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Seward Chamber of ComerceWeb Site
Seward is named after William Seward who bought Alaska from the Russiansfor 7.2 million dollars. Seward is located on Resurrection Bay which ison the East Coast of the Kenai Peninsula. It is nestled between ResurrectionBay and Marathon Mountain, which is home to one of the oldest marathonsin the United States. The bay was named by Alexander Baranoff when it gavehim shelter from a storm on Resurrection Sunday 1791.
Seward is known as the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. The Parkwas established in 1980 and is not accessible by car. The advancing andretreating of glaciers from the Harding ice field created the Fjords ofthe park. To see the park you will need to take a charter or a boat tourfrom Seward's small boat harbor. In the park, you can expect to see a varietyof birds, glaciers, marine mammals, and possible whales.
Besides Kenai Fjords Park, there are many national and state facilitiesin the area. Located south of Seward is the Caines head recreational area.This area was a military installation that was constructed during W.W.II.The installations were used to guard the ice free port of Seward from enemyattack. A trail goes out to Caines head, but people need to be carefulsince parts of the trail will be covered by water at high tide. The recreationalarea has a forest service cabin, lots of trails, access to the old bunkers,and access to the subterranean fort. Other facilities include the ChugachNational Forest, Exit Glacier, state and city campgrounds, and many well-maintainedtrails.
On the south end of town is the Sea Life Center. This facility was completedin May of 1998 for 56 million dollars. Part of the funding for its constructioncame from the settlement of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The mission ofthe Sea Life Center is research, rehabilitation of animals, and educationof the public. In the facilities you can explore the habitats of many ofthe marine animals and enjoy hands on experience with intertidal zonesof Alaska. There are viewing areas that allow you to watch sea lions, seals,and seabirds dive and play.
Located near the Sea Life center is a monument that shows the originalstart of the Iditarod trail. The original trail was cut by the native hunters,and later, miners used the trail to get to Hope Alaska, to mine for gold.In 1906, Dr. Frederick Cook and his party found a way to get through theAlaska Range and reach the Tonzona River. They were on an expedition tobe one of the first to climb mount McKinley. This new discovery allowedtravelers to reach the Kuskokwim area from the Seward coastline. Gold discoveriesand a network of trails to different trading posts made it possible forpeople to leave Seward and reach Nome. Today the trail has become popularby the Iditarod dog sled race that follows the trail used to run serumto Nome during a diphtheria outbreak.
Seward was established in 1903 as a railhead for the Alaska CentralRail Way. The new route would start in Seward and end in Nenana. The reasonsthat they stated for the building of the railway was to supply the interior,and to remove minerals found along route. In 1910, the Alaska NorthernRailway was formed from the bankrupt Alaska Central Rail Way and in 1914theyfell on hard times causing a small depression in Seward. That same yearWoodrow Wilson passed the Alaska Railroad Bill, and Seward was chosen asone of the ports for the new railway system. The bill created a boom inthe community and in 1923, the railway was completed. The Alaska CentralRail Way is known today as the Alaska Rail Road and is the only state operatedrailways left in the United States.
On March 27th 1964, Alaska had one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded.It was located in Prince William Sound and the effects were felt throughout the world. The initial earthquake and the tsunamis caused extensivedamage all over Seward and caused many of the businesses along the waterfront to be destroyed. When it was all over, 13 people were killed, 86houses destroyed, and 269 houses were damaged. The harbor, docks, oil tanks,and the railway yard were destroyed. On April 15th the town was to gatherto celebrate being an All American City. Instead of celebrating the accomplishment,they gathered to memorialize those that were killed in the earthquake.
Today Seward is a thriving community that enjoys its prosperity fromtourism, a coal terminal, fishing, a marine research facility, and governmentoffices. Other industries that had thrived in the area was a fox farm thatwas located on Fox Island, big game guides, mining, logging, and farming.
Here are some things to do while in Seward.
Go and visit the Sea Life Center, the Small Boat Harbor, the US ForestService, the Resurrection Bay Museum, the Chugach Heritage Center, LowellPoint, and the Kenai National Park Center. You can go hiking at ExitGlacier, Tonsina Point, or hike the trails around the city. There is awalking tour of Seward which will take you past St. Peters Episcopal Church,and you can see a movie about the 1964 earth quake at the Seward museum.If you are interested in art, there are some great art galleries all aroundtown. Other things to see in the Seward area is Ididaride Dog Sled Rides,Flight Seeing, Charter fishing, Sea Kayaking, and Tours to Kenai FjordsPark, and Exit Glacier.
