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Wrangell (, ) is a
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...
in
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. As of the 2020 census the population was 2,127, down from 2,369 in 2010. Incorporated as a Unified
Home Rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...
Borough on May 30, 2008, Wrangell was previously a city in the Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, which was afterwards renamed the Petersburg Census Area (the Petersburg Borough was formed from part of this census area). Its Tlingit name is ("Ḵaachx̱ans Little Lake" with ''áa-kʼw'' 'lake-diminutive'). The Tlingit people living in the Wrangell area, who were there centuries before Europeans, call themselves the after the nearby Stikine River. Alternately they use the autonym , where the meaning of is unknown. The central (urban) part of Wrangell is located at , in the northwest corner of Wrangell Island. The borough also encompasses the entire eastern half of the former Wrangell-Petersburg Census Area, in addition to the area around Meyers Chuck, which was formerly in the Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area. It includes Thoms Place, a former
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
on Wrangell Island.


History

Tlingit people The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...
and their ancestors have inhabited this island for thousands of years. According to ''Naanyaa.aayí'' clan traditions, Tlingit people migrated down the Stikine River during a time when the river still flowed underneath glaciers. The population slowly moved down the river, settling in different locations such as ''Tlákw.aan'' "Ancient Village", ''Sʼiknáx̱'' "Across from the Grass", ''Shaal.aan'' "Fish Trap Town", ''Xakw.aan'' "Sandbar Village", and ''Kayáash'' "Platform", Hehl (Xel/Xehl) "Foam People", Hehl being the senior of house of the village. Later settlements on the coast included ''Chʼuxʼáasʼaan'' "Waterfall Town" (now Mill Creek), ''Ḵeishangita.aan'' "Red Alder Head Village" (site of the Wrangell Institute at Shoemaker Bay), ''Kʼaatsʼḵu Noow'' "Among the Sharps Fort" (now Anita Bay), ''An.áan'' "Village that Rests" (now Anan Bear Viewing Area), and many others. The numerous
petroglyphs A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
found at Petroglyph Beach just north of Wrangell, as well as those scattered on the beaches of the many islands in the vicinity, attest to the long Tlingit presence. It is known that the first peoples' coastal migration to the Stikine River came from the south. The Nass River people had several migrations into the area. The "Git Setti" people tell of their migration story in a totem raised in Wrangell in 1894 called "Kickssetti" Totem. The saltwater inlet now known as Wrangell Harbor was traditionally called ''Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw'', literally "''Ḵaachx̱áns little lake". Before the harbor mouth was dredged and cleared in the late 19th century, the mouth of this inlet would often go dry at low tide, which led to its being called a lake. ''Ḵaachx̱án'' was a man from the village variously known as ''Ḵaalchʼalʼaan'' (''Kotzlitzan'') or ''Chʼaalʼít.aan,'' meaning "Willow House Village"; or ''Shaax̱ít.aan'' meaning "Driftwood House Village." The village site today is known as "Old Town" or "Old Wrangell" (located at ). ''Ḵaachx̱án'' was supposedly a hermit who preferred living away from his relatives, and thus lived in a smokehouse located on the rear shore of the lake named after him.


