History
Originally inhabited by Aleut natives for over 7000 years, Russian fur traders took control of the islands in the 18th century and nearly wiped out the now abundant sea otters that can often be seen floating together in the strait. Several fishing canneries existed on the island including Port Wakefield and Northwest Cannery in the early 20th century. These went out of business several decades later and a fox fur farm existed on the Northwest Cannery site for a while. Deposits of placer gold were noted at Raspberry Beach as early as 1915. However, the last recorded mining activity on the beach was in 1935. The half-mile long beach is located on the northwest coast of the island at Drivers Bay. Much of the island is owned by the First Native Corporation and is uninhabited except for the two wilderness lodges that exist on land previously owned by the canneries.
Read more about this topic: Raspberry Island (Alaska)
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