Port Wakefield

Alaska's ghost towns are the most extreme on the continent — total commitment, total abandonment, everything preserved by the cold.

Port Wakefield is a ghost town in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the northeast coast of Raspberry Island in the Kodiak Archipelago, along the western shores of the Gulf of Alaska. The community was established in the 1930s by Lee Howard Wakefield as a herring reduction plant after he relocated the family's salmon cannery business, Apex Fish Company, from Anacortes, Washington and renamed the company Wakefield Fisheries. Lee's sons Howard, Lavern and Lowell began fishing for and processing experimentally for king crab in 1939.

Port Wakefield faced the water, back when rivers were highways.

The on-the-ground condition of Port Wakefield is unverified — it's listed here with unknown status. That could mean standing buildings, or an empty field. Go prepared for either, and consider sharing what you find so the record improves.

Nobody has confirmed the access situation, so treat any visit as reconnaissance: verify land ownership first, and be ready to admire from the road.

Here's the honest truth: access to Port Wakefield is unverified. We couldn't confirm whether the site sits on public land, private property, or something in between — so verify land ownership and local rules before visiting, and respect private property at all times. The mapped point for Port Wakefield is roughly 58.0492, -153.0525 — use it as a starting point and cross-reference a current topographic map before leaving pavement.

Ghost-town etiquette is simple: take only photographs. Removing artifacts is illegal on public lands and disrespectful everywhere else — and on federal land it can be a serious offense.