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Welcome to Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska
A Proud Part of the Genealogy Trails
Group
Welcome to the Genealogy Trails website for the Kodiak Island Burough, Alaska.
Our goal is to help you track your ancestors through time by transcribing genealogical and historical data and
placing it online for the free use of all researchers. This is a continuation of our original Illinois Trails History and Genealogy Project
and we are excited about this opportunity to expand into other states.
We welcome your feedback and comments, and of course, your data contributions. If you have transcribed data that
you would like to have posted on this website, please send it to us.
If you would like to be kept informed of our state and county website updates, subscribe to our mailing lists
This Site is Available for Adoption!
We are looking for a coordinator for this site.... folks who share our dedication to putting data online and are
interested in helping this project be as helpful and useful to researchers as it can be. If you are interested
in joining our group as host of this site, view our Volunteer Page for further information
and contact
Kim.
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Location and Climate
Kodiak Island is located on the western side of the Gulf of Alaska. It lies 252 air miles south of Anchorage, a
55 minute flight, and is a 3 hour flight from Seattle.It lies at approximately 57.783330° North Latitude and
-152.400000° West Longitude . The area encompasses 6,559.8 sq. miles of land and 5,463.8 sq. miles of water.
The climate of the Kodiak Islands is dominated by a strong marine influence. There is little or no freezing weather,
moderate precipitation, and frequent cloud cover and fog. Severe storms are common from December through February.
Annual precipitation is 60 inches on the windward side of the Island, and 40 inches on the leeward side. Temperatures
remain within a narrow range, from 32 to 62.
History, Culture and Demographics
Kodiak Island has been inhabited since 8,000 B.C. and was settled by Russian fur trappers in 1792. Sea otter pelts
were the primary incentive for Russian exploration at that time. Kodiak was the first capital of Russian Alaska,
which moved to Sitka when Alaska was purchased by the U.S. in 1867. Since the Aleutian Campaign of World War II,
several branches of the military have maintained a presence in Kodiak. The 1960s brought growth in commercial fisheries
and fish processing. The Borough was incorporated in 1963.
The population of the community consists of 17.6% Alaska Native or part Native. The Island culture is grounded
in commercial and subsistence fishing activities and is primarily non-Native. A Russian Orthodox Church seminary
is based in Kodiak, one of the two existing seminaries of this kind in the U.S. The Coast Guard comprises a significant
portion of the Borough.
Communities located within the Borough include:
Akhiok, Chiniak, Karluk, Kodiak, Kodiak USCG Station, Larsen Bay, Old Harbor, Ouzinkie, Port Lions, Uganik, and
Womens Bay.
Economy and Transportation
Fishing, fish processing, retail, services and the health care industries are the key employers. The Coast Guard,
City, Borough, State and federal agencies also provide employment. 767 borough residents hold commercial fishing
permits. Subsistence activities and sport fishing are prevalent. The Kodiak Launch Complex, a $38 million low-Earth
orbit launch facility on 27 acres, was recently completed at Cape Narrow near Chiniak. The Kodiak Launch Complex,
operated by the Alaska Aerospace Dev. Corp., is the only commercial launch range in the U.S. that is not co-located
with a federal facility. The KLC launched its first payload in November 1998. In August 2003, Alaska Aerospace
Dev. Corp. was awarded an $8 million contract to handle two or three Missile Defense Agency launches in 2003-2004.
The Kodiak-launched missiles will be targets, not interceptors. The Kodiak Chamber of Commerce provides economic
development services to the area (www.kodiak.org).
Kodiak is accessible by air and sea. Airports and seaplane facilities serve air traffic island-wide. The Alaska
Marine Highway System operates a ferry service from Seward and Homer. Two boat harbors serve commercial and transient
vessels. Approximately 140 miles of state roads connect island communities on the east side of the island.
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Adjacent boroughs and census areas
Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska - northwest
Copyright © 2008 by: Genealogy
Trails
Submitters retain all copyrights
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