Three Saints Bay, Alaska
57°8′8″N 153°29′45″W / 57.13556°N 153.49583°W
Three Saints Bay Site | |
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
| |
Location | Address restricted[1] |
---|---|
Nearest city | Old Harbor, Alaska |
Built | 1784 |
NRHP reference No. | 72001541 |
AHRS No. | KOD-083 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | February 23, 1972[2] |
Designated NHL | June 2, 1978[3] |
Three Saints Bay (
History
Although Russian fur hunters had established temporary shore stations in Alaska earlier, they intended the Three Saints site to be a permanent colonial settlement. The site was poorly chosen, for the hillside above the shore area was too steep to build on, and the shore area was too small for a substantial settlement. When it was visited in 1790, it was described as a cluster of small structures (probably barabaras), with a population of about fifty men and a small number of women. The site was harmed by subsidence and a probable tsunami in the wake of a 1788 earthquake. In 1791, Alexander Baranov began moving the main Russian settlement to the site of present-day Kodiak.
This original Russian site continued to be occupied as a smaller station of lesser importance until roughly the mid-19th century, at which time it was relocated to a site about 1.2 miles (1.9 km) away.[8]
Only a few remnants of the Russian occupation remain on the surface. These are mainly pits and rectangular depressions, indications of where structures were located, and some plants that are evidence of the
The Russian settlement site was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1978.[2]
Etymology
The bay was named for the harbor, in turn named after one of Shelikhov's ships. It was named for the Three Holy Hierarchs. It was reported by Petroff in the 10th Census in 1880.[9]
The same area was later called Lyakhik Bay (Zaliv Lyakhik) by Captain Tebenkov.
See also
- Awa'uq Massacre
- Maritime Fur Trade
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Alaska
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska
References
- OCLC 20706997.
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "Three Saints Bay Site". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ a b "Three Saints Bay". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ISBN 9780312616113
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Kodiak
- ISBN 0919642500
- ^ JSTOR 25615550.
- ^ Petroff, 1893, p. 32.
- ^ 1852, map 23.
- ^ Baker, 1906, p. 625.
- ^ Geoghegan, R.H. Notes. He proposes it as a dual form, meaning "pair of geese".