Pelican, Alaska, sits on the northwest coast of Chichagof Island on Lisianski Inlet.
Pelican, population 135, is a fishing community, and it sees a seasonal population influx of commercial fishermen and cold storage plant workers. Most employment is at Pelican Seafoods, which also owns the electric utility, a fuel company and store. The plant was closed by its Japanese owners in 1989 but reopened after Kake Tribal Corp. bought it in 1996.
History
A cold storage plant was the first development at this site in 1938.
Kalle "Charley" Raataikainen bought fish in this area, which he transported to Sitka. He chose this protected inlet as an ideal cold storage site and named the place after his fish-packing vessel, the Pelican. Two of his fish-buying scows were used as a cookhouse, mess hall, bunkhouse and warehouse, and the community formed around this operation.
A store, office, sawmill, post office and sauna had been erected by 1939. A school and cannery were developed in the 1940s, and a city was formed in 1943.
Source: Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development
