What the record shows
The federal survey describes the site: Near E entrance to Klakas Inlet, on the SW part of Prince of Wales Island, Alex. Arch.
"Tlingit Indian name recorded in 1897 by Lieutenant Commander J. F. Moser, U.S. Navy (USN). A 1951 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) map shows one building at the site of this abandoned village. According to J. R. Swanton (in Hodge, 1907, p. 714), Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE), ""Klinkwan"" is derived from the Tlingit ""linqoan"" meaning ""shellfish town"" or ""town where they split yellow cedar bark into long strings."" This is a ""Haida town, occupied by the Yaku-lanas * * *"" (Hodge, 1907, p. 714)."
Klinkwanappears in the U.S. Geological Survey's place-name archive as a historical populated place — a settlement that once carried a name and no longer does. Our editors are verifying its full story against census records, newspaper archives, and county histories; this record will grow as sources are confirmed.
Before you visit
Unverified sites may sit on private land, and coordinates from historical records can be imprecise. Verify land status and access before traveling. Take photographs, leave nails — removing artifacts from federal land is a crime.
See it in context on the national atlas map.
From the field
The most valuable part of this record is the part only visitors can write.
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