Coordinates: 55°28′35″N 133°08′54″W

Craig, Alaska
Craig (Tlingit: Sháan Séet) is a[13] city in the Prince of Wales-Hyder
Census Area in the Unorganized Borough[A] in the U.S. state of Craig
Sháan Séet
Alaska. The population was 1,201 at the 2010 census,[9] down from
1,397 in 2000. City

Contents
Geography
Climate
History
Name
Growth Oblique aerial view of Craig from the south
1982 massacre
2013 earthquake
Demographics
Transportation
Seaplane Base
Ferry
Shuttle Craig

Economy
Schools Location in Alaska
Utilities Coordinates: 55°28′35″N 133°08′54″W[3]
Notable people Country United States of
Notes America
State Alaska
Further reading Borough Unorganized [1][2]
References Census area [B] Prince of Wales-
External links Hyder [B]
Township T74S R81E
Copper River
Meridian
Geography Settled 1907[4]
Incorporated [C] March 1, 1922[5]
Craig is the largest town on Prince of Wales Island, the fourth-largest
(2nd-class city)[6]
island in the United States.[4] Craig is approximately 56 miles (90 km)
Incorporated [D] 1973 (1st-class
by air northwest of Ketchikan and 220 miles (350 km) south of city)[6]
Juneau.[4]
Government[6]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area • Type Mayor–council
of 9.4 square miles (24.3 km2 ), of which, 6.7 square miles (17.4 km2 ) • Mayor Tim O'Connor [7]
of it is land and 2.7 square miles (7.0 km2 ) of it (28.94%) is water. • State senator Bert Stedman (R)
• State rep. Jonathan Kreiss-
Tomkins (D)
Climate Area[8]
• Total 9.51 sq mi
(24.62 km2 )
• Land 6.69 sq mi
Craig has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) with mild summers with (17.32 km2 )
cool nights and cool, wet winters. Precipitation is at its heaviest during • Water 2.82 sq mi
Autumn. (7.30 km2 )
Elevation[3] 23 ft (7 m)
Population (2010)[9]
• Total 1,201
• Estimate (2019)[10] 1,262
• Density 188.70/sq mi
(72.86/km2 )
Time zone UTC-9 (Alaska
(AKST))
• Summer (DST) UTC-8 (AKDT)
ZIP code 99921 [11]
Area code 907 Exchange:
826
FIPS code 02-17740 (https://
archive.today/202
00212110935/htt
p://factfinder.cens
us.gov/bkmk/tabl
e/1.0/en/DEC/10_
DP/DPDP1/16000
00US0217740)[9]
GNIS feature ID 1421260 (https://g
eonames.usgs.go
v/apex/f?p=gnisp
q:3:::NO::P3_FID:
1421260)[3]
2419374 (https://g
eonames.usgs.go
v/apex/f?p=gnisp
q:3:::NO::P3_FID:
2419374)[12]
Website www.CraigAK.com
(http://www.craiga
k.com)
 Climate data for Craig

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Record high 65 64 62 74 86 90 79 84 76 73 59 58 90
°F (°C) (18) (18) (17) (23) (30) (32) (26) (29) (24) (23) (15) (14) (32)

Mean
50.1 49.6 53.1 60.2 68.9 71.6 72.6 72.9 69.7 60.8 53.2 50.1 77.9
maximum
(10.1) (9.8) (11.7) (15.7) (20.5) (22.0) (22.6) (22.7) (20.9) (16.0) (11.8) (10.1) (25.5)
°F (°C)

Average 39.4 41.4 43.1 49.3 55.0 60.1 62.5 63.5 59.2 51.8 44.6 41.7 51.0
high °F (°C) (4.1) (5.2) (6.2) (9.6) (12.8) (15.6) (16.9) (17.5) (15.1) (11.0) (7.0) (5.4) (10.5)

Average low 29.6 31.4 31.9 36.2 41.6 47.5 51.2 51.4 48.3 42.0 35.7 33.0 40.0
°F (°C) (−1.3) (−0.3) (−0.1) (2.3) (5.3) (8.6) (10.7) (10.8) (9.1) (5.6) (2.1) (0.6) (4.5)

Mean
17.7 17.9 21.9 28.6 33.2 40.0 45.0 44.9 39.5 32.1 24.9 19.7 12.5
minimum °F
(−7.9) (−7.8) (−5.6) (−1.9) (0.7) (4.4) (7.2) (7.2) (4.2) (0.1) (−3.9) (−6.8) (−10.8)
(°C)

Record low −2 5 4 15 23 30 38 33 30 23 11 2 −2
°F (°C) (−19) (−15) (−16) (−9) (−5) (−1) (3) (1) (−1) (−5) (−12) (−17) (−19)

