Editing Kenai, Alaska (section)

== History ==
[[File:Alaska - Kenai - NARA - 23939787.jpg|thumb|right|Kenai in the 1940s]]
The city of Kenai is named after the local [[Dena'ina language|Dena'ina]] word 'ken' or 'kena', which means 'flat, meadow, open area with few trees; base, low ridge', according to the Dena'ina Topical Dictionary by James Kari, Ph.D., published in 2007. This describes the area along the mouth and portion of the Kenai River near the City of Kenai. Archaeological evidence suggests that the area was first occupied by the [[Kachemak]] people from 1000 B.C., until they were displaced by the [[Dena'ina (tribe)|Dena'ina]] [[Athabaskan]] people around 1000 A.D. Before the arrival of the Russians, Kenai was a Dena'ina village called ''Shk'ituk't'', meaning "where we slide down." When Russian fur traders first arrived in 1741, about 1,000 Dena'ina lived in the village. The traders called the people "Kenaitze", which is a Russian term for "people of the flats", or "Kenai people". This name was later adopted when they were incorporated as the Kenaitze [[Alaska Natives|Alaskan Natives]] in the early 1970s.

=== Fur trade ===
In 1786, [[Pytor Zaykov]] built [[Fort Nikolaevskaia|Nikolaevskaia krepost]] (Fort Nicholas) for the [[Lebedev-Lastochkin Company]] on the site of modern Kenai, being the first European settlement on the Alaskan mainland.<ref name=LLC>Solojova, Katerina and Aleksandra Vovnyanko. ''The Rise and Decline of the Lebedev-Lastochkin Company: Russian Colonization of South Central Alaska, 1787–1798.''&nbsp;The Pacific Northwest Quarterly 90, No. 4 (1999), pp. 191-205.</ref> Hostilities surfaced between the natives and settlers in 1797, culminating in an incident in which the Dena'ina attacked Fort St. Nicholas, later dubbed the battle of Kenai. Over one hundred deaths occurred from all involved parties. In 1838, the introduction of smallpox killed one half of the Dena'ina population.

=== United States ===
[[File:Kenai Church.JPG|left|thumb|Holy Assumption Russian Orthodox Church]]
In 1869, after the [[Alaska Purchase]], the United States Army established a post called Fort Kenay. It was soon abandoned.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.explorenorth.com/library/communities/alaska/bl-Kenai.htm|title=The History of Kenai, Alaska}}</ref>

In 1895–96, the [[Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Church|Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church]] was built in the village.<ref>{{cite web|title=Holy Assumption Orthodox Church|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/nhl/russian-america/sec4.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=August 21, 2014}}</ref> It is still in use today.

The establishment of shipping companies in the early 1900s broadened Kenai into a port city. Canning companies were established and helped fuel the commercial fishing boom that was the primary activity through the 1920s.

In 1940, [[Homestead Act|homesteads]] were opened in the area. The first dirt road from [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] was constructed in 1951; pavement would not arrive until 1956 with the construction of the [[Kenai Spur Highway]].

A military base, Wildwood Army Station (later Wildwood Air Force Station), was established in 1953, and served as a major communications post. Wildwood was conveyed in 1974 to the Kenai Native Association in partial settlement of [[Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act|Alaska Native land claims]]. The facility was leased and later purchased by the State of Alaska and presently serves as the [[Wildwood Correctional Complex]].<ref>Welker, Randy S. (July 9, 1993). [http://www.legaudit.state.ak.us/pages/audits/1993/pdf/4471.pdf ''Department of Corrections: Wildwood Correctional Center Acquisition''.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221150608/http://www.legaudit.state.ak.us/pages/audits/1993/pdf/4471.pdf |date=February 21, 2007 }} [http://www.legaudit.state.ak.us/ Alaska Division of Legislative Audit] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206004617/http://www.legaudit.state.ak.us/ |date=February 6, 2007 }}. Audit control no. 20-4471-93. Retrieved on March 12, 2007.</ref><ref>Alaska Department of Corrections. [http://www.correct.state.ak.us/corrections/institutions/wwcc/ Wildwood Correctional Complex] (official site). Retrieved on March 12, 2007.</ref>

=== Statehood ===
In 1965, offshore oil discoveries in [[Cook Inlet]] caused a period of rapid growth. They were a part of a series of oil deposits located during the middle of the 20th century. In 1957, oil was discovered at [[Swanson River]], {{convert|20|mi|km}} northeast of Kenai. This was the first major oil discovery in Alaska.<ref>{{cite web|title=Modern Alaska: Oil Discovery and Development in Alaska|url=http://www.akhistorycourse.org/articles/article.php?artID=140|publisher=Alaska History & Cultural Studies|access-date=August 21, 2014|archive-date=May 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140507070134/http://www.akhistorycourse.org/articles/article.php?artID=140|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1992 and 2011, Kenai was named one of the [[All-America City Award|All-America Cities]].

In 2008, the Kenai River was designated as a Category 5, or "impaired," water body by the State of Alaska in accordance with the federal [[Clean Water Act]]. The Kenai River Working Group (KRWG) was formed to address the issue of [[water pollution]]. By 2010, the status of the river was changed to a Category 2, or "water that attains its designated uses."<ref>{{cite web|last1=McGrath |first1=Mike |title=All-America City projects: Kenai, Alaska |url=http://www.allamericacityaward.com/2011/05/03/all-america-city-projects-kenai-alaska/ |publisher=All-America City: National Civic League |access-date=August 21, 2014 |date=May 3, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519014755/http://www.allamericacityaward.com/2011/05/03/all-america-city-projects-kenai-alaska/ |archive-date=May 19, 2011 }}</ref>