19th century

Wrangell was founded by Russians as one of the oldest non-Native settlements in Alaska. They started trading for furs with area Tlingit in 1811 at the site of present-day Wrangell. In 1834, Baron Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel, then head of Russian government interests in
Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
, ordered a stockade built near the ''Naanyaa.aayí'' clan house of Chief Shakes, called ''Shéiksh Hídi''. This house was located about north of Old Wrangell, on a small island in the middle of what is today Wrangell Harbor. The stockade, named Redoubt Saint Dionysius (''Редутъ Санктъ Дионисіусъ''), was founded at the location of present-day Wrangell and stood near the end of the small peninsula that forms the northeastern side of the mouth of the harbor. The British
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
(HBC) leased the fort in 1839 and named the stockade Fort Stikine. The Tlingit had used the Stikine River as a trade route to the interior since ancient times, and they protested when the Hudson's Bay Company began to use their trade routes. Two
epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...
s of
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
in 1836 and 1840 reduced the Tlingit population in the area by half, as they had no acquired immunity, and silenced most of the protest. The HBC abandoned the fort in 1849 after the area's stocks of
sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...
and
beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
were depleted, thus ending the fur trade. Fort Stikine remained under British rule until Alaska's
purchase Purchasing is the procurement process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary g ...
by the United States in 1867. In 1868, the U.S. built a military post called Fort Wrangell at the site, and it remained active until 1877. The community around the post continued to grow through commerce with prospectors in the
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...
es of 1861, 1874–77, and 1897. As in Skagway, businessmen looking to make money off the miners built many gambling halls, dance halls, and bars. Thousands of miners traveled up the Stikine River into the Cassiar District of
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
during 1874, and again to the Klondike in 1897. The
Wrangell Bombardment The Wrangell Bombardment was the bombardment of the Stikine people, Stikine village of Wrangell, Alaska#19th century, Old Wrangell (Tlingit language, Tlingit: ''Ḵaachx̱aana.áakʼw'') by the United States Army in 1869. The army issued an ultim ...
occurred on December 25, 1869, when a Stikine Indian named Lowan bit off Mrs. Jaboc Muller's third right finger and was killed in an ensuing fight by soldiers who mortally wounded an additional Stikine Indian. The following morning, Scutd-doo, who was the father of the deceased, entered the fort and shot the post trader's partner Leon Smith fourteen times. Smith died about 13 hours later. The US army made an ultimatum demanding Sccutd-doo's surrender, and following bombardment of the Stikine Indian village, the villagers handed Scutd-doo over to the military in the fort, where he was court-martialed and publicly hanged before the garrison and assembled natives on December 29, stating before he was hanged that he had acted in revenge against the occupants of the fort for the killing of Lowan and not against Smith in particular. In 1877, the first
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
church in Alaska, the first
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
church of any kind in the area, was founded near its current location at 220 Church Street. Reverend S. Hall Young, a colleague of Sheldon Jackson, was assigned to the Wrangell mission and arrived on July 10, 1878. He worked among both miners and Tlingits. He established the Fort Wrangell Tlingit Industrial School to teach young Tlingit men various American trades, such as printing, boatbuilding, and construction. This institution was a parallel to Sheldon Jackson's Sitka Industrial Training School, which became Sheldon Jackson College. Young's school was the nucleus of the later Wrangell Institute, a
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
for
Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tli ...
through the mid-20th century. S. Hall Young was a friend and companion of the
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the national park, National Parks", was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologi ...
, who lived in Wrangell in 1879–1880. Muir and Young traveled up the Stikine River, as well as to
Kake KAKE (channel 10) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on West Street in northwestern Wichita, and its transmitter is located i ...
, Glacier Bay, and elsewhere in Southeast Alaska. Young and Muir were accompanied by two Stikine elite men, ''Tʼaawyaat'' ("Toyatte", lit. Long Feather), and ''Kaadaashaan'' ("Kadachan"), as well Sitka Charley, as a young man who was their interpreter in
Chinook Jargon Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...
and English. The oldest Catholic Church in Alaska; St. Rose of Lima, was established at Wrangell May 4, 1879. Having been Tlingit territory and then under the jurisdiction of
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
, and the United States, Wrangell has the unique status as the only Alaskan city to have been governed under four "flags".


