List of National Historic Landmarks in Alaska

The National Historic Landmarks in Alaska represent Alaska's history from its Russian heritage to its statehood. There are 48 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) in the state. The United States National Historic Landmark program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar resources according to a list of criteria of national significance. Major themes include Alaska's ancient cultures, Russian heritage, and role in World War II, but other stories are represented as well. In addition, two sites in Alaska were designated National Historic Landmarks, and subsequently de-designated. These sites appear in italics in another table further below.

The National Historic Landmark Program is administered by the National Park Service, a branch of the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service determines which properties meet NHL criteria and makes nomination recommendations after an owner notification process. The Secretary of the Interior reviews nominations and, based on a set of predetermined criteria, makes a decision on NHL designation or a determination of eligibility for designation. Both public and privately owned properties can be designated as NHLs. This designation provides indirect, partial protection of the historic integrity of the properties via tax incentives, grants, monitoring of threats, and other means. Owners may object to the nomination of the property as a NHL. When this is the case the Secretary of the Interior can only designate a site as eligible for designation.

NHLs in Alaska

The table below lists all 48 of the National Historic Landmark sites, along with added detail and description.

	Landmark name	Image	Date desig.	Locality	Borough or Census Area	Description
1	Adak Army Base and Adak Naval Operating Base		01987-02-27 February 27, 1987	Adak Station 51°52′19″N 176°38′10″W	Aleutians West	Established in 1942 as part of World War II, this military base was the launching pad for the American attack on the Japanese-held Aleutian Islands of Kiska and Attu.
2	Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Sitka 57°02′57″N 135°20′22″W	Sitka	This 1914 meeting hall and headquarters building served the original chapter of Alaska Native Brotherhood, founded by Tlingits in the early 1900s to fight discrimination and represent interests of natives.
3	Amalik Bay Archeological District		02005-04-04 April 4, 2005	King Salmon 58°5′19″N 154°32′6″W	Lake and Peninsula	An archeological site located in Lake and Peninsula Borough
4	American Flag Raising Site		01962-06-13 June 13, 1962	Sitka 57°02′49″N 135°20′02″W	Sitka	In 1867, site of Russian flag lowering and American flag raising marking the transfer of Alaska to the U.S.; in 1959, after Alaska admitted as 49th state, site of first official raising of 49-star U.S. flag; also called Castle Hill.
5	Anangula Site		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Nikolski	Aleutians West	Site of earliest signs of human occupation in the Aleutian Islands.
6	Attu Battlefield and U.S. Army and Navy Airfields on Attu		01985-02-04 February 4, 1985	Attu Island 52°54′02″N 172°54′34″E	Aleutians West	Site of bloody battle in which only 29 of 2,500 Japanese survived, only battle on U.S. soil during World War II.
7	Bering Expedition Landing Site		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Kayak Island 59°53′33″N 144°29′08″W	Valdez-Cordova	Site of first recorded contacts between natives and Europeans
8	Birnirk Site		01962-12-29 December 29, 1962	Barrow	North Slope	Sixteen prehistoric mounds of the Birnirk and Thule cultures.
9	Brooks River Archeological District		01993-04-19 April 19, 1993	Katmai National Park and Preserve 58°33′16″N 155°47′0″W	Bristol Bay	An archaeological site located along an ancient beach and modern river. There are twenty separate well preserved sites which have provided a large number of Arctic Small Tool Tradition artifacts.
10	Cape Krusenstern Archeological District		01973-11-07 November 7, 1973	Kotzebue 67°6′51″N 163°41′9″W	Northwest Arctic	The archeological district comprises 114 ancient beach ridges which formed nearly 60 years apart. They provide a rare sequential look at over 5000 years of inhabitation.
11	Cape Nome Mining District Discovery Sites		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Nome	Nome	Significant for role in the history of gold mining in Alaska
12	Chaluka Site		01962-12-29 December 29, 1962	Nikolski	Aleutians West	Includes a large mound; yields information about origins of Aleuts
13	Chilkoot Trail and Dyea Site		01978-06-16 June 16, 1978	Skagway 59°38′N 135°17′W	Skagway	Major access route from the coast to Yukon goldfields in the late 1890s.
14	Church of the Holy Ascension		01970-04-15 April 15, 1970	Unalaska 53°52′33″N 166°32′11″W	Aleutians West	Built in 1826 by the Russian American Fur Company to help acclimate indigenous population in Russian Alaska.
15	Dry Creek Archeological Site		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Healy, Alaska	Denali	This archeological site has provided evidence which supports the Bering land bridge theory
16	Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army		01985-02-04 February 4, 1985	Unalaska 53°53′16″N 166°32′23″W	Aleutians West	Only US fortifications in the Aleutian Islands prior to WWII, attacked by the Japanese Navy during the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1943.
17	Eagle Historic District		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Eagle 64°47′10″N 141°12′0″W	Southeast Fairbanks	Historic district with over 100 well preserved buildings from the Gold Rush years on the Yukon river. Roald Amundsen announced his successful traverse of the Northwest Passage from here in 1905
18	Fort Durham Site		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Taku Harbor	Juneau	One of three Hudson's Bay Company posts set up in Alaska
