Angoon, Alaska (original) (raw)

City in Alaska, United States

Town in Alaska, United States

Angoon, Alaska Aangóon
town
St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Church, AngoonSt. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Church, Angoon
Angoon is located in AlaskaAngoonAngoonLocation in Alaska
Coordinates: 57°29′49″N 134°34′25″W / 57.49694°N 134.57361°W / 57.49694; -134.57361
Country United States
State Alaska
Census Area Hoonah-Angoon
Incorporated May 7, 1963[1]
Government
• Mayor Albert Kookesh[2]
• State senator Bert Stedman (R)
• State rep. Rebecca Himschoot (I)
Area[3]
• Total 38.97 sq mi (100.93 km2)
• Land 24.53 sq mi (63.54 km2)
• Water 14.44 sq mi (37.39 km2)
Elevation 23 ft (7 m)
Population (2020)
• Total 357
• Density 14.55/sq mi (5.62/km2)
Time zone UTC-9 (Alaska)
• Summer (DST) UTC-8 (Alaska)
ZIP code 99820
Area code 907
FIPS code 02-03440
GNIS feature ID 1420113

Angoon (sometimes formerly spelled Angun, Tlingit: Aangóon) is a city on Admiralty Island, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 572; by the 2010 census the population had declined to 459.[4] For statistical purposes, it is in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area. The name in Tlingit, Aangóon, means roughly "isthmus town."

Admiralty Island has long been the home of the Kootznoowoo Tlingit group, or Xootsnoowú Ḵwáan in Tlingit. Kootznoowoo means "fortress of brown bears", literally xoots-noow-ú "brown.bear-fortress-possessive".[5] Angoon has a less-rainy climate than most of southeastern Alaska and was valued by the Tlingit for that reason.

During the Russian period in Alaska, from the 18th century to the mid-19th century, maritime fur trading was a major economic activity in the area.

In 1878, after the 1867 Alaska Purchase, the North West Trading Company established a trading post and whaling station on nearby Killisnoo Island and employed Angoon villagers to hunt whales. Whaling, a school, and a Russian Orthodox church attracted many Tlingits to neighboring Killisnoo.

In October 1882, the village was destroyed in the Angoon Bombardment by US Naval forces under the command Commander Edgar C. Merriman and the USRC Thomas Corwin under the command of Michael A. Healy. The Tlingit villagers had taken white hostages and property and demanded two hundred blankets in compensation from the North West Trading Company following the accidental death of a Tlingit shaman who died in a whaling bomb accident while working on the whaler. The hostages were released upon the arrival of the naval expedition to Angoon, however Merriman demanded four hundred blankets in tribute and upon the Tlingit delivery of just eighty one blankets, Merriman's forces destroyed the village.[6][7]

After a short time, the North West Trading Company switched to herring processing. During this time, many Tlingits moved to Killisnoo for employment at the fish plant. In 1928, Killisnoo was destroyed by fire and many Tlingits returned to Angoon.

In 1973, Angoon won a U.S. $90,000 settlement from the United States government for the 1882 bombardment.[8]

Angoon is located on the west side of Admiralty Island at 57°29′49″N 134°34′25″W / 57.49694°N 134.57361°W / 57.49694; -134.57361 (57.496891, -134.573579).[9] It is the largest permanent settlement on Admiralty Island and is sited on an isthmus at the mouth of Kootznahoo Inlet on the west side of the island. It is 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Juneau. The only other community on the island is Cube Cove, to the north.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.8 square miles (100.4 km2), of which 24.4 square miles (63.2 km2) are land and 14.4 square miles (37.2 km2), or 37.04%, are water.[4]

The climate is either an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), when utilising the −3 °C or 26.6 °F isotherm or a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfb), when utilising the 0 °C or 32 °F isotherm. Its climate moderately tempered by the Alaska Current is only slightly more extreme than the north of Scotland.[10]

