Salmon Canneries

During 1885 a post office named Loring was established at the saltery which continued operating until about 1888. The Salmon Packing and Fur company sold the business to the Cutting Packing Company and the new owners decided to build a cannery at a nearby location. Canneries were usually constructed on wood pilings over the ocean because it was easier than building on the often steep and irregular slopes above the beach. This technique provided convenience for loading and unloading ships and boats. The flushing action of the tides helped remove fish waste which could become putrid in a short time. Sailing ships, like Star of Greenland, supplied the canneries with food, tin for making cans, coal for the cannery boilers and they also brought workers. During the first season the Loring Cannery packed 18,771 cases and in 1887 it produced a record pack of approximately 62,040 cases of salmon.

In 1889 the side-paddle steamship Ancon made a stop at Loring with freight, mail and some of southeast Alaska's first tourists. While casting off at 3 a.m. on August 29 strong winds pushed Ancon on to a nearby shoal which punctured the hull. Workers had to remove 14,000 cases of canned salmon and the passengers abandoned ship, left stranded at Loring for more than a week. By 1889 Loring had become a thriving community with over 40 houses, a general merchandise store and about 200 summer residents. In 1893 J.R. Heckman became the superintendent of Loring, then part of the Alaska Packers Association which grew to be the largest salmon packing company in Alaska.

During 1889 the federal Fisheries Act (amended in 1900) required each person, company or corporation to establish a fish hatchery near their fishing operation and to produce "four times" the number of mature salmon taken during the fishing season. As a result, the Fortmann Hatchery was built near Loring in 1901. It became the largest and most expensive hatchery in the world and could produce 110,000,000 eggs in a year. Congress made changes to the Act in 1906 which no longer required hatcheries but did continue tax incentives for hatchery operations. In the 1920s Loring began experiencing poor fishing seasons; the pack in 1927 was only 7,730 cases. The hatchery closed and by 1930 the cannery ceased operation, and the buildings and equipment were removed or allowed to decay. Several families remained and a small community still resides in Loring today.