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Point Baker
For a Map of Point Baker click here
| Current Population: |
27
(2008 Estimated Population (not Certified))
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| Incorporation Type: |
Unincorporated |
| Borough Located In: |
Unorganized |
| Taxes: |
No taxing authority
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| Location
and Climate |
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Located on the northern tip of Prince of Wales Island, Point Baker is 142 miles south of Juneau and 50 miles west of Wrangell. The community
lies at approximately 56.352780° North Latitude
and -133.621110° West Longitude.
(Sec. 06, T064S, R076E, Copper River Meridian.)
Point Baker is located in the
Juneau Recording District.
Prince of Wales Island is dominated by a cool, moist, maritime climate. Average summer temperatures range from 49 to 63; winter temperatures average from 32 to 42. Average annual precipitation is 120 inches, including 40 inches of snow. |
Topographic
map of
Point Baker
area
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| History, Culture
and Demographics |
| Point Baker was named in 1793 by Capt. George Vancouver, who named it after the Second Lieutenant on his ship "The Discovery." The first floating fish packer came to Point Baker in 1919, and fish buying continued until the 1930s when the Forest Service opened the area for homesites. During the 1920s and 1930s, up to 100 tents lined the harbor, occupied by hand-trollers. The first store was built in 1941, and a post office opened in 1942. In 1955, Point Baker was withdrawn from the Tongass National Forest. A floating dock was built by the State in 1961; larger docks replaced it in 1968.
The population of the community consists of 8.6%
Alaska Native or part Native.
Point Baker is a small fishing community. There is no community school in Point Baker. Children are home-schooled with correspondence courses.
During the 2000 U.S. Census,
total housing units numbered 23, and vacant housing units numbered 10.
U.S. Census data for Year
2000 showed 15 residents
as employed. The unemployment rate at that time was
0 percent,
although
58.33 percent of
all adults were not in the work force. The median household
income was $28,000, per capita income was $12,580, and
4.88 percent of residents
were living below the poverty level.
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| Facilities,
Utilities, Schools and Health Care |
| There is no central water system -- residents obtain water from rain catchment or springs. A public water source is available at the dock. No homes are plumbed. Privies are used for sewage disposal. There is no central electric system.
Electricity is provided by Individual Generators.
There are no state operated schools located in the community.
Auxiliary health care is provided by Point Baker EMS (559-2218/2212); Prince of Wales Island Area EMS (826-2367/3330).
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| Economy
and Transportation |
27 residents hold commercial fishing permits; the majority are hand-trollers. Subsistence and recreational food sources include deer, salmon, halibut, shrimp and crab.
Point Baker is accessible by float plane, helicopter, barge and skiff. A State-owned seaplane base and heliport serves chartered flights from Ketchikan. The community has a dock and boat harbor. Barges deliver cargo from Wrangell. There is no direct access to the Prince of Wales road system, airport or ferry. |
Organizations
with Local Offices
Community Non-Profit -
Point Baker Community
P.O. Box 31
Point Baker, AK 99927
Phone 907-559-2204
Fax 907-559-2224
Regional
Organizations
Regional Development - Southeast Conference
P.O. Box 21989
Juneau, 99802
Phone 907-523-2327
Fax 907-463-5670
E-mail shellyw@seconference.org
Web http://www.seconference.org
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