24/7 Trauma and Biohazard Cleanup in Pelican, AK

Pelican is an incorporated city in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area on the northwestern side of Chichagof Island, on the east side of Lisianski Inlet, which opens into Lisianski Strait and Cross Sound.

The city's Tlingit name is K'udeis'x̱'e, and its motto is "Closest to the fish."

Pelican was founded in 1938 by fish buyer Charlie Raatikainen, who established the town as a business venture to support his fish processing company, building a cold storage plant close to the fishing grounds.

The town site became known as Pelican City, and it first appeared on the 1940 census as the unincorporated village of "Pelican City" before formally incorporating on October 3, 1943.

The 2020 census counted 98 people in Pelican, living in 45 households, with a median age of 47.5 years, and every resident living in a rural area.

Pelican's population peaked at 222 in 1990, fell to 163 in 2000 and 88 in 2010, then rose to 98 in 2020.

The only way to reach Pelican is by boat or seaplane, and Juneau is the nearest city on the mainland.

A post office under the name "Pelican" was established on November 27, 1939, with Bob DeArmond as its first postmaster, and the town's school opened with Arvo Wahto of Douglas as its first teacher.

The first building erected ashore housed a Finnish steam bath on one side and a store and company offices on the other, and Pelican was often called "Finn Town" in its early years.

Pelican's hydroelectric power plant and cold storage plant were completed in the early 1940s, and the first fish was loaded into the sharp freezer in August 1942, while the Cape Cross Salmon Company made a pack of more than 17,000 cases in the summer of 1941.