Forgotten Workers of the Russian-American Company

In the 1800s, highly skilled blacksmiths and artisans of diverse ethnicities, including Europeans, Alaska Natives, and people of mixed ancestry known as creoles, lived and worked on this hill for the Russian-American Company, maintaining ships and making the tools and trade goods needed to sustain the remote settlement. In 1997, archaeologists discovered Russian workshops beneath the footpath and recovered the largest collection of Russian-era artifacts ever found in Alaska. Unlike other fur-trading companies, the Russian-American Company granted special privileges and status to its creole residents, and with help from the Russian Orthodox Church, creole children were well educated, allowing some to rise to prominence as navigators, boat builders, clergy, and artisans who became the backbone of industry throughout Russian America. Finds from the small log shops, including blacksmith forges, tools, cooking remains, religious icons, coins, imported ceramics, etched glass stemware, wool clothing, and traditional Native Alaskan items such as fragments of a rare Tlingit Raven's Tail robe, reveal prosperous workers living in cramped conditions and preserve the story of these long-overlooked craftsmen.

Sitka, Alaska · United States