Tongass National Forest
Forest Facts

Salmon Canneries

Before there was gold, there were fish.

In 1878, 20 years before miners rushed to the gold fields of the Klondike, fish canning came to Alaska.To more on commercial fishing

Lynx Salmon label

 

Old canneries, salteries, herring reduction plants and other fish processing plants are scattered along the shoreline of the Tongass. Some are quite visible; others are hidden under the forest greenery. All have stories to tell. Visit them and enjoy a trip back in time, and leave what you find for the next generations to enjoy into the future.
Fish have supported the people of Southeast Alaska as long as there have been people in Southeast Alaska.More about fishing for life
Early seining required mettle and another "metal," muscles of steel. To more on seining After 1908, commercial fish traps changed the dynamics of fishing.More about fish traps
"Living silver" brought its own treasure hunters in the years leading up to World War I. To more on the early days In their quest for workers, canneries brought ethnic and racial diversity to Southeast Alaska.More about foreign cannery workers.
Salting continued as a method to preserve fish as canneries became more numerous. To more on salteries Loring, near Ketchikan, started with a saltery and grew around a cannery and later a fish hatchery.More about Loring and early fish hatcheries
Saginaw Bay, at the north end of Kuiu Island, was the site of fish buying and processing for over 30 years.More about early canneries
In the early 1900s, Tonka became a prominent cannery on the Wrangell Narrows near Petersburg.More about the Tonka cannery

Although some of these sites have been documented by historians and archaeologists, many have yet to reveal their hidden history. Federal laws make it a felony to remove artifacts or disturb historical features on national forest lands. But we'd like to think people will protect these sites not because of some legal punishment but because of a shared value for what these sites reveal about Alaska's history. We encourage people to visit these places and enjoy a trip back in time, but leave what you find. It's the law and it means that your grandchildren will be able to enjoy the sites as you do. And if you stumble across something in the Tongass National Forest that you think may be important, contact a local Forest Service office and share your discovery!

Acknowledgements: The information on this web page benefitted from the research and expertise of Patricia Roppel, Chuck Mobley and others too numerous to mention who have documented the early days of Alaska's salmon industry.

Gallery of Historical Photos
Home | Forest Facts | Archeology and History