The next morning we made our first Alaskan port of call in Wrangell. Wrangell's claim to history is that
it was the only Alaskan fort to have existed under three flags - Russian, British and American. Its strategic
location near the mouth of the Stikane River has given it a long and colorful history. Founded in 1834, its
purpose was to prevent encroachment by the Hudson's Bay Company traders working their way down the Stikane River.
Today Wrangell is a proud, traditional, and sometimes stubborn community that clings to old Alaskan ideals of
independence from excess government and freedom to use the land and natural resources to earn a living. The issues
surrounding the timber sales in the Tongass National Forest hit Wrangell and its residents harder than most other
towns in southeast Alaska.
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