Guard Islands are separated from Vallenar Point at the northern tip of Gravina Island by Inside Passage, a small channel connecting the northern entrance of Tongass Narrows in the east to Clarence Strait in the west, about 73 miles (118 km) south-south-east of Wrangell and 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Ketchikan, Alaska. They form part of an island chain that includes Vallenar Rocks. Gravina Island is 21 miles (34 km) long and about 9.5 miles (15.3 km) wide, forming the western shoreline of Tongass Narrows opposite Ketchikan on Revillagigedo Island. Ketchikan International Airport is located on the island and reached by ferry. In 1793 Captain George Vancouver named Vallenar—the north point of the island, as well as an islet and chain of rocks—after his friend Ambrosio O’Higgins de Vallenar. O’Higgins, originally from Ballynary, Ireland, and of the noble O’Higgins family, became a naturalized citizen of Chile and a national hero. He served the Spanish Empire as military governor of Chile and viceroy of Peru. Guard Islands were named by local navigators and appeared on charts by the US Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1880. The northern end of Gravina Island, Vallenar Point and the chain of rocks and islets extending from it, and Guard Islands are all formed by the Gravina Island Formation, composed of erosion-resistant andesitic to basaltic metavolcanic rocks.

Indigenous peoples of Southeast Alaska are represented by the Tlingit, the Kaigani Haida of southern Prince of Wales Island, the Tsetsuat of the mainland between Behm and Portland Canals, and Tsimshian on Annette Island. The Tlingit are the most widespread and numerous within the region. Their culture included an economy based mostly on salmon and was characterized by settled villages with a social organization structured around matrilineal clans, shamanism and the attainment of status through potlatching. Village sites were preferably located on sheltered bays with views of the approaches, sandy beaches for landing canoes, access to salmon streams, fresh water, timber and hunting, fishing and gathering grounds. Aboriginal houses were planked rectangular structures with excavated centers and low-pitched gabled roofs. They could accommodate six or more families with slaves, often totaling 40 to 50 individuals. At the time of contact with Euro-American explorers and maritime fur traders, Gravina Island lay within the territory of the Tongass Tlingit. The Tongass Wolf clan had a smokehouse at the head of Vallenar Bay on the western shore of Gravina Island, adjacent to Vallenar Point. This camp was connected by a portage trail to Bostwick Inlet at the southern end of the island, where there was a large summer village used for drying fish and meat and gathering berries. In 1793 Captain Vancouver sailed along the western shore of Gravina Island. In 1884 a fish saltery was built on Ketchikan Creek; in 1889 the Ketchikan Cannery was built and a trading post operated at the mouth of the creek. By 1890 Ketchikan was a supply center for the Klondike Gold Rush, and the resulting influx of settlers and gold miners dramatically increased the population. For years the Tongass Tlingit, Russian traders, fishermen and miners plied the waters near Ketchikan, and countless lost vessels attested to the dangers of the shallow inlets, reefs and dense fog.

After the Alaska Purchase transferred the territory from Russia to the United States in 1867, the Senate requested a review of the north-western coasts to determine suitable spots for lighthouses. But it was not until the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896 that private citizens and traders clamored loudly enough for the Lighthouse Board to build light stations. In 1901 President William McKinley signed an executive order establishing the Guard Islands lighthouse reservation. In 1903 construction of Guard Island Lighthouse was authorized, and the following winter work commenced with a force of men clearing and grading a site. In 1904 the light was illuminated on a square pyramidal wooden tower that stood nearly 40 feet (12.2 m) tall, with a fog bell suspended from a beam on the north face. A two-story dwelling was built for the light keepers, along with a boathouse and an oil-storage house. The wood used for the original Guard Island Light Station soon deteriorated in the harsh weather, and in 1922 Congress authorized reconstruction. In 1924 the dilapidated light tower was replaced with a single-story rectangular tower made of reinforced concrete. The station was automated by the Coast Guard in 1969.  Read more here and here. Explore more of Guard Island and Tongass Narrows here: