Archives West Finding Aid

The City of Kodiak is located on the northeastern end of Kodiak Island, the second largest island in the U.S. People have lived in the area for eight thousand years. Sea otter trappers, the first non-natives, arrived from Russia in 1763 and established a settlement at Chiniak Bay, where Kodiak is located. The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 and commercial fishing became an important part of the economy. The U.S. Army and Navy built bases on Kodiak Island during the Aleutian Campaign of World War II. During the war, the city of Kodiak experienced rapid population growth from the military installations and it was incorporated in 1940. Following the war, salmon and crab fishing continued to be the commercial mainstay. Kodiak was devastated by the earthquake and tidal wave of March, 1964, which destroyed many boats, homes, and businesses.

Mt. Katmai, located one hundred miles from Kodiak on the Kenai Peninsula, erupted on June 6, 1912. The skies were dark with falling ash from that and subsequent eruptions until the 8th, except for a brief intermission on the morning of the 7th. This famous eruption spewed an estimated five cubic miles of ash and pumice, some of it falling as far as Ketchikan, nine hundred miles away. Up to eighteen inches of ash fell on Kodiak. A photograph in this collection reflects those few hours of lightness the day after the eruption.