Old Kasaan
Prince of Wales-Hyder (CA) · USGS GNIS name record 1896044
Explore statistics nearby
These Census tracts have reference points near Old Kasaan. Their figures describe the entire named tract, not this locality. Open a tract to inspect its map, sources and demographic percentages.
Census tract 2 ↗
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area · AK
- Population
- 2,089
- Median home value
- $297,000
Census tract 1.01 ↗
Ketchikan Gateway Borough · AK
- Population
- 2,592
- Median home value
- $440,400
The source behind the name
USGS GNIS Populated Place names in all 50 states and DC. Features in the historical extract or explicitly named historical are excluded; duplicate decision records with identical identities and coordinates are collapsed. GNIS points identify names, not legal or neighborhood boundaries, current occupancy, school attendance or a statistical population. Nearby Census places and tracts remain separately named geographies. Name completeness and currency vary; this is not a claim to include every locally used neighborhood name.
Original USGS record for Old Kasaan ↗Dataset snapshot 2026-09-02 · Source record edited 02/11/2011 · NAD83 · approximate source location
USGS description & history
On N shore of Skowl Arm on SE coast of Prince of Wales I., Alex. Arch.
Former Haida Indian village possibly established before 1800. "Chat-chee-nie" shown in John Work's list of 1836-41 may represent the Haida name for the town. The Tlingit Indian name, Kasaan, derived from "Kasi-an" meaning "pretty town," came into local usage, pronounced "GAsa'n" by the Haida (Hodge, 1907, p660), and so named because of the large number of ornate totems located in the village. Listed by Ivan Petroff in the 1880 Census as Kasaan (and "Skowl"), population 173, which decreased to 46 in 1890. With the establishment in the 1890's of a salmon-packing plant on Kasaan Bay eight miles to the north, this place was abandoned. The Haida settlement, that grew around the cannery, was known as "Kasaan," especially after the Kasaan post office was established in 1900, and the earlier site became "Old Kasaan." In 1916, this village site was part of Old Kasaan National Monument. The National Monument status was abolished in 1955 and the village site is now part of Old Kasaan Village Historical Area, administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
Source notes may describe earlier conditions.Source files & checksums
SHA-256 20c96936a3ba430b345eed1c7395b6aab52875aac8e1e2905fab37b388cab381
SHA-256 45ad8d56b3bb4990ad8105cdda15ee7d2f07afd6941afe75b783f29b02723697
SHA-256 919fac887628b8547ec1b24fae319522a9481a56909c3914d1e0a2b56783147c