20th century

Fish traps were constructed in the late 1890s on the nearby mouth of the Stikine River and in the Zimovia Strait. These contributed to the growth of the fishing and fish canning industries in Wrangell, which provided much of the economic life for the town before the rise of logging in the 1950s. The fish traps caused severe damage to the Stikine River salmon runs, reducing the number of fish that managed to spawn and causing a decline in salmon runs and fishing in the region. After statehood, the new government decommissioned all fish traps in Alaska. The fishing industry remained strong, and continues to be the primary occupation of many residents. The weekly
newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
, '' The Wrangell Sentinel'' was founded in 1902 and printed its first issue on November 2 of the same year. The newspaper remains in publication with only a few short periods of inactivity. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Alaska. The renowned Bear Totem Store, built in the 1920s by Walter Waters, housed innumerable examples of Tlingit arts and crafts, as well as a number of irreplaceable totem poles. Waters began his business career carrying mail by boat from Wrangell to Sulzer. During this period, he traveled throughout southeast Alaska as a fur buyer. While on business travels, Waters began to acquire Indian artifacts and make valuable contacts with Indian artisans. This eventually enabled him to open his curio shop, The Bear Totem Store. A severe fire in the early 1950s burned much of the downtown area, destroying the Bear Totem Store and most of its contents. Few historic buildings remained after the fire. The disaster dramatically changed the face of Wrangell, and with new buildings the past was lost. Logging, fishing and tourism are the current mainstays of the Wrangell area economy. One of the last two major sawmills in Southeast Alaska is operated by the Silver Bay Logging Company just south of the city proper. The community has always been a center of the Tlingit ''Kaach.àdi'', ''Kiks.ádi'' and ''Naanyaa.aayí'' clans and the only home of the ''Kayaashkiditaan'', ''Sʼiknax̱.ádi'', ''X̱ookʼeidí'', ''Kaasx̱ʼagweidí'', and ''Taalḵweidí'' clans. Chief Shakes Tribal House, which is known in Tlingit as ''Shéiksh Hídi'' "Shakes House", is a replica of traditional Tlingit houses. It was constructed by CCC crews in the 1930s in the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, according to traditional knowledge and methods. It stands at the original location of Shakes House, on Shakes Island inside Wrangell harbor. Today the Wrangell Cooperative Association, a Tlingit IRA council and the federally recognized tribe for the area, maintains Shakes Island and the House, as well as Totem Park near the city center.


21st century

In an election held on May 6, 2008, to decide whether to upgrade from city to borough status, 63.99% of the votes were in favor of borough status. On May 30, 2008, Wrangell was reincorporated as the City and Borough of Wrangell. Canadian American Donald McConachie Sr. was the first mayor of the CBW. He was succeeded by Jeremy M. Maxand, but was elected in 2012 as mayor again after Maxand declined to seek reelection. The Wrangell Cooperative Association has commissioned a team to restore Chief Shakes House and the totems at Totem Park. It consists of a master carver, Wayne Price, and six assistants, four of them women, accepted after intensive training in the use of the traditional
adze An adze () or adz is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in ha ...
tool.


Geography

Wrangell is located on the northern tip of Wrangell Island, an island in the
Alaska Panhandle Southeast Alaska, often abbreviated to southeast or southeastern, and sometimes called the Alaska(n) panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian provi ...
. It is south of the Alaskan capital of Juneau. It is across the narrow Zimovia Strait from the mouth of the Stikine River on the Alaska mainland. The town is named after the island, which was named after Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel, a Russian explorer and the administrator of the Russian-American Company from 1830 to 1835. Per the 2010 United States Census, the borough has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The former City of Wrangell, as of the 2000 census, had a total area of , of which was land and was water.


Adjacent boroughs and census area

* Petersburg Borough, Alaska * Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, Alaska * Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska * Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada - east


Climate

According to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Wrangell has an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(''Cfb''). Summers are mild and rainy with cool nights. Winters are moderately cold, though not very cold by Alaskan standards.


National protected areas

* Tongass National Forest (part) ** South Etolin Wilderness ** Stikine-LeConte Wilderness (part)


