Craig, AK

Craig is a Prince of Wales Island city of 1,036 people at the 2020 census, set in Southeast Alaska about 56 miles by air northwest of Ketchikan. The original townsite grew from a temporary herring-fishing camp, and Craig Miller's 1907 fish saltery on nearby Fish Egg Island gave the place its name. Haida people already lived in and moved through this island world; the town's story sits inside that older coastal geography.

ATTRJoseph from Cabin On The Road, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0

North Cove Harbor is the working heart of Craig, with trollers, seiners, longliners, shrimp boats, crab boats, and dive boats tied into the local fleet. South Cove handles smaller charter and recreational craft, while the city harbor department manages transient moorage. The Craig Tribal Association, a federally recognized Alaska Native tribe, is headquartered in town, and local schools cover elementary, middle, high, and alternative programs. Craig is a boat-facing city: fishing, fish processing, timber, the harbors, and the long island road are the pieces that make its position legible.