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C+History
History · Wrangell

Wrangell’s post office opened in 1902, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1868 on.

1902first post office
4on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wrangell’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wrangell began

When was Wrangell founded?

1902

The Wrangell post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Myers Chuck (1922), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 2,127124 years

How historic is Wrangell?

C+

More historic than 42% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Wrangell’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Wrangell is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Wrangell’s overall grade.
Founding era1902, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194010.5% of homes (±2.4) · typical AK town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register4 listings, 19.2 per 10,000 residents · typical AK town 3.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 42%
NewerOlder

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 Wrangell’s 19.2 sits above most of its state (86% of Alaska towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±2.4 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 Wrangell’s past

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

Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Wrangell, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Wrangell’s post office has been open since 1902. Another post office, Myers Chuck, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Wrangell
1902–today
Myers Chuck
1922–1945
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hinauhans VillageMeyers ChuckSaint John HarborThoms Place
Gone or out of use
Kadishan's Villagelocale

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Wrangell

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Chief Shakes Historic Site
Chief Shakes Historic SiteSaint Philip's Episcopal ChurchEtolin CanoeJUDITH ANN (Riverboat), built 1950
BuildingsSitesStructures

Architectural styles listings

Pioneer Style1
Dugout Canoe1
Chief Shakes Historic SiteBuilding
Saint Philip's Episcopal ChurchPioneer Style
Etolin CanoeDugout Canoe
All 4 listings
JUDITH ANN (Riverboat)Structure · listed 2004

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

The story

How Wrangell came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wrangell.

Read it all →

Tlingit people and their ancestors have inhabited this island for thousands of years. According to Naanyaa.aayí clan traditions, Tlingit people migrated down the Stikine River during a time when the river still flowed underneath glaciers. The population slowly moved down the river, settling in different locations such as Tlákw.aan "Ancient Village", Sʼiknáx̱ "Across from the Grass", Shaal.aan "Fish Trap Town", Xakw.aan "Sandbar Village", and Kayáash "Platform", Hehl (Xel/Xehl) "Foam People", Hehl being the senior of house of the village.

Chapters19th century20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wrangell, 1868 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868In the archiveFort Wrangell under construction 1868
  3. 1870In the archiveFort Wrangell from the water, circa 1870
  4. 1886In the archiveFuneral canoe Fort Wrangel
  5. 20th century
  6. 1902Post officeThe Wrangell post office opens
  7. 1922Post officeThe Myers Chuck post office opens
  8. 1945Post officeThe Myers Chuck post office closes
  9. 1950BuiltJUDITH ANN (Riverboat) is built
By decade

Wrangell, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1870s5 items
Fort Wrangell under construction 18681868Fort Wrangell under construction 1868Ft. Wrangle [Fort Wrangell]. Chief's house.Alternate Title: European and American Viewsc. 1868Ft. Wrangle [Fort Wrangell]. Chief's house.Alternate …Ft. Wrangle [Fort Wrangell]. Chief's house.Alternate Title: European and American Viewsc. 1868Ft. Wrangle [Fort Wrangell]. Chief's house.Alternate …Fort Wrangell from the water, circa 1870c. 1870Fort Wrangell from the water, circa 1870Fort Wrangel map 18771877Fort Wrangel map 1877Map
1880s1 item
Funeral canoe Fort Wrangel1886Funeral canoe Fort Wrangel
1890s–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
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.

Fort Wrangell under construction 1868
Retake this viewFort Wrangell under construction 1868, 1868

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Wrangell’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFort Wrangell under construction 1868: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Wrangell’s history

What year was Wrangell founded?

The Wrangell post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Wrangell rank for history?

Wrangell is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. 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 Wrangell?

4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Chief Shakes Historic Site (listed 1970, the first), 1 site, and 1 structure.

How old are the homes in Wrangell?

11% of Wrangell’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 0.3% for an Alaska town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.