Economy

The primary industry of the city is
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
. A commercial fishing fleet is harbored in Wrangell and several sports fishing guiding services operate here as well taking tourists and wilderness adventurers to remote locations on the great Stikine River branching eastward into
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. Boatyards have increased in scale allowing storage and repairs of larger vessels. The city has a picturesque golf course with a view of Mount Wrangell. Like many S.E. Alaskan communities state government spending is important to the local economy, though not to the extent of Juneau-the state capitol. The Federal government also kicks in a share with the forest service, postal service and homeland security operations expenditures. The southernmost terminus of the vast
Juneau Icefield The Juneau Icefield is an ice field located just north of Juneau, Alaska, Juneau, Alaska, continuing north through the border with British Columbia, extending through an area of in the Coast Mountains, Coast Range ranging north to south and east ...
is just north of the Stikine with several glaciers flowing down to the river and saltwater at LeConte Bay. Though the number of
Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Oncorhynchus, Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, quinn ...
has been devastated by commercial over-harvesting recently and the fishery was largely closed in spring 2018, hope for its recovery abounds since fisheries have crashed in S.E. Alaska recurrently over history and recovered. Whales live seasonally in the waters of the
Alexander Archipelago The Alexander Archipelago () is a archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep ...
and visit Wrangell searching for herring and salmon creating good photo opportunities. The former vast Alaska Pulp Corporation logging operations at Wrangell closed down in the mid-1990s unable to meet water quality standards though cutting hundreds of millions of board feet of lumber annually. Wrangell has three marinas on the northwest side of the island and the southernmost; Shoemaker Bay, is undergoing renewal construction in September 2018. A Tlingit cultural center and museum is located on the waterfront of Wrangell. In order to keep a small-town rural aesthetic, the city turned down the prospect of building a state prison and home-porting a naval vessel. The Stikine Inn was remodeled to fine shape, and an inter-island ferry business was established with service to Prince of Wales Island. Sunrise Aviation, an air work and tourism float plane service, continues to provide service anywhere in the region, though helicopter journeys to high mountain glaciers need to be scheduled from Ketchikan to the south 100 miles (Ketchikan is from the Tlingit word Kootchikan meaning place of stinky fish). Baron Von Wrangell sent Lieutenant Dionysius Zarembo to establish a trading post on Stikine Strait in 1833 to beat the Brits. Tlingits apparently were receptive to British and Russian traders. Today nearby Zarembo Island has an elk and moose population visited by hunting guides and parties from Wrangell. Alaska Airlines has twice daily service to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
as well as Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, and other southeastern destinations. The
Alaska Marine Highway The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska. The Alaska Marine Highway System operates along the south-central ...
system has a terminal with a ferry dock near the Stikine Inn. In the back of a restaurant downtown there is a marijuana sales business. Wrangell's seafood processing plant, though small and consuming much of the city's water supply seasonally, employs workers from
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, Russia, and
Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...
. Wrangell has several churches and bars and a pizza store though no citywide free wireless internet for tourists or business travelers yet. The local Native Corporation—the Sealaska Corporation, contributes to the cost of local health care provisioning. Bonnie Demerjian, Garrison Gibson, and other writers live in the city. It has guided kayak tours in summer and some of the most accessible coastal forest wilderness hiking, camping and climbing of S.E. Alaska. It is possible to follow the historic route in kayaks to the Stikine River Delta where the orphan warrior Chief Gush X'een and his band of Tlingits defeated boatloads of invading Nisga'a warriors from the south. Rather than becoming a slave the defeated Nisga'a Chief surrendered his hat and title of '' Shakes'' to Gush X'een. The former mill site of the Alaska Pulp Corporation that was dismantled has some use sending logs and boulders via ships and a prospect for development as a cruise ship site with multipurpose western theme shops and dark ale brewery for export. The city has expanded its electrical power lines a mile and a half south on Isheyami Drive to allow a concrete production facility to power up (they bring in sand via barge from the Stikine River).


Politics

Voters in Wrangell lean strongly Republican, having elected a Democrat only once, in 1964. Wrangell has accurately reflected the choice of Alaska's statewide presidential election winner in every election since the state's admission to the union in 1960.


Demographics

Wrangell first appeared as an unincorporated village on the 1880 U.S. Census. There were 106 residents, of which 105 were White and 1 was Creole (Mixed Russian & Native). In 1890, it counted 316 residents of which a majority, 228, were Native, 71 were White, 15 Creole, 1 Asian and 1 Other. That count included the Chantay farming settlement & Labouchere Cannery. In 1900, it became the 5th largest community in Alaska with 868 residents (though the racial breakdown was unspecified). In 1903, Wrangell formally incorporated. In 1910, it fell to 10th largest city in Alaska and returned 743 residents, with 419 Whites, 249 Natives and 75 Others. In 1920, it had 821 residents and remained the 10th largest city. In 1930, it was the 9th largest city with 948 residents. In 1940, it rose to 8th place. In addition to the 1,162 residents, the census also reported a separate 163 individuals living in the unincorporated areas surrounding Wrangell. The combined number of 1,325 would've placed it just ahead of 7th place Petersburg (with 1,323 residents). Beginning in 1950, Wrangell fell out of the list of top 10 largest communities in Alaska. In 2008, Wrangell became a separate city & borough. As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 2,308 people, 907 households, and 623 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,092 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 1696
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 3
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 358 Native American, 15 Asian, 3
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 8 from other races, and 9.8% from two or more races. 23 of the population were
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race. There were 907 households, out of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.05. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.4% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $43,250, and the median income for a family was $54,167. Males had a median income of $43,846 versus $29,205 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $21,851. About 7.3% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 11.0% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.


