Sitka National Park
By Bond
Federal Land - 106.17 Non-Federal land - .66
Gross Area Acres - 106.83 Total Recreation visits - 197,809
Alaska's oldest federally designated park was established in 1910 tocommemorate the 1804 Battle of Sitka. All that remains of this lastmajor conflict between Europeans and Alaska Natives is the site of theTlingit Fort and battlefield, located within this scenic 107 acre parkin a temperate rainforest. Southeast Alaska totem poles and a temperaterainforest setting combine to provide spectacular scenery along the park'scoastal trail.
Public Park - June 21, 1890
Sitka National Monument - March 23, 1910
Sitka National Historical Park - 1972
Fishing and lumbering are of equal importance to Sitka's economy. Sitka was founded by Alexander Baranof, a Russian trader, in 1799. Originally named New Archangel, sitka became the capital of Russian Americain 1807. It was called the New World Paris, because it was the PacificCoast's most important and cosmopolitan city for over a century. When the United States bought Alaska in 1867, the formal transfer tookplace at Sitka. Sitka was the capital of Alaska from 1884 to 1900.
Sources:
World Book Encyclopedia
www.nps.gov/sitk/index.htm