19	Cape Field at Fort Glenn	image pending	01987-05-28 May 28, 1987	Fort Glenn	Aleutians West	Significant for its role in World War II fighting
20	Fort William H. Seward	image pending	01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Haines 59°13′36″N 135°26′40″W	Haines	Last of a series of 11 military posts established in Alaska during the gold rush era
21	Gallagher Flint Station Archeological Site		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Sagwon	North Slope	Discovered in 1970 during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, it is the earliest dated archaeological site in northern Alaska.
22	Holy Assumption Orthodox Church		01970-04-15 April 15, 1970	Kenai 60°33′09″N 151°15′59″W	Kenai Peninsula	Russian Orthodox church in Kenai, Alaska.
23	Ipiutak Site		01961-01-20 January 20, 1961	Point Hope Peninsula 68°20′49″N 166°45′47″W	North Slope	The type site for the Ipiutak culture
24	Iyatayet Site		01961-01-20 January 20, 1961	Cape Denbigh Peninsula	Nome	Shows evidence of several separate cultures, dating back as far as 6000 B.C.
25	Sheldon Jackson School		02001-08-07 August 7, 2001	Sitka	Sitka	Oldest institution of higher learning in Alaska
26	Kake Cannery		01997-12-09 December 9, 1997	Kake	Petersburg	Built 1912-1940; significant for role in history of salmon canning in Alaska
27	Kennecott Mines		01986-06-23 June 23, 1986	Kennecott 61°29′6.8″N 142°53′18.4″W	Valdez-Cordova	Site of discovery of copper in 1900 and subsequent mining activities
28	Kijik Archeological District		01994-10-12 October 12, 1994	Lake Clark National Park and Preserve 60°17′33″N 154°15′1″W	Bristol Bay	Related to the history of the Dena'ina Athabaskan Indians
29	Japanese Occupation Site, Kiska Island		01985-02-04 February 4, 1985	Kiska Island 51°58′2.0″N 177°29′31.0″E	Aleutians West	Site of the Japanese occupation of Kiska which along with nearby Attu were the only US land occupied by the Japanese during World War II
30	Kodiak Naval Operating Base and Forts Greely and Abercrombie		01985-02-04 February 4, 1985	Kodiak	Kodiak Island	World War II-related facilities
31	Ladd Field		01985-02-04 February 4, 1985	Fairbanks 64°50′15″N 147°36′52″W	Fairbanks North Star	Primary role during WWII was major stopping point for the Lend-Lease program.
32	Leffingwell Camp Site		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Flaxman Island 70°11′6.5″N 146°0′14″W	North Slope	Campsite of geologist and polar explorer Ernest de Koven Leffingwell on Arctic coast of Alaska, not far from Prudhoe Bay.
33	Nenana (river steamboat)		01989-05-05 May 5, 1989	Fairbanks 64°50′16″N 147°46′06″W	Fairbanks North Star	River steamboat; only surviving wooden one of this type.
34	New Russia Site	image pending	01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Yakutat	Yakutat	Site of Russian trading post attacked and destroyed by Tlingit natives.
35	Onion Portage Archeological District		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Kiana 67°5′49″N 158°17′51″W	Northwest Arctic	Perhaps most important archaeological site in Alaska; caribou river crossing; human presence for millennia.
36	Palugvik Site		01962-12-29 December 29, 1962	Hawkins Island	Valdez-Cordova	Includes a large midden yielding information about Eskimo culture in the area.
37	Russian-American Building #29		01987-05-28 May 28, 1987	Sitka 57°02′50″N 135°19′52″W	Sitka	Siding covered log building; dates back to the years after the 1867 purchase of Alaska.
38	Russian-American Magazin		01962-06-13 June 13, 1962	Kodiak	Kodiak Island	Storehouse building associated with the Russian and then the American trading companies active in Alaska.
39	Russian Bishop's House		01962-06-13 June 13, 1962	Sitka 57°02′55″N 135°19′38″W	Sitka	One of four surviving examples of Russian Colonial Style architecture in the Western Hemisphere.
40	St. Michael's Cathedral		01962-06-13 June 13, 1962	Sitka 57°2′59″N 135°20′5″W	Sitka	Primary evidence of Russian influence in North America.
41	Seal Island Historic District		01962-06-13 June 13, 1962	Pribilof Islands 57°N 170°W	Aleutians West	Historic buildings related to Northern Fur Seal hunting in the Pribilof Islands and its restriction in 1911 and 1966.
42	Sitka Naval Operating Base and U.S. Army Coastal Defenses		01986-08-11 August 11, 1986	Sitka	Sitka	Commissioned as Sitka Naval Air Station in October 1939, it was redesignated the Naval Operating Base, July 1942. Protected the North Pacific during World War II.
43	Sitka Spruce Plantation	image pending	01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Unalaska 53°53′12″N 166°32′23″W	Aleutians West	First recorded afforestation project in North America; Russian settlers began in 1805; attempt to make Unalaska self-sufficient in timber.
44	Skagway Historic District and White Pass		01962-06-13 June 13, 1962	Skagway and White Pass 59°27′30″N 135°18′50″W	Skagway	Historic frontier Gold Rush town and trail leading to White Pass on the border of Canada. Over 100 buildings from the era survive, though they are threatened by continued development. Mentioned in The Call of the Wild by Jack London.
45	George C. Thomas Memorial Library	image pending	01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Fairbanks 64°50′41″N 147°43′40″W	Fairbanks North Star	The public library for Fairbanks from its construction in 1909 until the opening of the Noel Wien Public Library in 1977. Site of 1915 meeting between U.S. officials and native Alaskans to settle land claims.
46	Three Saints Bay Site		01978-06-02 June 2, 1978	Old Harbor 57°08′N 153°30′W	Kodiak Island	Site of the first Russian settlement in Alaska in 1784.
47	Wales Site		01962-12-29 December 29, 1962	Wales 65°36′44″N 168°5′21″W	Nome	Site of first discovery of how the Thule culture followed the Birnirk culture in precontact whaling populations of the Alaskan shoreline.
48	Yukon Island Main Site		01962-12-29 December 29, 1962	Yukon Island	Kenai Peninsula	Related to the Kachemak Bay Culture.
Table notes: see below.

