Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska Genealogy

Census Area Office
Because Alaskan census areas are part of the Unorganized Borough, they have no borough seats.

Quick Facts

 * Prince of Wales Island is the fourth-largest island in the United States (after Hawaii, Kodiak Island, and Puerto Rico), and the 97th-largest island in the world. It was explored by the Russians, Spanish, British, and French, and was named for George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales (later King George IV).
 * The community of Hyder is the easternmost town of Alaska and is notable for being the only place in Alaska not to use the 907 area code, instead using British Columbia's 250. Tourists also find that Hyder uses the Pacific Time Zone, the "preferred" currency is Canadian (except the U.S. Post Office, which accepts only American currency), observes Canadian holidays, send their children to a Canadian school, and calling the police means a Canadian Mountie will respond. Electricity comes from Canada, as the local electric utility is British Columbia's BC Hydro.
 * This area is traditional Tlinget territory, with the Haida tribes resettling on the island in the late 18th century from what is now Northern British Columbia. In 1887, William Duncan, a lay minister of the Anglican Church, settled Annette Island with a group of Tsimshian natives from Metlakatla, British Columbia, founding the community of "New" Metlakatla.

Neighboring Boroughs, Census Areas, and Districts

 * Petersburg Census Area - north
 * City and Borough of Wrangell, Alaska - northeast
 * Ketchikan Gateway Borough - between Prince of Wales and Hyder
 * Kitimat-Stikine Regional District, British Columbia - east
 * Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District, British Columbia - south (water boundary only)

Boundary Changes
It was formerly part of the Census Bureau's Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area, but the name was changed in 2008 after most of the Outer Ketchikan (except the parts near the community of Hyder, and Annette Island) was lost to annexation by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this census area.

Directories
Alaska Online Historical Directories - identifies historical city, county, business and other directories available online on both free and pay-to-access websites.

Newspapers
Alaska Online Historical Newspapers - identifies historical archived and digitized newspapers available online on both free and pay-to-access websites. Includes a title for Thorne Bay.

Vital Records

 * 1816-1959 at FamilySearch — index and images

Populated Places

 * Coffman Cove
 * Craig
 * Edna Bay
 * Hollis
 * Hydaburg
 * Hyder
 * Kasaan
 * Klawock
 * Metlakatla
 * Naukati Bay
 * Point Baker
 * Port Protection
 * Thorne Bay
 * Waterfall
 * Whale Pass

Websites

 * Ketchikan Gateway Borough and Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Areas GenWeb Project, part of the Alaska GenWeb Project.
 * Linkpendium
 * Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Trails to the Past
 * USGenWeb Archives