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Chignik
 The
City of Chignik is located on Anchorage Bay on south shore of the Alaska
Peninsula, 450 miles southwest of Anchorage and 260 miles southwest of
Kodiak. It lies at approximately 56° 18' N Latitude, 158° 24' W
Longitude (Sec. 07, T045S, R058W, Seward Meridian). The community is
located in the Aleutian Islands Recording District. The area encompasses
12 sq. miles of land and 4 sq. miles of water.
Prior to Chignik, a Kaniagmuit Native
village called Kaluak was located here; it was destroyed during the
Russian fur boom in the late 1700s. Chignik, a Sugpiaq word meaning "big
wind," was established in the late 1800s as a fishing village and
cannery. A four-masted sailing ship called the "Star of Alaska"
transported workers and supplies between Chignik and San Francisco.
Chinese crews from San Francisco traveled to Chignik in early spring to
make tin cans for the cannery. Japanese workers followed in mid-June to
begin processing. A post office was established in 1901. Coal mining
occurred from 1899 to 1915. Chignik became an incorporated City in 1983.
Today, two historical canneries are still in operation.
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