Schools

Wrangell is a part of Wrangell Public Schools, which operates: * Evergreen Elementary School * Stikine Middle School * Wrangell High School The Wrangell Institute was an American Indian boarding school opened in 1932, which closed in 1975. ''Gives a very thorough history of the site and buildings, including illustrations and floorplans''


Health care

The Wrangell Medical Center hospital is owned by the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. The Wrangell Medical Center is a critical access hospital and long-term care facility with a total of 22 beds, 8 for acute care and 14 for long-term care. Emergency care, inpatient care, imaging, lab, and physical therapy are provided by the center. Visiting specialists in internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, optometry, pediatrics, ophthalmology, podiatry, orthopedics, rheumatology, dietetics and dermatology complement local services. SEARHC is currently constructing a new hospital that will be opened in 2021. Alaska Island Community Services was established in Wrangell in 1989 under the original name Wrangell Community Services, and began providing Core Mental Health Services to the Community of Wrangell. Over the next two decades the delivery of services expanded to include Disability and Senior Services, rehabilitative wilderness experience for youth, Primary Care Health Care, Dental Services, and a Pharmacy Department. As a federally qualified health center, all of the services are provided on a sliding fee discount scale based on federal guidelines. Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium is a non-profit medical, dental, vision and mental health organization serving the health interests of the residents of Southeast Alaska. In 2017 SEARHC merged with local non-profit Alaska Island Community Services to form AICS, a Division of Searhc.


Post Office

In 1943 the federal Treasury Section of Fine Arts commissioned artist Austin Mecklem and his wife, Marianne Greer Appel, to paint a mural, ''Old Town in Alaska'', intended for the Wrangell post office. The work was completed at their studio in New York state, transported via railway on October 19, 1943, arrived in Wrangell in December 1943 and installed in early 1944.


Media


Newspaper

In print since 1902, the newspaper for the borough is The Wrangell Sentinel, the oldest continuously published newspaper in Alaska. The Petersburg Pilot, published in Petersburg is also for sale in town, along with the
Juneau Empire The ''Juneau Empire'' is a newspaper in Juneau, Alaska, United States. It publishes Wednesdays and Saturdays. History The newspaper was founded on November 2, 1912, as the ''Alaska Daily Empire''. It was founded by John Franklin Alexander ...
and the Alaska Dispatch online.


Library

The primary library is the Irene Ingle Public Library
wrangell.com/library


Radio

Wrangell is served by two radio stations: KSTK broadcasts
Public Radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...
format, and KWRG-LP has a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
format.


Transportation

On Wrangell Island, Wrangell has two forms of transportation: ferry and airplane. The island offers a network of paved roads and miles of logging trails.


Ferry

The
Alaska Marine Highway The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska. The Alaska Marine Highway System operates along the south-central ...
serves Wrangell on its Inside Passage route with regular northbound and southbound stops linking residents and visitors to the rest of Southeast Alaska.


Airport

There are two daily scheduled Boeing 737-700/800 flights; passenger jet service is operated by Alaska Airlines at the Wrangell Airport. One plane arrives in the morning and one plane in the evening. Sunrise Aviation provides float plane service to the region.


Roads

The primary road is the Zimovia Highway along the west side of the island for 14 miles. Except for the highway and most roads in town, the rest are unpaved logging trails, forest service roads, and hiking trails. Isheyama Drive, which is on the east side south of the golf course, is paved for two miles. At the former terminus of the road is a view spot of Eastern Passage for pedestrians. Ballard's, named for a fisherman, does not have safe small-boat landing. A logging road runs almost all the way through to Pat's Creek road six miles south to bisect the island east–west to Shoemaker Bay, however a half-mile or less is incomplete according to one forest service timber harvest contract. The ''Reagan Road'' has been suggested as a name for the future street.


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Alaska boroughs Former cities in Alaska Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean 1834 establishments in Alaska Populated places established in 1834 Cities in Alaska Consolidated city-counties