Book Review: ‘The Oceanside History of Alaska’ provides an introduction to the diversity and histories of coastal communities

“The Oceanside History of Alaska”

By Mike Coppock; Epicenter Press, 2024; 306 pages; $19.95.

Like many Alaskans, I first arrived via the Alaska Marine Highway, in my case more than 34 years ago aboard a ferry from Bellingham. I’ve only traveled the Inside Passage twice and, tied to departure schedules, barely had time to alight and visit the towns that passed by so quickly. From Haines, I headed straight for the Interior and have never since lived elsewhere in the state. So despite the Panhandle having the most extensive history since Europeans arrived in Alaska, my familiarity with the region remains limited.

And again like most Alaskans, or, at least, those who have traveled the Marine Highway at all, I’ve never followed the system beyond the Southeast, although it extends all the way out to the Aleutian Islands. And given my penchant for seasickness, it’s unlikely I ever will. So the only way I can know many of the small communities serviced by ferry boats, most of them accessible only by sea or air, is secondhand by word or video.

Into this breach steps Mike Coppock with “The Oceanside History of Alaska,” Something of an Alaskan Renaissance Man, he’s been a teacher, newspaper editor, and more. In this book he offers a tour of each community that is reached by ferry, providing their histories — both Native and European — their economic development, and what will presently be found in them if one should happen to visit.

It’s a novel idea, and it makes for a fascinating read. While many of the communities along the way, such as Sitka, Homer, Juneau, Valdez, and Seward, have played significant roles in the state’s history, many others have warranted barely a mention even in exhaustive books covering Alaska’s past. It’s an overdue contribution that no one seems to have thought of before.

Coppock begins at the beginning. Metlakatla, at the southernmost extension of the Panhandle, was established in the 19th century by a breakaway group of Tsimshian from Canada who were led by Anglican missionary William Duncan. He spent his life there, eventually falling into controversy.

From here, Coppock heads north, stopping in the fishing port of Ketchikan, an area that has been inhabited for some 10,000 years. It saw American intrusion well before the end of Alaska’s Russian Era, and after the U.S. purchase was once the port of entry for smuggling liquor into the territory.

Coppock describes the climates, geology, and Indigenous cultures of the areas he travels through in the introductions to each section. Here we learn that while the southern half of the inside Passage is inundated with rain, the northern section is significantly drier. Good to know for those considering taking up residence in the state’s Banana Belt.

Sitka, the second capital of Russian America, and the first under U.S. control, was originally called New Archangel. American, British, French, and Russian ships all came through before Russians assumed control and found themselves engaged in fierce battles with the resident Tlingit.

Today’s capital of Juneau was famously named after the perennially down-on-his-luck prospector Joe Juneau, one of the discoverers of gold in the region. It launched the first gold rush into Alaska, and for several decades the mineral-rich Douglas Island eclipsed Juneau in population and wealth.

Skagway’s glory days receive a sizable rundown here, but the history of nearby Haines is less known. Rich with Indigenous history, and largely spared the madness of the Gold Rush, its background is a bit more sedate but still fascinating.

After stops in Pelican and Yakutat, towns even most travelers on the Inside Passage rarely see, Coppock moves to the Gulf Ports, more familiar to mainland Alaskans.

Cordova, founded with hopes of building a railroad to the Interior, has seen its share of economic and political turmoil, while the two towering buildings that comprise most of the improbable town of Whittier, one of them inhabited by nearly the entire population and the other mothballed like a relic of Soviet architecture, were constructed early in the Cold War.

Seldovia, surprisingly, was once the economic hub of the Kenai and was only unseated by other cities, including Homer across Kachemek Bay, after the road system was extended down the peninsula following World War Two.

The histories of all of the communities in the Gulf Ports were profoundly impacted by disasters both natural and human-made. The 1964 Good Friday earthquake heaved some lands upward while sinking many shorelines below sea level, taking with them residences and businesses. Tsunamis added to the wreckage and human toll. 25 years later, on another Good Friday, the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling eleven million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound and far beyond, wreaking destruction on the fishing, wildlife, and tourism that drives local economies.

The oil slick extended past Kodiak Island, where Alaska’s first capital during the Russian years was established. Coppock then leads us into Alaska’s most far-flung region, where volcanic islands string out to the edge of Asia. Here the MV Tustumena provides “the only link for many of the small ports to the outside world.” Earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis dominate their histories, as does World War Two. Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island, the terminus of the ferry system, was bombed by Japanese aircraft in 1942.

One of the delights of this book is learning about smaller communities, some that even longtime Alaskans might barely know about. Hollis, in the Southeast, was home to 1000 residents during a mining boom. Tatitlek, on Prince William Sound, is the last traditional homeland of those Chugach Alutiiq people who haven’t departed for other locales. And tiny Ouzinkie on Spruce Island, once a retirement community for employees of the Russian American Company, only began receiving ferry service in 2012.

While “The Oceanside History of Alaska” barely scratches the surface of the many places Coppock visits, it provides an introduction to the diversity and extensive human histories found along Alaska’s vast coastline. It’s a valuable addition to any library of the state’s history as well as its present.