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

250th Anniversary of the Bering-Chirikov Expedition

1741-1991

Photographed by Mike Stroud, August 29, 1996

1. 250th Anniversary of the Bering- Chirikov Expedition Marker

(Russian on top left rim. English on right top rim.)

Inscription.
[Top rim]:
К 250 летию экспедиции В. И. Беринга и А.И. Чирикова

Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Bering-Chirikov Expedition

(English version on left):
May the wheel of change forever turn with peace, justice and opportunity

(Russian version on right)
Пусть штурвал перемен навсегда ведет к миру и справедливость

Sitka Alaska

Erected 1991.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Exploration. A significant historical year for this entry is 1741.

Location. 57° 3.074′ N, 135° 20.389′ W. Marker is in Sitka, Alaska, in Sitka Borough. It is in Mount Edgecumbe. It is on Kaagwaantaan Street. The coordinates are approximate. Marker is on the grounds of the Alaska Pioneers Home. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 254 Kaagwaantaan St, Sitka 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

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of this marker: Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Sentinel of a Divided Town (about 300 feet away); Forest Service House (about 700 feet away); Tilson Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); American Sitka (approx. 0.2 miles away); American Flag Raising Site (approx. 0.2 miles away); Noow Tlein (approx. 0.2 miles away); St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Cathedral (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Sitka.

Regarding 250th Anniversary of the Bering-Chirikov Expedition. The Second Kamchatka Expedition of 1733-1743 had scientific as well as imperial intentions. After the Sv. Petr and Sv. Pavlov were separated in mid-July, Chirikov sailed east and Bering’s crew spotted mountains, naming the highest peak St. Elias. Between the 18th and the 20th of July, both Chirikov and Bering had, separately, reached North America. Bering, fearing diminishing supplies and poor sailing conditions for the rest of the voyage, granted German botanist Georg Stellar and other scientists who had come on the lengthy journey just one single day to work ashore. They stopped at other islands, interacting and making some small trade with the local peoples with the aid of an indigenous translator from eastern Siberia.

On August 30, the Sv. Petr sat at anchor off the Shumagin Islands off the Alaskan coast, and in early September they sailed the south side of the Aleutians, trying to get back to Kamchatka before the winter set in. Chirikov

Alaska Pioneer Home image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, 1996

2. Alaska Pioneer Home

sailed the Sv. Petrov back to Kamchatka in October, but Bering and the Sv. Petr were immobile, as almost the entire crew had scurvy. Bering’s men landed on an island and, after Bering’s death, managed to build a small vessel from the wood of the Petr, which was too large to re-float and sail with the diminished crew. The ship’s carpenter had also perished with scurvy, but the sailors managed to craft a small vessel and made their way back to the Siberian coast when the winter passed.

The Prospector image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, 1996

3. The Prospector

Sitka's Pioneer Home seen in backround

Plaque on "The Prospecter" image. Click for full size.

July 3, 2007

4. Plaque on "The Prospecter"

Ecce Novum Astrum
The Prospector, Alonzo Victor Lewis-Sculptor Erected by Alaskans under the sponsorshoip 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 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 Baranof totem pole, Totem Square image. Click for more information.

Photographed by Mike Stroud, 1996

5. The Baranof totem pole, Totem Square

A totem pole designed in 1940 by George Benson stands in front of the Pioneer Home in downtown Sitka's totem square, in Sitka, Alaska.
Click for more information.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 10, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 20, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,705 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 20, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. 4. submitted on June 23, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia. 5. submitted on June 20, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.