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Kenai Peninsula Borough

 

 

This borough is up for adoption...

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Communities [populations in brackets]:

Anchor Point [1,845] Bear Creek
Beluga [32] Clam Gulch [173]
Cohoe [1,168] Cooper Landing [369]
Crown Point [75] Diamond Ridge [1,802]
Fox River [616] Fritz Creek [1,603]
Funny River [636] Grouse Creek [1,748]
Halibut Cove [35] Happy Valley [489]
Homer [3,946] Hope [137]
Kachemak [431] Kalifornsky [5,846]
Kasilof [471] Kenai [6,942]
Kenaitze Lowell Point [92]
Miller Landing [74] Moose Pass [206]
Nanwalek [177] Nikiski [4,327]
Nikolaevsk [345] Ninilchik [772]
Port Graham [171] Primrose [93]
Ridgeway [1,932] Salamatof [954]
Seldovia [286] Seldovia Village [144]
Seward [2,830] Soldotna [3,759]
Sterling [4,705] Sunrise [18]
Tyonek [193] Remainder [249]

The Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB) is comprised of the Kenai Peninsula, Cook Inlet and a large unpopulated area northeast of the Alaska Peninsula. The Borough includes portions of Chugach National Forest, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Kenai Fjords National Park, and portions of Lake Clark and Katmai National Park. KPB encompasses over 24,000 square miles of land and is just a little larger than the State of West Virginia.  Kenai and Soldotna are the population centers here. 

The Kenaitze Indians (Dena'ina Athabaskan), among the first inhabitants of the borough, founded a land which offered a rich bounty of fish and game. Russian fur traders first arrived in 1741. At that time, about 1,000 Dena'ina lived in the village of Shk'ituk't, near the River. The traders called the people "Kenaitze," or "Kenai people." In 1791, a fortified Russian trading post, Fort St. Nicholas, was constructed for fur and fish trading. It was the second permanent Russian settlement in Alaska.

In the early 1900s cannery operations and construction of the railroad spurred development. In 1940, homesteading enabled the area to develop. The first dirt road from Anchorage was constructed in 1951.

In 1957, oil was discovered at Swanson River, 20 miles northeast of Kenai - the first major Alaskan oil strike. In 1965, offshore oil discoveries in Cook Inlet fueled a period of rapid growth. Kenai has been a growing center for oil exploration, production and services since that time.

The Borough was incorporated in 1964. 

 

 

 

 


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AKWEB: Alaska Genealogy & History -
This is a statewide list intended for the exchange of genealogical, historical and cultural information about the state of Alaska and the ancestors who lived here. Newbies to genealogical research and/or computer researching in Alaska are welcome. 
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SOUTHCENTRAL is a regional mailing list  encompassing Anchorage Borough, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and Valdez-Cordova Census Area.  Newbies to genealogical research and/or computer researching in Alaska are welcome.

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AKNAT: NATIVES OF ALASKA is a statewide list intended for the exchange of genealogical, historical, and cultural information of Alaska Natives.

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