Editing Angoon, Alaska

{{short description|City in Alaska, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Angoon, Alaska
|native_name              = Aangóon
|settlement_type          = [[town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    = 
|image_skyline            = St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Church, Angoon.jpg
|imagesize                = 240px
|image_caption            = St. John the Baptist Russian Orthodox Church, Angoon
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               = 
|pushpin_map              = Alaska
|pushpin_label            = Angoon
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location in Alaska
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Alaska]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska|Census Area]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska|Hoonah-Angoon]]
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = Albert Kookesh<!--Please do not link, as that Albert Kookesh died in 2021.  This is presumably his son.  Thank you.--><ref>{{Cite book|title=2023 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory|date=January 2023|publisher=Alaska Municipal League|location=[[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]]|page=44|url=https://www.akml.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Angoon.pdf|access-date=November 12, 2023}}</ref>
|leader_title1            = [[Alaska Senate|State senator]]
|leader_name1             = [[Bert Stedman]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]])
|leader_title2            = [[Alaska House of Representatives|State rep.]]
|leader_name2             = [[Rebecca Himschoot]] ([[Independent politician|I]])
|established_title        = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date         = May 7, 1963<ref>{{cite book|title=1996 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory|location=[[Juneau]]|publisher=Alaska Municipal League/[[Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development|Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs]]|date=January 1996|page=26}}</ref>
|established_title2       = 
|established_date2        = 
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_sq_mi         = 38.97
|area_total_km2           = 100.93
|area_land_sq_mi          = 24.53
|area_land_km2            = 63.54
|area_water_sq_mi         = 14.44
|area_water_km2           = 37.39
|area_urban_sq_mi         = 
|area_urban_km2           = 
|area_metro_sq_mi         = 
|area_metro_km2           = 
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_note          = 
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 357
|population_metro         = 
|population_urban         = 
|population_density_km2   = 5.62
|population_density_sq_mi = 14.55
|timezone                 = Alaska
|utc_offset               = -9
|timezone_DST             = Alaska
|utc_offset_DST           = -8
|coordinates              = {{coord|57|29|49|N|134|34|25|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_m              = 7
|elevation_ft             = 23
|website                  = 
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 99820
|area_code                = [[Area code 907|907]]
|area_code_type           = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 02-03440
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = {{Gnis4|1420113}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_02.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 29, 2021}}</ref>
}}

'''Angoon''' (sometimes formerly spelled '''Angun''', {{langx|tli|Aangóon}}) is a city on [[Admiralty Island]], [[Alaska]], United States. At the [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] the population was 572; by the 2010 census the population had declined to 459.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0203440| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Angoon city, Alaska| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| work=American Factfinder| access-date=April 17, 2017}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> For statistical purposes, it is in the [[Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska|Hoonah-Angoon Census Area]]. The name in [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]], {{lang|tli|Aangóon}}, means roughly "[[isthmus]] town."

==History==
[[Admiralty Island]] has long been the home of the Kootznoowoo [[Tlingit]] group, or ''Xootsnoowú Ḵwáan'' in Tlingit. Kootznoowoo means "fortress of brown bears", literally ''xoots-noow-ú'' "brown.bear-fortress-possessive".<ref>De Laguna, Frederica. (1960). ''The story of a Tlingit community: A problem in the relationship between archeological, ethnological, and historical methods''. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 172. Washington, D.C.: US Government Printing Office.</ref> Angoon has a less-rainy climate than most of southeastern Alaska and was valued by the Tlingit for that reason.

During the [[Russian America|Russian period in Alaska]], from the 18th century to the mid-19th century, [[maritime fur trading]] was a major economic activity in the area.

In 1878, after the 1867 [[Alaska Purchase]], the [[North West Trading Company]] established a trading post and whaling station on nearby [[Killisnoo Island]] and employed Angoon villagers to hunt whales. [[Whaling]], a school, and a [[Russian Orthodox]] church attracted many Tlingits to neighboring [[Killisnoo, Alaska|Killisnoo]].

In October 1882, the village was destroyed in the [[Angoon Bombardment]] by US Naval forces under the command Commander [[Edgar C. Merriman]] and the ''[[USRC Thomas Corwin (1876)|USRC Thomas Corwin]]'' under the command of [[Michael A. Healy]]. The Tlingit villagers had taken white hostages and property and demanded two hundred [[Hudson's Bay point blanket|blankets]] in compensation from the [[North West Trading Company]] following the accidental death of a Tlingit [[Philosophy and religion of the Tlingit#Shamanism|shaman]] who died in a [[Harpoon cannon|whaling bomb]] accident while working on the whaler. The hostages were released upon the arrival of the naval expedition to Angoon, however Merriman demanded four hundred blankets in tribute and upon the Tlingit delivery of just eighty one blankets, Merriman's forces destroyed the village.<ref name=HarringCrow>[https://books.google.com/books?id=EHe_Ez7JXY4C&dq=angoon+merriman&pg=PA229 Crow Dog's Case: American Indian Sovereignty, Tribal Law, and United States Law in the Nineteenth Century], Sidney L. Harring, pages 228-230</ref><ref name="Hoxie">[https://books.google.com/books?id=IK6NCwAAQBAJ&dq=angoon+1882&pg=PA307 The Oxford Handbook of American Indian History], Frederick E. Hoxie, pages 307-8</ref>

After a short time, the North West Trading Company switched to [[herring]] processing. During this time, many Tlingits moved to Killisnoo for employment at the fish plant. In 1928, Killisnoo was destroyed by fire and many Tlingits returned to Angoon.