Climate data for Angoon
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 57(14) 57(14) 58(14) 64(18) 71(22) 80(27) 82(28) 77(25) 75(24) 62(17) 57(14) 50(10) 82(28)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 31.9(−0.1) 36.8(2.7) 40.9(4.9) 47.1(8.4) 53.4(11.9) 58.8(14.9) 62(17) 61.5(16.4) 56.6(13.7) 48.4(9.1) 39.9(4.4) 34.3(1.3) 47.6(8.7)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 23.5(−4.7) 27.1(−2.7) 29.7(−1.3) 33.9(1.1) 39.8(4.3) 45.6(7.6) 49.8(9.9) 49.8(9.9) 45.2(7.3) 39.1(3.9) 32.3(0.2) 27.3(−2.6) 36.9(2.7)
Record low °F (°C) −3(−19) −7(−22) 0(−18) 20(−7) 29(−2) 36(2) 40(4) 40(4) 30(−1) 16(−9) −2(−19) −6(−21) −7(−22)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 3.39(86) 2.7(69) 2.42(61) 2.21(56) 1.92(49) 1.9(48) 2.26(57) 3.76(96) 4.89(124) 7.71(196) 4.79(122) 4.04(103) 42(1,100)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 16.6(42) 12.7(32) 8.1(21) 2(5.1) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0.3(0.76) 6(15) 15.4(39) 61.2(155)
Average precipitation days 17 16 16 15 16 15 13 15 18 23 20 21 205
Source: WRCC[11]

Historical population

Census Pop. Note %±
1880 420 —
1890 381 −9.3%
1920 114 —
1930 319 179.8%
1940 342 7.2%
1950 429 25.4%
1960 395 −7.9%
1970 400 1.3%
1980 465 16.3%
1990 638 37.2%
2000 572 −10.3%
2010 459 −19.8%
2020 357 −22.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[12]

Angoon first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as the native village of "Augoon" with 420 residents, all members of the Tlingit tribe.[13] The area returned as "Hoochinoo" (AKA Kootznahoo) in 1890.[14][15] Angoon did not appear again on the census until 1920.[16] It has appeared on every successive census to date as of 2010,[17] and incorporated as a city in 1963.

As of the census[18] of 2000, there were 572 people, 184 households, and 138 families residing in the city. The population density was 25.4 people per square mile (9.8/km2). There were 221 housing units at an average density of 9.8 per square mile (3.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 81.99% Native American, 11.36% White, 5.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race, 0.52% Black or African American, 0.17% Asian, 1.40% from other races, and 4.55% from two or more races.

Of the 184 households, 42.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.64.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 34.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was 29,861,andthemedianincomeforafamilywas29,861, and the median income for a family was 29,861,andthemedianincomeforafamilywas31,429. Males had a median income of 21,250versus21,250 versus 21,250versus30,625 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,357. About 27.0% of families and 27.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.1% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.

Angoon is a second-class city, and uses a Mayor-Council form of government.

Fishing and fish processing are the mainstays of the economy at Angoon now.

Angoon is looking into non-diesel electric power generation to reduce local electric bills.

Chatham School District operates two schools:[19]

  1. ^ 1996 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory. Juneau: Alaska Municipal League/Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs. January 1996. p. 26.
  2. ^ 2023 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory (PDF). Juneau: Alaska Municipal League. January 2023. p. 44. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Angoon city, Alaska". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved April 17, 2017.[_dead link_‍]
  5. ^ De Laguna, Frederica. (1960). The story of a Tlingit community: A problem in the relationship between archeological, ethnological, and historical methods. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 172. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office.
  6. ^ Crow Dog's Case: American Indian Sovereignty, Tribal Law, and United States Law in the Nineteenth Century, Sidney L. Harring, pages 228-230
  7. ^ The Oxford Handbook of American Indian History, Frederick E. Hoxie, pages 307-8
  8. ^ Thiessen, Mark (October 26, 2024). "US Navy will apologize for the 1882 obliteration of a Tlingit village in Alaska". Yahoo News. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  9. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  10. ^ "Angoon climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Angoon weather averages - Climate-Data.org". en.climate-data.org. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  11. ^ "ANGOON (500310)". WRCC. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  12. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  13. ^ "Statistics of the Population of Alaska" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
  14. ^ Census Office, United States (1893). "Report on Population and Resources of Alaska at the Eleventh Census, 1890".
  15. ^ Hanus, G.C. (1880). "Anchorages and Passages in the waters on the S.W. Coast of Alaska". University of Alabama - Department of Geography.
  16. ^ "Population of Outlying Possessions by Civil Divisions: 1920 and earlier years" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1920. pp. 680 & 681.
  17. ^ U.S. Census Bureau (June 2012). "2010 Census of Population and Housing - Alaska" (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2014.
  18. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  19. ^ "Our Schools." Chatham School District. Retrieved on February 13, 2017.