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Metlakatla was founded because of a quarrel between a Scottish Lay preacher and the established church at old Metlakatla near Prince Rupert, B.C. Canada.
Father William Duncan and a devoted group of followers searched for and found a new home on Annette Island, Alaska. They settled on the West shore of Port Chester and dedicated New Metlakatla on August 7, 1887. Father Duncan went to Washington D.C. to lobby for the Island, and on March 4, 1891 Congress declared Annette Island a reservation. Father Duncan remained at Metlakatla until his death in 1918.
Like many other small Alaskan communities, Metlakatla depends on the fishing and timber industry for its economy.
During World War II a large airfield was built on the island for defense. After the war the U.S. Coast Guard established a search and rescue base there. Soon major airlines were also utilizing the airfield. Small aircraft, especially the Grumman Goose, connected the airfield with Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Petersburg. The airfield was abandoned by commercial airlines when Ketchikan International Airport was constructed in 1973. Now tourists and residents travel back and forth from the Island and Ketchikan by State Ferry, small boat or small amphibian aircraft.
Metlakatla Links
Tide PredictionsA personal homepage by ?
John Sixbey's Pictures of Metlakatla
The Metlakatla Mission, by Bruce Hallman
Dagukeech
CMC People of the Salmon
Operation Alaskan Road
Alaska Marine Highway System
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