In 1973, Angoon won a U.S. $90,000 settlement from the United States government for the 1882 bombardment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thiessen |first=Mark |date=2024-10-26 |title=US Navy will apologize for the 1882 obliteration of a Tlingit village in Alaska |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-navy-apologize-1882-obliteration-040201946.html |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Geography==
Angoon is located on the west side of [[Admiralty Island]] at {{Coord|57|29|49|N|134|34|25|W|type:city}} (57.496891, -134.573579).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It is the largest permanent settlement on Admiralty Island and is sited on an isthmus at the mouth of [[Kootznahoo Inlet]] on the west side of the island. It is {{convert|60|mi}} southwest of [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]]. The only other community on the island is [[Cube Cove, Alaska|Cube Cove]], to the north.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|100.4|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|63.2|km2|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|37.2|km2|order=flip}}, or 37.04%, are water.<ref name="Census 2010"/>

===Climate===
The climate is either an [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: '''Cfb'''), when utilising the {{convert|&minus;3|°C|°F|1|disp=or}} isotherm or a warm-summer [[humid continental climate]]  ([[Köppen climate classification]]: '''Dfb'''), when utilising the {{convert|0|°C|°F|disp=or}} isotherm. Its climate moderately tempered by the [[Alaska Current]] is only slightly more extreme than the north of [[Scotland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.climate-data.org/north-america/united-states-of-america/alaska/angoon-124364/|title=Angoon climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Angoon weather averages - Climate-Data.org|website=en.climate-data.org|access-date=March 4, 2019}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Angoon
|single line = Y
| Jan record high F = 57
| Feb record high F = 57
| Mar record high F = 58
| Apr record high F = 64
| May record high F = 71
| Jun record high F = 80
| Jul record high F = 82
| Aug record high F = 77
| Sep record high F = 75
| Oct record high F = 62
| Nov record high F = 57
| Dec record high F = 50
| year record high F = 82
| Jan high F = 31.9
| Feb high F = 36.8
| Mar high F = 40.9
| Apr high F = 47.1
| May high F = 53.4
| Jun high F = 58.8
| Jul high F = 62
| Aug high F = 61.5
| Sep high F = 56.6
| Oct high F = 48.4
| Nov high F = 39.9
| Dec high F = 34.3
| year high F = 47.6
| Jan low F = 23.5
| Feb low F = 27.1
| Mar low F = 29.7
| Apr low F = 33.9
| May low F = 39.8
| Jun low F = 45.6
| Jul low F = 49.8
| Aug low F = 49.8
| Sep low F = 45.2
| Oct low F = 39.1
| Nov low F = 32.3
| Dec low F = 27.3
| year low F = 36.9
| Jan record low F = -3
| Feb record low F = -7
| Mar record low F = 0
| Apr record low F = 20
| May record low F = 29
| Jun record low F = 36
| Jul record low F = 40
| Aug record low F = 40
| Sep record low F = 30
| Oct record low F = 16
| Nov record low F = -2
| Dec record low F = -6
| year record low F = -7 | precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 3.39
| Feb precipitation inch = 2.7
| Mar precipitation inch = 2.42
| Apr precipitation inch = 2.21
| May precipitation inch = 1.92
| Jun precipitation inch = 1.9
| Jul precipitation inch = 2.26
| Aug precipitation inch = 3.76
| Sep precipitation inch = 4.89
| Oct precipitation inch = 7.71
| Nov precipitation inch = 4.79
| Dec precipitation inch = 4.04
| year precipitation inch = 42
| Jan precipitation days = 17
| Feb precipitation days = 16
| Mar precipitation days = 16
| Apr precipitation days = 15
| May precipitation days = 16
| Jun precipitation days = 15
| Jul precipitation days = 13
| Aug precipitation days = 15
| Sep precipitation days = 18
| Oct precipitation days = 23
| Nov precipitation days = 20
| Dec precipitation days = 21
| Jan snow inch = 16.6
| Feb snow inch = 12.7
| Mar snow inch = 8.1
| Apr snow inch = 2
| May snow inch = 0
| Jun snow inch = 0
| Jul snow inch = 0
| Aug snow inch = 0
| Sep snow inch = 0
| Oct snow inch = 0.3
| Nov snow inch = 6
| Dec snow inch = 15.4
| year snow inch = 61.2