Average
8.24 8.4 8.07 7.41 5.38 3.05 4.13 6.02 10.17 13.06 12.29 10.8 97.04
precipitation
(209) (210) (205) (188) (137) (77) (105) (153) (258) (332) (312) (270) (2,465)
inches (mm)

Average
5.1 6.3 5.8 0.4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.9 3 22.5
snowfall
(13) (16) (15) (1.0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (4.8) (7.6) (57)
inches (cm)

Average
precipitation 20 17 21 19 18 15 18 18 20 23 22 22 233
days

Source: [14]

History
Originally, Craig's townsite was a temporary fishing camp used for gathering herring.[15]

Name

Craig was named after Craig Miller (also spelled Millar) who established a fish saltery on nearby Fish Egg Island in
1907[15] with the assistance of the local Haida natives who moved onto Prince of Wales Island, being driven from Haida
Gwaii (British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands) starting in the 18th century.[4][16] Craig Miller constructed a cold
storage plant and packing company at the present site of Craig,[4] and in 1922 was instrumental in the incorporation of
the city (originally as an Alaska second-class[13] city within the Alaska Territory, pre-statehood).

Growth

The commercial fishing industry was responsible for Craig's relatively large population compared to neighboring
communities.[4] In the 1930s, record pink salmon runs brought many new settlers.[4] The 1950s saw a collapse of the
fishing industry because of depleted salmon populations.[4] In 1972, a large sawmill was established nearby providing a
steady source of year-round employment.[4] Today, Craig relies on commercial fishing, fish processing, and the timber
industry.[4]

1982 massacre
On September 7, 1982, the fishing boat Investor was found burning off the coast of Craig, and the boat's passengers and
crew were found to have been killed.[17][18] Due to the badly burned state of the bodies, investigators were only certain
that they had recovered the remains of seven bodies, but a coroner's jury ruled that all eight who were aboard the boat
had been killed.[17] The boat's owner, Mark Coulthurst, from Blaine, Washington, his wife Irene, and their two young
children were among the victims. In September 1984, a suspect, John Kenneth Peel, from Bellingham, Washington was
arrested for the murders.[17][18] Peel's first trial ended in a hung jury, and his retrial, in 1988, ended in his acquittal.[18]

2013 earthquake

On January 5, 2013 at 3:58 am ET Craig was hit by a 7.5-magnitude offshore earthquake 63 miles (102 km) west of the
town.[19][20] Regional tsunami warnings and advisories were issued. Voluntary evacuations of the town occurred.
Despite this, no fatalities, serious injuries, or incidents of damage were reported and the tsunami threat never materialized
other than minor, localized sea level rises.

Demographics
Craig first appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It Historical population
incorporated in 1922. Census Pop. %±
Craig's demographic characteristics have varied following trends in the commercial 1920 212 —
fishing industry,[4] from 1980 through 2000 Craig's population more than 1930 231 9.0%
doubled.[4] 1940 505 118.6%
1950 374 −25.9%
As of the census of 2000,[22] there were 1,397 people, 523 households, and 348 1960 273 −27.0%
families residing in the city. The population density was 209.1 people per square 1970 272 −0.4%
mile (80.7/km2 ). There were 580 housing units at an average density of 86.8 per 1980 527 93.8%
square mile (33.5/km2 ). The racial makeup of the city was 67.07% White, 0.07% 1990 1,260 139.1%
Black or African American, 21.69% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.57% from
2000 1,397 10.9%
other races, and 10.02% from two or more races. 2.79% of the population were
2010 1,201 −14.0%
Hispanic or Latino of any race.
2019 (est.) 1,262 [10] 5.1%
There were 523 households, out of which 41.1% had children under the age of 18 U.S. Decennial Census[21]
living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of
individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63
and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 31.9% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25
to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100
females, there were 119.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,298, and the median income for a family was $52,500. Males
had a median income of $41,111 versus $23,558 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,176. About
7.8% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.4% of those under age 18 and
none of those age 65 or over.

Transportation
Craig, the island's largest population center[23] and administrative hub[15] for many island companies and
organizations,[24] actually has limited-direct transportation off of Prince of Wales Island.

Seaplane Base
Transportation is primarily via floatplane charters at Craig Seaplane Base. Klawock Airport can accommodate wheeled-
aircraft and is a short drive away.

