Pacific Northwest History: Alaska
Useful articles and websites
Alaska State
Remember to click on the Articles in the TCC Databases tab located in this guide to see a list of suggested databases. There you can find articles about the history of the Pacific Northwest. And be sure to check the other tabs in this guide, such as the People Groups & Immigration or Trade, Industry & Transportation for more Tacoma/Pierce County-related articles on a variety of topics.
A 1794 drawing of the Russian fur trading settlement on Kodiak.
(Image cited below, click to enlarge)
Online Collections
The resources linked below are collections from various local institutions that house info on local history.
- Alaska Digital ArchivesThis website contains a collection of historical photographs, maps, moving pictures, oral histories, and more.
- Alaska's Digital CollectionSearch through a collection of primary and secondary sources.
- Alaska Historical SocietySearch through various collections on this historical society website.
- Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Digital Collection -Seattle Public Library a photographicThe Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Digital Collection features books, pamphlets, invitations, reports, speeches, maps, articles and more. It includes items from the collection of the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI).
- The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition - UW Special CollectionsSearch through articles and images from this world's fair that was held in Seattle.
- Alaska ; a Guide to the Last American FrontierThis book was written by the Federal Writer's Project in 1939 and gives an account of the history of the state.
- Alaska Historical Collections (Alaska State Library)This collection of historical photographs, manuscripts, books, newspapers and more.
- UW Digital Archives: Alaska, Western Canada and United States CollectionThis website houses the following photograph collections: Alaska, Western Canada and United States, Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition Photographs, American Indians of the Pacific Northwest , and American Indians of the Pacific Northwest.
- UW Digital Archives: Eric A. Hegg Photographs"Photographs documenting the Klondike and Alaska gold rushes from 1897 - 1901. Images include depictions of frontier life in Dawson City, the Yukon Territory, and Skagway and Nome, Alaska."
- UW Digital Archives: Frank H. Nowell Photographs"Photographer Frank Nowell spent a portion of his career in Nome, Alaska documenting the events after the gold rush of 1900. The photographs here present a picture of the towns and business enterprises as they developed during this early stage of Alaskan history. He also chronicled the local native populations with special focus on Eskimo life and customs."
- UW Digital Archives: John E. Thwaites Photographs"John Edward Thwaites was employed in Alaska by the federal government as a clerk for the Railway Mail Service during the early part of the 20th century."
- Klondike Photographs - WSU Digital CollectionsThe collection includes photographs from the Klondike, 1897-1915, as well as postcards and photographic prints.
- Klondike Gold Rush: The Perilous Journey NorthArticles and a collection of primary source material at the digital collection of UW Libraries
- Alaska: Selected Library of Congress Primary SourcesA collection of primary sources, such as images, maps, audio, photos, and more.
- Project Juke Box - University of Alaska FairbanksSearch through oral histories in relation to the history of Alaska from the "Digital Branch of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program"
- Oral History Program - University of Alaska, FairbanksSearch oral histories about "Alaska's history and the people who have contributed to its heritage"
- Alaska's Digital Newspaper ProgramSearch a collection of freely accessible historic newspapers, starting at the Alaska State Library
Online articles and videos
Linked below are resources - videos and articles - from both the web, as well as the library's collection.
- 54°40’ or Fightan article from the Encyclopedia of American Environmental History about the war, also known as the Pig War
- Alaska & Polar Regions Digital Collections & ExhibitsThis collection is from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and provides access to maps, photos, oral histories and more.
- Alaska's Equality ProfileFind statistics related to LGBT issues and equality in the state
- Alaska - History and HeritageA 2007 article from the Smithsonian Magazine
- Alaska History and Cultural Studies"Alaska History and Cultural Studies offers an online curriculum designed to teach Alaskan high school students about their state, its rich history and its people. The Alaska Humanities Forum and the state’s leading historians, anthropologists, geographers and educators developed the course."
- Alaska Public Land: History and CultureFind articles and info on homesteading in Alaska, the state's timeline and founders, and more on the National Parks Service website
- Exploration and Settlement on the Alaskan CoastRead articles and find primary source info on this online exhibition.
- Eyewitnesses Booklet Series - University of Alaska, FairbanksFour collections, linked in PDF format, of primary source material on a few different topics relating to the history of Alaska.
- A Memorable Enterprise: The The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and the City of SeattleFrom the Seattle Municipal Archives - this online collection includes images and info about the event.
- North to AlaskaA 2003 article from the Smithsonian Magazine
- Tracing Alaska’s Russian HeritageA 2016 article from Smithsonian Journeys Quarterly
Sources used on this page:
[A 1794 drawing of the Russian fur trading settlement on Kodiak.]. (n.d.). The Harriman Alaska Expedition Retraced; a Century of Change. https://www.pbs.org/harriman/1899
/exploration.html
Featured Books & eBooks
Click on the book, or title, below to learn more
Featured titles
- Alaska, and Missions on the North Pacific CoastAn 1880 book by author Jackson Sheldon
- Life in Alaska: Letters of Mrs. Eugene S. WillardAn 1884 digitized book
Finding books at TCC about Alaska history
- Library Catalog This link opens in a new window
Find items on the TCC library's shelves, as well as digital books from our ebook collections.
Quickly find books in the Library Catalog by limiting to "Subject" from the dropdown menu beside the search box and typing in one of the following subject headings:
- Alaska
- Alaska -- History
- Alaska -- Maps
- Alaska -- Biography
- Indians of North America -- Alaska
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