Anchorage Daily News

POPULATION: 134 (2007)

LOCATION: At the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula on the shore of Port Graham, adjacent to Nanwalek, 7.5 miles southwest of Seldovia and 28 air miles from Homer.

DESCRIPTION: A traditional Alutiiq village with a fishing and subsistence lifestyle. Nearly 90 percent of the population is wholly or partly Alaska Native. A new fish cannery and hatchery provide seasonal jobs for dozens of Port Graham and Nanwalek residents. Red salmon fry are raised for area lakes, and pink salmon are raised for the cannery. There is one school, attended by about 30 students. Port Graham is not accessible by road.

HISTORY: The earliest known settlers were Russians from the nearby trading post at Nanwalek. In 1850, the Russian-American Co. established a coal mine at Port Graham, but the uneconomical mine lasted only a few years. Port Graham became the site of a cannery and wharf in 1909, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. A pink salmon hatchery began operations in 1991. In January 1998, the hatchery and salmon processing plant burned, but the $4.5 million plant was rebuilt and re-opened in June 1999.

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