Ferry

Inter-Island Ferry Authority provides regularly scheduled year-round ferry service between Ketchikan and Hollis located
on the Eastern coast of Prince of Wales island. The Inter-Island Ferry Authority's central offices are located in Klawock
(http://www.cityofklawock.com/). The ferry terminal is located an hour drive outside of Craig and the ferry takes 3 hours
to get to Ketchikan, Alaska.[25]

There are a few marine shipping companies providing scheduled cargo barge service to South-Eastern, Alaska. Craig is
usually one of their ports-of-call, handling inter-modal shipping containers for deliveries to other communities.[26]

Shuttle

Prince of Wales Transportation based in Craig, provides island-wide shuttle services from the ferry terminals to the other
communities and island attractions.[27]

Economy
Commercial fishing and related support business comprises the largest portion of Craig's economy.[4] This is
supplemented by timber industry related activities like the sawmill, and many residents use subsistence resources in
addition to the formal economy.[4]

In 2000, Craig had 42 vessel owners with operations in federal fisheries, 84 vessel owners with operations in state
fisheries, and 149 registered crew members; 199 residents held 437 commercial fishing permits; 3,405 sport fishing
licenses were sold, 2,590 licenses to non-residents of Alaska.[4]

Commercial fishing generates much of the income in Craig. There are two harbors in the center of town one which
primarily contains smaller charter and recreational boats, and the North Cove Harbor where the trollers, seiners,
longliners, shrimp, crab, and dive boats that make up the local fleet are moored. During the peak of the fishing season in
summer, the harbor is usually so full that boats must anchor out in the bay.

Tourism provides jobs and income to the community.[15] Many charter fishing lodges cater to guests who visit the island
for the salmon fishing as well as black bear and deer hunting.

The other main employer in Craig is the U.S. Forest Service. The rest of the economy is mainly supportive. There is a
city-run medical clinic,[4] a few restaurants, a general store, two banks, a grocery store, a coffeeshop/bookstore, clothing
store, gift store, nursery and outdoor outfitter.[15]

Schools

Craig has an elementary, middle, high school and an alternative school with 35 teachers and about 860 students.[4]

Utilities

City of Craig provides piped water from the North Fork Lake reservoir, as well as providing a public sewage system.[4]

Alaska Power & Telephone (an employee owned company) provides hydro-electric power, telephone, and internet
service to much of southeastern Alaska, including Craig.[4] There are a few cellular carriers providing service on Prince
of Wales Island, mostly to the more densely populated communities like Craig.[28]

Notable people
 Holly Madison, one of the stars of the E! channel's Girls Next Door[29]

Notes
^ A: Alaska's boroughs are equivalent to ^ C: Craig incorporated in Territory of Alaska as a second-
counties in other U.S. states.[1] class city.
^ B: Census Areas are abstractions of the U.S. ^ D: Craig (re-)incorporated as a first-class city in State of
Census Bureau to either consolidate or sub- Alaska.
divide legal-official civil sub-divisions to make
counting and presenting population statistics
easier and more meaningful. Census
abstractions have no legal or official basis in
either federal or state law.[30][31] other than for
determining federal electoral boundaries and
federal assistance applications. In Craig's case:
the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area provides
a method of subdividing the huge Unorganized
Borough (over half of Alaska's area, 374,712
square miles (970,500 km2), an area larger than
any other U.S. state, with a population of 81,803,
13% in the 2000 Census), and consolidating
Craig statistics with "nearby" communities on
Prince of Wales Island along with other "nearby"
communities surrounding Ketchikan.

Further reading
"City of Craig on Alaska CIS" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20110604013249/http://www.commerc
e.state.ak.us/dca/commdb/CIS.cfm?Comm_Boro
_Name=Craig). Alaska Department of
Commerce, Community and Economic
Development. Archived from the original (http://w
ww.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/commdb/CIS.cfm?
Comm_Boro_Name=Craig) on 2011-06-04.
Retrieved 2008-06-30.