|source 1 = [[Western Regional Climate Center|WRCC]]<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ak9919 |title=ANGOON (500310) |access-date=November 18, 2015 |publisher=[[Western Regional Climate Center|WRCC]] }}</ref>
|date=November 2015
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1880= 420
|1890= 381
|1920= 114
|1930= 319
|1940= 342
|1950= 429
|1960= 395
|1970= 400
|1980= 465
|1990= 638
|2000= 572
|2010= 459
|2020= 357
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
Angoon first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as the native village of "Augoon" with 420 residents, all members of the [[Tlingit]] tribe.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics of the Population of Alaska |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1880a_v1-17.pdf |website=United States Census Bureau |date=1880}}</ref> The area returned as "Hoochinoo" (AKA Kootznahoo) in 1890.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CRcwAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Annovokhamiut%22&pg=RA2-PA164 |title = Report on Population and Resources of Alaska at the Eleventh Census, 1890|year = 1893|last1 = Census Office|first1 = United States}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hanus |first1=G.C. |title=Anchorages and Passages in the waters on the S.W. Coast of Alaska |url=http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu/lizardtech/iserv/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=States\Alaska\\Alaska1881b.sid&wid=1000&hei=900&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl |website=University of Alabama - Department of Geography |date=1880}}</ref> Angoon did not appear again on the census until 1920.<ref>{{cite web |title=Population of Outlying Possessions by Civil Divisions: 1920 and earlier years |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/41084484v1ch5.pdf |website=United States Census Bureau |date=1920 |pages=680 & 681}}</ref> It has appeared on every successive census to date as of 2010,<ref>{{cite web |author1=U.S. Census Bureau |title=2010 Census of Population and Housing - Alaska |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-1-3.pdf |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224134536/https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/cph-1-3.pdf |archive-date=February 24, 2014 |date=June 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and incorporated as a city in 1963.

As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 572 people, 184 households, and 138 families residing in the city.  The population density was 25.4 people per square mile (9.8/km{{sup|2}}).  There were 221 housing units at an average density of 9.8 per square&nbsp;mile (3.8/km{{sup|2}}).  The racial makeup of the city was 81.99% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 11.36% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 5.42% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race, 0.52% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.17% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 1.40% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 4.55% from two or more races.

Of the 184 households, 42.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 3.11 and the average family size was 3.64.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 34.8% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.3 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,861, and the median income for a family was $31,429. Males had a median income of $21,250 versus $30,625 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $11,357.  About 27.0% of families and 27.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 39.1% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.

==Government==
Angoon is a second-class city, and uses a Mayor-Council form of government.

==Economy==
[[Fishing]] and [[fish processing]] are the mainstays of the economy at Angoon now.

Angoon is looking into non-diesel electric power generation to reduce local electric bills.

==Education==
[[Chatham School District]] operates two schools:<ref>"[http://chathamsd.schoolwires.net Our Schools]." [[Chatham School District]]. Retrieved on February 13, 2017.</ref>
*Angoon Elementary School
*Angoon High School

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Garfield, Viola (1947) "Historical Aspects of Tlingit Clans in Angoon, Alaska."  ''American Anthropologist'', vol. 49, no. 3, pp.&nbsp;438–452.
* Jacobs, Harold (2000) "Xoodzidaa Kwáan: Inhabitants of the Burning Wood Fort."  In: ''Will the Time Ever Come? A Tlingit Source Book'', ed. by [[Andrew Hope III]] and Thomas F. Thornton, pp.&nbsp;34–47.  Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Knowledge Network.
* South East Alaska with Pack & Paddle, by Margaret Piggott

==External links==
{{Portal|Alaska}}
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171230020312/https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/dcra/DCRAExternal/community/Details/72294383-ddd6-4441-8c63-eb92786a82a1 Angoon] at the Community Database Online from the [[Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development|Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs]]
* Maps from the [[Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190821/http://labor.alaska.gov/research/alari/images/maps/5_10_18map.pdf 2000], [https://web.archive.org/web/20151222102233/http://labor.alaska.gov/research/census/placemaps/03440.pdf 2010]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120324221627/http://juneauempire.com/stories/081299/Loc_angoon.html Juneau Empire story and transcription of 1882 letter critical of Angoon shelling; only unofficial contemporary source]
* Naval Historical Center. [http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Angoon_Attack1882.pdf Shelling of the Alaskan native American village of Angoon, October, 1882] Original reports from M.A. Healy, E.C. Merriman, W.G. Morris, and supporting documents, in PDF form.

{{Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Alaska]]
[[Category:Cities in Hoonah–Angoon Census Area, Alaska]]
[[Category:Cities in Unorganized Borough, Alaska]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean]]
[[Category:Pre-statehood history of Alaska]]