The History of Pilot Point

Pilot Point is located on the northern coast of the Alaska Peninsula, on the east side of Ugashik Bay. The community lies 80 air miles south of King Salmon. It lies at approximately 57° 33' N Latitude, 157° 34' W Longitude (Sec. 29, T030S, R051W, Seward Meridian). The community is located in the Kvichak Recording District. The area encompasses 67 sq. miles of land and 17 sq. miles of water.

In 1889, this was a mixed Aleut and Eskimo village with a fish salting plant called "Pilot Station." Pilots were stationed here to take boats upriver to a large cannery at Ugashik - this was the basis for the village name. A cannery was built by Bering Sea Packing Co. in 1891, and three additional plants were built over the next four years. Many nationalities came to work in the canneries - Italians, Chinese and northern Europeans. Reindeer herding experiments helped to repopulate the area after the devastating 1918 flu epidemic, although the herding eventually failed. A Russian Orthodox Church and a Seventh Day Adventist Church were built in the village. A post office was established in 1933, and the name was changed to Pilot Point at that time.

To Community Histories Index Alaska DCCED Community Database Online

History and map graphic used with permission from the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development