Editing Ninilchik, Alaska (section)

==History==
{{further|Alaskan Creole people}}
Before the arrival of Europeans in Alaska, Ninilchik was a [[Dena'ina people|Dena'ina]] [[Athabaskan]] lodging area used for hunting and fishing. The name ''Ninilchik'' probably derives from ''Niqnilchint'', a [[Dena'ina language|Deni'ana Athabaskan]] word meaning "lodge is built place".

The first Europeans who permanently settled in the village were Russian colonists who moved there from [[Kodiak Island]] in 1847, two decades before the [[Alaska Purchase]] in 1867 by the United States. They were Russian Grigorii Kvasnikov (anglicized to Kvasnikoff), his Russian-[[Alutiiq]] wife Mavra Rastorguev (daughter of Agrafena Petrovna of Afognak), and their children. They were soon joined by the Oskolkoff family, also headed by a Russian man and Alutiiq woman. These were the core families, and their descendants, who often married Alutiiq, made up most of the village.

Their dialect<ref>See the online dictionary, [http://www.ninilchikrussian.com/ Ninilchik Russian]</ref> of Russian as spoken in the mid-1800s (plus a few words borrowed from Alaska Native languages) became the primary language spoken in Ninilchik, and it survived in that form long past the 1867 Alaska Purchase. A few speakers of the [[Ninilchik Russian dialect]] were still alive in 2013. Russian and American linguists are documenting and cataloging this isolated dialect.<ref>{{cite news | title = Russian language's most isolated dialect found in Alaska | date = May 29, 2013 | publisher = Russia Beyond the Headlines | url = http://rbth.ru/society/2013/05/29/russian_languages_most_isolated_dialect_found_in_alaska_26519.html | work = РИА Новости | access-date = May 31, 2013}}</ref>

The [[1880 United States Census]] listed 53 "Creoles" living in Ninilchik in nine extended families. All nine old families of Ninilchik are descendants<ref>{{cite web|last=Leman|first=Wayne|title=Agrafena's Children|url=http://www.geocities.ws/agrafenas_children/}}</ref> of the original Kvasnikoff and Oskolkoff families, with numerous marriages to [[Alaska Natives]], primarily Alutiiq.
[[File:Ninilchik Russian church.jpg|thumb|[[Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Chapel]]]]
In 1896, a school was built and staffed by [[Russian Orthodox]] priests and laymen. Russian Orthodox priests were respected by Alaska Natives because in several areas of southwest Alaska, they had learned indigenous languages and held religious services in those languages. In 1901, the [[Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Chapel|local Russian Orthodox Church]] was redesigned and constructed at its current site. In 1911 the first school sanctioned by the U.S. government was started, known as the [[Ninilchik School]]. In 2011 the community celebrated the 100th anniversary of the school.

In the 1940s, a number of American [[Homestead Act|homesteaders]] began to live in the area. In 1949, Berman Packing Company began fish canning operations at Ninilchik. In 1950, the [[Sterling Highway]] was completed through the town.

===Caribou Hills fire===
{{main|2007 Caribou Hills fire}}
A 2007 fire that burned near Ninilchik, known as the Caribou Hills fire, moved toward the town. At its peak threatened approximately 300 structures. It eventually burned nearly {{convert|60000|acre|km2}} and destroyed 197 structures.