Historic areas of the NPS in Alaska

National Historic Sites, National Historical Parks, some National Monuments, and certain other areas listed in the National Park system are historic landmarks of national importance that are highly protected already, often before the inauguration of the NHL program in 1960, and are then often not also named NHLs per se. There are three of these in Alaska. The National Park Service lists these three together with the NHLs in the state,

Cape Krusenstern National Monument is also an NHL and is listed above. The other two are:

	Landmark name	Image	Date established	Location	County	Description
1	Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park			Skagway	Skagway	Park of Klondike Gold Rush, an NHL shared with Seattle, Washington.
2	Sitka National Historical Park			Sitka	Sitka

Former NHLs in Alaska

	Landmark name	Image	Year listed	Locality	Borough / Census Area	Description
a	Gambell Sites		1962, withdrawn 1989	Gambell 63°46′34″N 171°42′3″W	Nome	These five archeological sites established a chronology of human habitation on St. Lawrence Island, with evidence of four cultural phases of the Thule tradition, beginning about 2000 years before the present. Over the 20th century, the archeological value of the sites was largely destroyed due to ivory mining, and landmark designation was withdrawn.
c	Sourdough Lodge		1978, withdrawn 1994	Gakona 62°18′07″N 145°18′07″W	Valdez-Cordova	Built of logs in 1903-05, this was one of a number of roadhouses built along the Valdez Trail. It was destroyed by fire in 1992, leading to withdrawal of its landmark status. By the time of its destruction, it was one of the oldest continuously-operating roadhouses in Alaska.

See also

• List of Registered Historic Places in Alaska
• History of Alaska
• Historic preservation
• National Register of Historic Places
• List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state

External links

• National Historic Landmark Program at the National Park Service
• Lists of National Historic Landmarks