New Russia (trading post)
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New Russia Site
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| Nearest city | Yakutat, Alaska |
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| Coordinates | 59°32′35″N 139°48′28″W / 59.54306°N 139.80778°WCoordinates: 59°32′35″N 139°48′28″W / 59.54306°N 139.80778°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1796 |
| NRHP Reference # | 72001593 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 23, 1972 |
| Designated NHL | June 02, 1978 |
New Russia (Russian: Новороссийск; also called Novarassi, Slavarassi, Slavorossiya, Yakutat Colony, and Yakutat Settlement) was a maritime fur trading post and penal colony established by Russians in 1796 in what is now Yakutat Borough, Alaska. It was presumably named after the Joseph Billings ship , or "Glory of Russia". The post was attacked and destroyed by Tlingits in 1805. It consisted of 7 buildings inside a stockade, and 5 buildings outside. The buildings were burnt in 1805, and the site was never again occupied. The events at New Russia represent a pivotal moment in Russian-Tlingit relations. As an archaeological site, it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1978.
The site of New Russia is located outside the city of Yakutat on the Phipps Peninsula, a swampy spit of land which forms the southeastern edge of Yakutat Bay. The site is on the south-facing shoreline of the peninsula, wedged between the Pacific Ocean and a group of saltwater lakes called the Ankau Saltchucks. The site is now densely forested, with little visible evidence of human occupation, beyond a single log wall section seen during a state archaeological survey in 1971. The site's subsurface artifacts include a charcoal layer, clear evidence of significant fire occurring at the site, and it has long been reported locally as a source of other types of artifacts, including cannonballs and iron scraps.
New Russia was established in 1796 by the Russian-American Company as one of a series of outposts and settlements that extended as far south as Old Sitka (called Redoubt St. Archangel Michael by the Russians). The Yakutat site was contemplated as a possible site for the capital of Russian America. The land was purchased from the local Tlingit people by Alexander Baranov in 1794, with settlement planned for the following year. The 1795 settlement attempt was called off due to the hostility of the Tlingits to a hunting party sent to the area in advance of the settlers. A settlement group of 192 Russians were finally landed in June 1796; that year they built two large log buildings, a palisade, and a blockhouse.
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