Angoon, Alaska
| Angoon, Alaska | |
|---|---|
| Census-designated place | |
 Angoon
|
|
| Coordinates: 57°29′49″N 134°34′25″W / 57.49694°N 134.57361°WCoordinates: 57°29′49″N 134°34′25″W / 57.49694°N 134.57361°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Census Area | Hoonah-Angoon |
| Incorporated | May 7, 1963 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Albert H. Howard |
| • State senator | Bert Stedman (R) |
| • State rep. | Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 38.8 sq mi (100.4 km2) |
| • Land | 24.4 sq mi (63.2 km2) |
| • Water | 14.4 sq mi (37.2 km2) |
| Elevation | 23 ft (7 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 459 |
| • Density | 19/sq mi (7.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Alaska (UTC-9) |
| • Summer (DST) | Alaska (UTC-8) |
| ZIP code | 99820 |
| Area code | 907 |
| FIPS code | 02-03440 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1420113 |
Angoon (sometimes formerly spelled Angun) (Tlingit: Aangoon) is a city on Admiralty Island in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 572; by the 2010 census the population had declined to 459. The name in Tlingit, Aangóon, means roughly "isthmus town."
Admiralty Island has long been the home of the Kootznoowoo Tlingit group, or Xootsnoowú Ḵwáan in Tlingit. Kootznoowoo means "fortress of brown bears", literally xoots-noow-ú "brown.bear-fortress-possessive". Angoon has a less-rainy climate than most of southeastern Alaska and was valued by the Tlingit for that reason.
During the Russian period in Alaska, from the 18th century to the mid-19th century, fur trading was a major economic activity in the area.
In 1878, after the 1867 Alaska Purchase, the North West Trading Company established a trading post and whaling station on nearby Killisnoo Island and employed Angoon villagers to hunt whales. Whaling, a school, and a Russian Orthodox church attracted many Tlingits to neighboring Killisnoo.
In 1882, a whaling vessel's harpoon charge accidentally misfired and exploded, killing a crewmember who was a Tlingit shaman, or medicine man. Villagers demanded payment of 200 blankets to the man's family, as was customary. The North West Trading Company sought help from the United States Navy at Sitka. Angoon and a nearby summer camp were shelled and destroyed by the revenue cutter Thomas Corwin.
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