57°8′8″N153°29′45″W / 57.13556°N 153.49583°W /57.13556; -153.49583
Three Saints Bay Site | |
 1802 lithograph engraving depicting the site | |
| Location | Address restricted[1] |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Old Harbor, Alaska |
| Built | 1784 |
| NRHP reference No. | 72001541 |
| AHRS No. | KOD-083 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 23, 1972[2] |
| Designated NHL | June 2, 1978[3] |
Three Saints Bay (Russian:Бухта Трёх Святителей,romanized: Bukhta Tryokh Svyatitelyej) is a 9-mile (14-kilometer)-longinlet on the southeast side ofKodiak Island,Alaska, north ofSitkalidak Strait.[4] It is 60 mi (97 km) southwest ofKodiak. TheThree Saints Bay Site is anarchaeological site, the location of the firstRussian settlement in Alaska,Three Saints Harbor (Гавань Трёх Святителей,Gavan’ Tryokh Svyatitelyej). The settlement was founded in 1784 byGrigory Shelikhov.[5]: 163 The main settlement was moved in 1792 toPavlovskaya Gavan (Павловская гавань – Paul's Harbor[6]), now known as the city ofKodiak.[7]: 7 The Three Saints Bay Site was declared aNational Historic Landmark by the United States in 1978.[3]
Although Russian fur hunters had established temporary shore stations in Alaska earlier, they intended the Three Saints site to be a permanent colonial settlement. The site was poorly chosen, for the hillside above the shore area was too steep to build on, and the shore area was too small for a substantial settlement. When it was visited in 1790, it was described as a cluster of small structures (probablybarabaras), with a population of about fifty men and a small number of women. The site was harmed bysubsidence and a probabletsunami in the wake of a 1788 earthquake. In 1791,Alexander Baranov began moving the main Russian settlement to the site of present-dayKodiak.
This original Russian site continued to be occupied as a smaller station of lesser importance until roughly the mid-19th century, at which time it was relocated to a site about 1.2 miles (1.9 km) away.[8]
Only a few remnants of the Russian occupation remain on the surface. These are mainly pits and rectangular depressions, indications of where structures were located, and some plants that are evidence of thesmall-scale agriculture which was practiced there. The settlement's cemetery was located to its southeast. Excavation at the site yielded evidence that it was built on the site of an older native settlement, dating toc. 100 BCE.[8]
The Russian settlement site was listed on the United StatesNational Register of Historic Places in 1972, and was designated aNational Historic Landmark in 1978.[2]
The bay was named for the harbor, in turn named after one of Shelikhov's ships. It was named for theThree Holy Hierarchs. It was reported by Petroff in the 10th Census in 1880.[9]
The same area was later calledLyakhik Bay (Zaliv Lyakhik) by Captain Tebenkov.[10] This was based on itsAleut nameLiakik,[11] probably fromliak ("black-footed goose").[4][12]
Municipalities and communities ofKodiak Island Borough, Alaska,United States | ||
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There are no sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Kusilvak Census Area. | |||
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