Sitka City and Borough is a borough located on the west side of Baranof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean, in the state of Alaska. As of 2000, the population was 8,835. The borough seat is Sitka, the only incorporated place.

The name Sitka, or "Shee Atika" means "people on the outside of Shee." Shee is the Tlingit name for Baranof Island.

History

The modern Sitka was founded in 1799 by Alexandr Baranov, the governor of Russian America. Sitka was the capital of Russian America, when it was known as Novo-Arkhangelsk (New Archangel, a reference to the largest city in the region where Baranov was born), and is still an important town in that state.

The original site of Sitka was at what is now the Old Harbor. A group of Tlingit destroyed the original town in 1802 and it was rebuilt at the present site afterward. In 1804 the Russians defeated the Tlingit at the Battle of Sitka. The current Sitka area includes parts of Baranof Island and the small Japonski Island, across the Sitka Channel from Sitka, which is connected to Baranof Island by a bridge. Japonski Island is the home of the Sitka airport and the Sitka branch campus of the University of Alaska.

Bishop Innokentii of the Russian Orthodox Church lived in Sitka after 1840. The Bishop's House has been restored by the National Park Service.

Sitka was the site of the ceremony in which the Russian flag was lowered and the United States flag raised after Alaska was purchased by the United States in 1867. After the guests for the ceremony left, the entire U. S. government presence in Alaska until the Klondike Gold Rush was a single customs inspector in Sitka. Sitka was the capital of the Alaska Territory until 1906, when the capital was moved to Juneau.

The flag lowering and raising event is re-enacted in Sitka every October on Alaska Day.

Sitka

Geography

Sitka is located at 57°4'48" North, 135°19'54" West (57.079871, -135.331757).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough is the largest incorporated area in the U.S, with a total area of 12,461.8 km² (4,811.5 mi²). 7,443.6 km² (2,874.0 mi²) of it is land and 5,018.2 km² (1,937.6 mi²) of it, or 40.27%, is water.

Adjacent boroughs and census areas

• Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska - northeast
• Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, Alaska - southeast

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 8,835 people, 3,278 households, and 2,219 families residing in the borough. The population density is 1.2/km² (3.1/mi²). There are 3,650 housing units at an average density of 0.5/km² (1.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough is 68.50% White, 0.32% Black or African American, 18.57% Native American, 3.79% Asian, 0.35% Pacific Islander, 0.94% from other races, and 7.53% from two or more races. 3.28% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 3,278 households out of which 36.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% are married couples living together, 10.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% are non-families. 24.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 5.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.61 and the average family size is 3.15.

In the borough the population is spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 104.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 104.8 males.

The median income for a household in the borough is $51,901, and the median income for a family is $62,361. Males have a median income of $40,037 versus $30,319 for females. The per capita income for the borough is $23,622. 7.8% of the population and 4.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.2% of those under the age of 18 and 7.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Colleges and universities

• Sheldon Jackson College
• University of Alaska Southeast

Trivia

• Served as the capitol of Russian America
• Has the largest incorporated city limits in the United States

External links

• Official Sitka website
• Photographic virtual tour of Sitka.