References
1. "Alaska Statutes - Title 29 Chapter 03. The Unorganized Borough" (https://web.archive.org/web/200906
09120846/http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/logon/pubs/29_03.htm). Alaska Department of Commerce,
Community and Economic Development. Archived from the original (http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/log
on/pubs/29_03.htm) on 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
2. "Legislative Directive for Unorganized Borough Review" (http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/lbc/boro
ughstudy/home.htm). Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development.
3. "USGS detail on Craig (populated place, GNIS ID: 1421260)" (https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=gnis
pq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1421260). Geographic Names Information System. United States Board on
Geographic Names, United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
Retrieved February 18, 2007.
4. "Community Profiles For North Pacific Fisheries - Alaska/South East Alaska/Craig" (http://www.afsc.noa
a.gov/Publications/AFSC-TM/NOAA-TM-AFSC-160/COMMUNITIES/Craig.pdf) (PDF). Alaska Fisheries
Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
United States Department of Commerce.
5. 1996 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory. Juneau: Alaska Municipal League/Alaska Department of
Community and Regional Affairs. January 1996. p. 44.
6. "Official site" (http://www.craigak.com/). City of Craig, Alaska.
 7. 2015 Alaska Municipal Officials Directory. Juneau: Alaska Municipal League. 2015. p. 49.
8. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files" (https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazett
eer/2019_gaz_place_02.txt). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
9. "Craig city, Alaska" (https://archive.today/20200212110935/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/e
n/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/1600000US0217740). Profile of General Population and Housing
Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the
original (http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1/1600000US0217740) on
February 12, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
10. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates" (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.
2019.html). United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
11. "Zip Code Lookup - Find a list of cities that are in a ZIP Code" (http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown_zip.js
p). United States Postal Service.
12. "City of Craig (GNIS ID: 2419374)" (https://geonames.usgs.gov/apex/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:241937
4). Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
13. "Alaska Statutes Title 29 Chapter 04. Classification of Municipalities" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080
920024040/http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/LOGON/pubs/29_04.htm). Alaska Department of
Commerce, Community and Economic Development. Archived from the original (http://www.dced.state.a
k.us/dca/LOGON/pubs/29_04.htm) on 2008-09-20.
14. "CRAIG, AK (502227)" (http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ak2227). Western Regional Climate
Center. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
15. "Tongass National Forest - Prince of Wales Island communities - Craig" (http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongas
s/districts/pow/island_info/communities.shtml). U.S. Forest Service, United States Department of
Agriculture.
16. "Craig, Alaska" (http://www.seatrails.org/com_craig/index.htm). SEATrails.Org.
17. Tibbits, George (October 11, 1985). "Suspect in murder living life on edge" (https://news.google.com/new
spapers?nid=1346&dat=19851011&id=ibkwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YPsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5551,4253964&hl=
en). Lakeland Ledger. Associated Press. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
18. "Ex-Crewman Acquitted in 8 Boat Killings in 1982" (https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/26/us/ex-crewman
-acquitted-in-8-boat-killings-in-1982.html). The New York Times. Associated Press. April 26, 1988.
Retrieved November 7, 2015.
19. "7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Alaska; tsunami warning canceled" (http://www.cnn.com/2
013/01/05/us/alaska-earthquake/index.html). CNN. January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
20. "M7.5 - 94km W of Craig, Alaska" (https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000ejqv#sum
mary). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
21. "Census of Population and Housing" (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-
census.html). Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
22. "U.S. Census website" (https://www.census.gov). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
23. "Prince of Wales Island Community Profies - Craig" (https://web.archive.org/web/20000203095942/http://
www.princeofwalescoc.org/profiles.html). Prince of Wales Island Chamber of Commerce. Archived from
the original (http://www.princeofwalescoc.org/profiles.html) on 2000-02-03. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
24. "Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area: Economic Overview" (https://web.archive.org/web/2004
0827221110/http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/AEIS/POW/General/POW_General_Narrative.htm). Alaska
Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. Archived from the original (http://ww
w.dced.state.ak.us/dca/aeis/POW/General/POW_General_Narrative.htm) on 2004-08-27. Retrieved
2008-06-30.
25. "Inter-Island Ferry Authority" (http://www.InterIslandFerry.com/). Inter-Island Ferry Authority.
26. "Prince of Wales Island Transportation - Craig" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080513050832/http://ww
w.princeofwalescoc.org/transport.html). Prince of Wales Island Chamber of Commerce. Archived from
the original (http://www.princeofwalescoc.org/transport.html) on 2008-05-13.
27. "Prince of Wales Island guide - 2007" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070923003739/http://www.princeof
walescoc.org/POW_2007.pdf) (PDF). Prince of Wales Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original
(http://www.princeofwalescoc.org/POW_2007.pdf) (PDF) on 2007-09-23. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
28. "Prince of Wales Island - Utilities" (http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/AEIS/POW/Utilities/POW_Utilities_N
arrative.htm). Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development.
29. The Girls Next Door Episode 3: "Half-Baked Alaska" - 12/23/2007
30. "United States Code Title--13 Census" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080215104109/http://www.acces
s.gpo.gov/uscode/title13/title13.html). Government Printing Office. Archived from the original (http://www.
access.gpo.gov/uscode/title13/title13.html) on February 15, 2008.
31. "Alaska Statutes" (http://www.legis.state.ak.us/folhome.htm). Alaska Legislature.

External links
City of Craig website (http://www.craigak.com)
Craig Tribal Association (http://craigtribe.org)

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