Sitka in Sitka Borough, Alaska — Northwest (North America)

Sitka's Pioneer Home

Historic Sitka Alaska

Photographed by Bradley Owen, August 11, 2026

1. Sitka's Pioneer Home Marker

Inscription.
A contingent of the United States Marines was stationed in Sitka 1879 until 1912.

Alaska became a territory in August 1912 and when the first legislature met that following March a bill was introduced by Sitka's Representative, Arthur G. Shoup, to appropriate $10,000 and establish the Alaska Pioneers' Home in Sitka. The Navy Department gave permission to use the barracks and officers dwellings that had been vacated when the base was closed. The Home opened in September 1913. Only indigent men were admitted in the early years.

By the early 1930s, the buildings were becoming dilapidated and expensive to maintain. Congress enacted a law granting the former Naval Reserve to the Territory of Alaska.

The present concrete building was then constructed, partly with a federal grant and partly with funds appropriated by the Territorial Legislature. It was completed in December 1934 at the cost of $341,687.62.

The following year the Manager's Residence, a home for nurses and a garage were built and the grounds were landscaped, all paid for by a Public Works Administration grant of $98,308.88.

The new building housed

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170 men but there were no facilities for women. The 1949 Legislature provided funds for a Women's Home and a former church adjoining the Pioneer's Home was purchased for that purpose. The arrangement was not wholly satisfactory and in 1956 the new North Wing was added to the main building. It housed women and married couples at first, but was later occupied by single men and women as well. The building has since undergone remodeling and renovations to the interior.

Sitka's Alaska Pioneers' Home is on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors are Welcome.

Erected 2013.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Government & Politics • Military • Women. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical month for this entry is August 1912.

Location. 57° 2.993′ N, 135° 20.274′ W. Marker is in Sitka, Alaska, in Sitka Borough. It is at the intersection of Katlian Street and Lincoln Street, on the right when traveling north on Katlian Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 120 Katlian Street, Sitka

Sitka's Pioneer Home and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, August 11, 2026

2. Sitka's Pioneer Home and Marker

AK 99835, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Alaska,

in Tlingit and Haida & Tsimshian Region.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Inside Passage,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Russian Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Random House (within shouting distance of this marker); Veterans Memorial (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Russian Counting House and School (about 300 feet away); Sitka Totem Square (about 300 feet away); Tilson Building (about 300 feet away); Station Building 29 National Historic Landmark (about 300 feet away); Saint Yakov Netsvetov (about 300 feet away); Russia Intrudes on the Land of the Tlingit (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sitka.

The Prospector Plaque<br> Located in front of Sitka's Pioneer Home image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, August 11, 2026

3. The Prospector Plaque
Located in front of Sitka's Pioneer Home

ECCE Novum Astrum
The Prospector
Alonzo Victor Lewis - sculptor
Erected by Alaskans under the sponsorship of Eiler Hansen and W.D. Gross • Trustees Henry Roden, Charles Carter and Jack Conway • Superintendent Bill Knight • Dedicated October 18, 1949

"There's gold and it's haunting and haunting. It's luring me on as of old yet it isn't the gold that I'm wanting so much as just finding the gold. It's the great big broad land way up yonder. It's the forest where silence has lease. It's the beauty that fills me with wonder. It's the stillness that fills me with peace."
Robert W. Service

The Prospector and Sitka's Pioneer Home image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bradley Owen, August 11, 2026

4. The Prospector and Sitka's Pioneer Home

Credits. This page was last revised on August 18, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 18, 2026, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia. This page has been viewed 9 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 18, 2026, by Bradley Owen of Morgantown, West Virginia.