History

In 1791, Alexander Baranov, on a return voyage to Kodiak from around his Alaskan domain, waited out a storm in this bay on the Sunday of Resurrection, a Russian holiday. The sheltered waters of Resurrection Bay prompted Baranov to install a small shipyard. In 1903 surveyors for the Alaska Central Railroad laid out the town site for their port.

This private enterprise, financed by Seattle businessmen, established Seward [1], laid 50 miles of track, and went broke. In 1911, Alaska Northern Railroad extended the track almost to present-day Girdwood [2]. In 1912 the U.S. government began financing the completion of this line, which reached Fairbanks [3], 470 miles north, in 1923.

From then, Seward’s history parallels Valdez [4]’s as one of the two year-round ice-free ports with shipping access to Interior Alaska [5]—Seward’s is by rail, Valdez’s by road. And like Valdez, Seward was almost completely destroyed by 1964’s Good Friday earthquake.

Today, Seward has a diverse economy supported by tourism, commercial fishing and sportfishing, fish processing, and other activities. The Alaska SeaLife Center [6] is the main focal point for travelers and has excellent exhibits. The Alaska Vocational Technical Center trains 1,600 students each year, and a maximum security prison on the east side of Resurrection Bay houses another 450 folks in less academic conditions.

A towering coal-shipping facility dominates the harbor; the Alaska Railroad hauls coal here from the Usibelli Coal Mine in Healy for shipment to South Korea. Some cruise ships also dock in Seward [1], but most companies have shifted their ships to Whittier [7]. It’s too bad for them, since they miss one of the most enjoyable towns in Southcentral Alaska.