George Island, the largest of the George Islands, lies at the entrance to Port Althorp between the Inian and Althorp Peninsulas on northern Chichagof Island and on the southern coast of Cross Sound, approximately 28 miles (45 km) north-northwest of Sitka and 28 miles (45 km) southwest of Gustavus, Alaska. Chichagof Island was named by Captain Yuri Lisianski in 1805 for Admiral Vasily Chichagof. Cross Sound is a large passage linking Icy Strait and connecting the northern waters of the Alexander Archipelago to the open sea; secondary inlets join this waterway from the north and south. At its western margin the sound broadens into a complex of small fjords and offshore islets facing the open sea. Cross Sound was named for its proximity to Cape Cross, which, in turn, was named for a mark on the chart that Captain James Cook used to indicate the position of HMS Resolution on May 3, 1778. In 1794, Captain George Vancouver, commanding HMS Discovery and HMS Chatham, entered Cross Sound on his return from Prince William Sound. He spent three weeks mapping Port Althorp and parts of Cross Sound, while three of his small boats, led by Lieutenant Joseph Whidbey, explored Icy Strait and Lynn Canal. On one of his maps, Vancouver labeled Chichagof and Baranof Islands as the King George III Archipelago. In 1880, William Healey Dall of the US Coast and Geodetic Survey named George Island. In 1948, geologic features along the shores of Port Althorp, the George Islands, and the Inian Islands were examined in detail for potential ore deposits. The western part of George Island consists predominantly of Jurassic schist and schistose greenstone, including chert and limestone, while its eastern portion comprises a Late Jurrasic–Early Cretaceous pluton that may form part of the Chitina Valley Batholith composed chiefly of quartz monzodiorite and diorite. Cross Sound is one of the most glacially dynamic parts of Southeast Alaska. It was repeatedly overrun during the late Pleistocene by the Cordilleran ice sheet complex, which largely shaped the topography and bathymetry of present-day Cross Sound and the fjords of Chichagof Island.

Chichagof Island was among the last large islands in southeastern Alaska to be settled by Euro-Americans; little is known of its pre-1800’s history. The Sheet’ká Kwáan, a Tlingit clan, inhabited the western half of Baranof Island and most of Chichagof. Archaeological evidence shows that fish and shellfish were dietary staples; over 3,000 years ago, the Sheet’ká Kwáan used fishing weirs to catch salmon. Each summer, members of house groups abandoned winter villages for fishing camps along traditional salmon streams. There they caught and cured salmon, gathered berries, and harvested other plants. Techniques included trolling with hook and line, basket traps, and the use of gaffs, spears, or stake weirs in rivers and offshore. When salmon ceased spawning in the fall, they returned to their winter villages to gather plants and hunt bears, mountain goats, and deer. The abundance of these resources made winter ideal for the traditional potlatch. Winter villages, often long-term settlements with well-maintained storage, supported a stable food supply and an intricate system of social exchange. In June 1741, an Imperial Russian expedition entered Sheet’ká Kwáan territory. The Spanish, led by Bruno de Hezeta and Bodega y Quadra, followed in 1775; British Captain James Cook arrived in 1778. American traders appeared in 1785, and the French under La Perouse passed through the following year. By 1790, a competitive maritime fur trade had developed, introducing the Sheet’ká Kwáan to firearms, blankets, and other goods in exchange for furs. To monopolize the trade, the Russians formed the Russian-American Company in 1799 and established its headquarters in Sitka in 1804. The Alaska Purchase of 1867 transferred the territory to the United States. In 1905, a gold vein on Chichagof prompted the founding of a mining town, and salmon canneries were built at Port Althorp and Pelican. A fox farm once operated on George Island, which the US Navy photographed from the air in 1926.

In 1930, the only significant military presence in Alaska was an Army garrison at Fort Seward near Haines. As Japan’s imperial ambitions grew, American military planners rushed to prepare for a potential Pacific war. In 1937, Sitka’s coaling station hosted a U.S. Navy seaplane base. In December 1938, the Naval Planning Board endorsed constructing three full Naval Air Stations at Sitka, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor, plus six dispersed air bases for each. At NAS Sitka, the dispersed bases included Annette Island, Port Armstrong, Port Althorp, Yakutat, Cordova, and Ketchikan, with garrisons ranging from 50 men at Port Armstrong to 110 at Port Althorp. Most bases repurposed preexisting civilian structures—such as the P.E. Harris & Company salmon cannery at Port Althorp—to rapidly establish defenses. The Navy chose George Island as the preferred site for a defensive gun to protect the northern entrance to the Inside Passage, the Army airfield at Gustavus, and the logistical base at Excursion Inlet. Construction on George Island began in April 1942 despite recurring transportation and equipment issues; by September, an 18‑ton, 6‑inch steel gun was operational. The gun fired only four times for target practice between 1942 and 1944. George Island’s battery was one of many coastal military facilities built from Ketchikan to the Aleutians—most were abandoned after the war. The gun remained until 2010, when the US Forest Service recognized the site’s historic significance and restored the graveled roadway from a beach landing in Granite Cove to the gun emplacement and a metal Quonset hut. Today, small cruise ships bring visitors to the island to hike the trail, and a weather station operated by the Marine Exchange of Alaska is accessible is located in the George Islands and the data can be accessed online. The military legacy remains evident in the restored infrastructure and its appeal to history enthusiasts and hikers alike. Read more here and here. Explore more of George Island and Cross Sound here: