Historic Alaska. Alaska is one of America’s fifty states, but it wasn’t always populated strictly by American citizens. The state’s many diverse natural regions have distinct and ancient populations of native peoples, the area was also considered Russian territory for many years, and the history of the state is full of the influences of the various peoples and cultures who have settled there.
This is very clear at the Baranov Museum in Kodiak. The island where the museum is located is the perfect place to illustrate the rapid changes which took place in the state after it was settled by Russian immigrants in the 1700s. Looking to profit from the area’s sea otter population, the settlers drove the animals nearly to extinction, which brought turmoil between them and the Alutiq natives. This lasted for almost one hundred and fifty years, during which time the settlers built towns around the various ports. It was in Kodiak that the first log building in the state was constructed, and which houses the Baranov Museum today.
The history of the museum does not begin in the current location however. The first Kodiak museum was begun by the Kodiak Historical Society in 1957, with a mission of preserving the history of the Kodiak and Aleutian Islands. It was housed in a World War II Quonset hut, and many area families donated meaningful and historic items. The 1964 earthquake and tsunami devastated many of the coastal homes and towns, and even more donations flooded in from those hoping to preserve their communal heritage from any further disasters.
Only three years later the Society was able to acquire the “Russian American Magazin” which is the state’s oldest building. Extensive restoration was required and today the museum displays hundreds of native artifacts of the Alutiq and Aleutian peoples, art, antiques and goods from the Russian and early American trade periods and a large number of works of Alaskan art from both historic and contemporary periods.
Visitors of all ages will be astounded by the Alutiq baidarka (kayak) constructed in the late 1800s and covered entirely in sea lion skin, or the original spruce log walls of the “Erskine House” (which is the other formal name of the Russian American Magazin). All visitors will get a very good picture of the daily lives of the native peoples prior to the settlement of Russian and American immigrants, as well as the period after settlement. Guests will leave with a better understanding of the roles played by the many industries that developed in the area, including the trapping, fishing and oil trades as well.
101 E Marine Way
Kodiak, AK 99615
(907) 486-5920
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