Seward, Alaska | ||
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City | ||
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Motto: "Alaska Starts Here" | ||
Location in Alaska | ||
Coordinates: 60°07′28″N 149°26′00″W / 60.12444°N 149.43333°WCoordinates: 60°07′28″N 149°26′00″W / 60.12444°N 149.43333°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Alaska | |
Borough | Kenai Peninsula | |
Established | 1903 | |
Incorporated | June 1, 1912 | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Jean Bardarson | |
• State senator | Peter Micciche (R) | |
• State rep. | Mike Chenault (R) | |
Area | ||
• Total | 21.5 sq mi (55.8 km2) | |
• Land | 14.4 sq mi (37.4 km2) | |
• Water | 7.1 sq mi (18.4 km2) | |
Elevation | 0 ft (0 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 2,693 | |
• Density | 125.3/sq mi (75.7/km2) | |
Time zone | Alaska (UTC-9) | |
• Summer (DST) | Alaska (UTC-8) | |
ZIP code | 99664 | |
Area code | 907 | |
FIPS code | 02-68560 | |
GNIS feature ID | 1414598 | |
Website | City of Seward Website | |
Source of coordinates |
Seward (Alutiiq: Qutalleq) is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2014 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 2,528. It was named after William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. In 1867, he fought for the U.S. purchase of Alaska which he finally negotiated to acquire from Russia.
Mile 0 of the historic Iditarod Trail is at Seward. In the early 1900s the trail was blazed in order to transport people and goods to and from the port of Seward to interior Alaska.
In 1793 Alexander Baranov of the Shelikhov-Golikov company (precursor of the Russian-American Company) established a fur trade post on Resurrection Bay where Seward is today, and had a three-masted vessel, the Phoenix, built at the post by James Shields, an English shipwright in Russian service.
The 1939 Slattery Report on Alaskan development identified the region as one of the areas where new settlements would be established through Jewish immigration. This plan was never implemented.
A large portion of Seward was damaged by shaking and a local tsunami during the 1964 Alaska earthquake.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.5 square miles (56 km2), of which 14.4 square miles (37 km2) is land and 7.1 square miles (18 km2) (32.93%) is water.