Name/Title
Print, PhotographicEntry/Object ID
2016.167.132Description
Black & white photo of wood buildings in a frontier town. Printed on the side of the photo is 6/2/39. Hand written on the back, "Latouche, Alaska".
Based on the website, explorenorth.com, the town no longer exists.
"The community of Latouche no longer exists, but it was located on Latouche Island, a small island (12 miles long, 3 wide) at the western entrance to Prince William Sound, at 60° 00'N., 147° 55' W.
In 1784, Gerasim Izmailov led Captain James Cook to Prince William Sound, and the first charts of the island known to Izmailov as Ostrov Khlikakhlik were drawn. It was Captain George Vancouver who, in 1794, gave the island its current name (it has also at various times been called Foot Island and Isla San Antonia.
A series of copper prospects were staked on Latouche Island in the late 1890s, and the Beatson copper mine, in the northwest section of the island, started shipping ore in 1904. In 1915, with war needs greatly boosting demand (and prices), the mine was taken over by the Kennecott Corporation. At its peak period in 1917-1918, there were about 300 people working at the Beatson and almost 4,000 people on the island, most in the town of Latouche close to the Beatson mine. Expanded operations required a steady supply of coal, and to supply that need, the Alaska Railroad built spurs into coal mines such as the Janios & Athens operation near Houston.
Most of the copper mines in Alaska closed soon after the end of World War I due to falling prices. The Beatson mine lasted much longer, but with copper prices nearing 5 cents a pound, it closed on November 29, 1930. During its lifetime, the mine had produced a total of 182,600,000 pounds of copper - there were 23 other copper mines in the region, but the total production of all 23 combined was only 26,067,000 pounds.
The earthquake that hit Alaska on March 27, 1964, caused massive changes to the state's landscape. Latouche Island was raised an average of 9 feet and moved about 60 feet to the southeast, resulting in discoveries such as stumps from a forest that was submerged below sea level and buried in prehistoric times.
The largest landholder on Latouche Island today is the Chugach Alaska Corporation, established in 1971 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).Made/Created
Date made
Jun 2, 1939Notes
Medium: Photographic PaperLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Print, PhotographicNomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication Objects