Gustavus, Alaska
| Gustavus | |
|---|---|
| City | |
 Gustavus
|
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| Coordinates: 58°24′59″N 135°44′44″W / 58.41639°N 135.74556°WCoordinates: 58°24′59″N 135°44′44″W / 58.41639°N 135.74556°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Census Area | Hoonah-Angoon |
| Incorporated | 2004 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mike Taylor |
| • State senator | Dennis Egan (D) |
| • State rep. | Sam Kito III (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 37.7 sq mi (97.6 km2) |
| • Land | 37.7 sq mi (97.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 442 |
| Time zone | Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9) |
| • Summer (DST) | AKDT (UTC-8) |
| ZIP code | 99826 |
| Area code(s) | 907 |
| FIPS code | 02-30940 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1403078, 2419393 |
| Website | www |
Gustavus (gus-TAY-vuhs) is a second-classcity in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 429 at the 2000 census and 442 as of the 2010 census.
Gustavus, formerly known as Strawberry Point, lies on the outwash plain created by the glaciers that once filled Glacier Bay. Two hundred years ago, it was primarily a single large "beach". The native Tlingit and others used the area for fishing, berry picking, and other similar uses. The town itself is less than one hundred years old. The first settlers arrived in 1914, but left shortly afterward. The first permanent homestead was established in 1917, when Abraham Lincoln Parker moved his family to Strawberry Point. Many Gustavus residents are descendants and relatives of the original Parker homesteaders.
In 1925 the name became Gustavus, when the U.S. Post Office required a change for its new post office, although locals continued calling it Strawberry Point long afterwards. The new name came from "Point Gustavus" at the mouth of Glacier Bay.
In 1793 George Vancouver named Point Adolphus (today a well-known humpback whale feeding area) after Adolphus Frederick, seventh son of King George III. In 1878, W.H. Dall, while working on a coastal survey, saw "Adolphus" on the map and assumed it was for Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus. The point across Icy Straits from Point Adolphus at the mouth of Glacier Bay was not named on the map, so Dall called it "Gustavus". Another possibility is that Dall named Gustavus for Gustavus C. Hanus, a Naval Academy graduate who had extensive experience throughout southeast Alaska, and both Dall and Hanus served with the Coast Survey in Alaska. Hanus laid out the first streets in Juneau and helped quell the trouble in Klukwan in 1881.
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