Historical ParkDistrict · listed 1966W. P. Mills HouseBuilding · listed 1977Mills HouseBuilding · listed 1978St. Peter's ChurchBuilding · listed 1978See HouseBuilding · listed 1978Cable House and StationBuilding · listed 1979US Coast Guard and Geodetic Survey Seismological and Geomagnetic HouseBuilding · listed 1986Hanlon-Osbakken HouseBuilding · listed 1992Murray Apartments and CottagesDistrict · listed 1992Sitka US Post Office and Court HouseBuilding · listed 1997Sitka National CemeteryDistrict · listed 2012Emmons HouseBuilding · listed 1977Sitka Pioneers' HomeBuilding · listed 1979Sitka Woman's Club BuildingBuilding · listed 2024

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, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Sitka’s post office has been open since 1867. Eight other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Sitka
1867–today
Chatham
1906–1964
Port Armstrong
1913–1915
Port Walter
1918–1921
Goddard
1924–1944
Baranof
1929–1973
Kimshan Cove
1930–1951
Cobol
1947–1954
Mount Edgecumbe
1947–1954
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BaranofBig Port WalterChathamCobolFort Saint MichaelGoddardPort ArmstrongSilver BaySitkohThe RedoubtTluhashaiyikanTodd
Gone or out of use
Chatnam Post Officepost officeFort BabcockmilitaryFort PeircemilitaryFort RousseaumilitaryGolden Hand Apex MinemineHirst-Chichagof MinemineKonalocaleMaksoutof Lake CabinlocaleNew Port WalterlocaleNickellocaleRezanof Lake CabinlocaleSheldon Jackson CollegeschoolSitka Naval Operating BasemilitaryUpper Rezanof Lake Cabinlocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sitka
LutheranPrincess Maksutov's GraveRussianSitka National

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

Help out

Start Sitka’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Sitka came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sitka.

Read it all →

Under Russian rule, it was known as New Arkhangelsk (Russian: Ново-Архангельск, romanized: Novo-Arkhangelsk, lit. 'New Archangel').

The current name, Sitka (derived from Sheetʼká, a contraction of the Tlingit Shee Atʼiká), means "People on the Edge of Shee", with Shee being the Tlingit name for Baranof Island (the Tlingit name for the island is Sheetʼ-ká Xʼáatʼl but is often contracted to Shee).

ChaptersEtymologyRussian AmericaTerritorial AlaskaAlaska Native Brotherhood, Alaska Native SisterhoodWorld War IIEconomy

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sitka, 1799 to 2001

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1799BuiltOld Sitka Site is built
  3. 19th century
  4. 1804BuiltAmerican Flag Raising Site is built
  5. 1841BuiltRussian Bishop's House is built
  6. 1848BuiltSt. Michael's Cathedral is built
  7. 1867Post officeThe Sitka post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1906Post officeThe Chatham post office opens
  10. 1913Post officeThe Port Armstrong post office opens
  11. 1915Post officeThe Port Armstrong post office closes
  12. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1962LandmarkAmerican Flag Raising Site named a National Historic Landmark
  14. 1962LandmarkOld Sitka Site named a National Historic Landmark
  15. 1962LandmarkRussian Bishop's House named a National Historic Landmark
  16. 1962LandmarkSt. Michael's Cathedral named a National Historic Landmark
  17. 1964Post officeThe Chatham post office closes
  18. 1978LandmarkAlaska Native Brotherhood Hall named a National Historic Landmark
  19. 1986LandmarkSitka Naval Operating Base and US Army Coastal Defenses named a National Historic Landmark
  20. 1987LandmarkRussian-American Building No. 29 named a National Historic Landmark
  21. 21st century
  22. 2001LandmarkSheldon Jackson School named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Sitka on the map, 1951 to 1987

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

Sitka on the 1951 USGS mapSitka on the 1964 USGS mapSitka on the 1987 USGS map1951Sitka sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sitka.

People over time

Sitka, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 8,881

Between 916 and 8,881 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Port Alexander1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Sitka’s history

What year was Sitka founded?

The Sitka post office opened in 1867, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Sitka rank for history?

Sitka is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #5 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 Sitka?

22 listings, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks: 16 buildings, 4 historic districts with 31 contributing buildings, and 2 sites. 51 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Sitka?

3% of Sitka’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.3% for an Alaska town; the median home was built in 1980.

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 the National Register of Historic Places (22), 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.