When you visit Ninilchik, you step back in time.

 The village’s Russian history is evident even today with sights like the picturesque Russian Orthodox Church and Cemetery, which were built around 1900 and still serve as a house of worship and burial grounds and the many log buildings in the village, some of which were built in the late 19^th century.

More recently the significance of the village’s name is said to stem from the Russian word meaning “peaceful place by the river”, or from a Native Alaskan word meaning “a gradual descent from the high cliffs”.  Many descendents of the early, Dena’ina, Eskimo, Aleut and Russian, families still live here.

Ninilchik is located 38 miles southwest of the City of Kenai and 188 road miles from Anchorage.  The community lies between Sterling Highway mileposts 119 and 144.  The community is accessible by air, land and water.

The Ninilchik area has a long and varied history.  Native people have lived in the area since prehistoric times.  The term “prehistoric” is used to refer to time periods prior to written documentation by European immigrants.  Prehistoric does not imply the absence of histories among the areas inhabitants, who often preserved rich and varied oral traditions.  According to the Cook Inlet Region Inventory of Native Historic Sites and Cemeteries, (Cook Inlet Native Association, 1975), three separate cultures have been known to occupy the Kenai Peninsula area.  Evidence suggests the Eskimo culture occupied the peninsula until 1,000 years ago.  It was replaced by the Athabaskan migration about 500 years ago that was supplemented by the appearance of the white man (Russian) in the 1800s.

The traditional Eskimo and Athabaskan cultures used natural products (stone, wood, shell, and bone and their economy and subsistence was based primarily upon fishing and hunting. 

 In order to follow the game, the populations moved around on a seasonal basis.  Permanent or winter villages usually existed near the sea and various summer or fish camps were scattered about in a wide area (Cook Inlet Native Association, 1975). 

Historically, Dena’ina Indians used the area for fur farming and fishing.  Russian settlers moved into the area in the 1840’s.  Currently, the population is a mixture of Athabaskan Natives (about 14 percent) and non-Natives.  (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000).  The Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development estimated the 2003 population for the Ninilchik area was 777 people.

 Following is a list of historical events:

In the 1820s the Russian American Fur Company became burdened by a number of elderly, disabled, and sick employees who could not safely return to Russia.  The company received permission to establish self-sustaining retirement settlements in Alaska.

In 1846 the Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church was constructed in the old village.  This building was destroyed by fire.

In 1847 Grigorii and Mavra Kvasnikoff moved their large family from Kodiak to Ninilchik.

By 1880 the U.S. Census found 53 “Creoles” (* 1.)  living in Ninilchik.

* 1. Creoles, as used here means ‘mixed blood’  In 1896 a Russian village school was built where a priest/teacher taught only in Russian until 1912.

  A new school was built on the bluff in 1940 and burned down after only two months.  Students returned to the territorial school building until the present school was built in 1951.

In the late 1800’s a log cabin was built across the river and was the original home of the Jakinsky family. 

It was completely dismantled and in 1984 was restored log by log like a puzzle on the north side of the Ninilchik River where it remains today as a picturesque photo opportunity for many visitors

Also in the late 1800’s the log cabin part of the Ninilchik Village Cache was built.

  The store was added in 1930.  First it was a pool hall.  Rooms were added above to rent.  From 1950 to 1975 it was the only grocery/general store and currently houses the corporate offices of Eagle Spirit Studies as well as the Old  Village Corporate and Water & Sewer Utility offices. 

The land and buildings have been left in trust for the exclusive use of Eagle Spirit Studies and still provides a home for our Matriarch and several Directors and Elders. 

During the summer months from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 20,000 to 40,000 visitors enjoy a warm reception in our Gift Shop/Snack Bar and Offices, where we launch many of our programs and activities.

In the mid 1800’s John Astragin, “Peg Leg” John built his small cabin.

 His crew built many of the still existing log buildings with dovetail joints,  His cabin was once a post office and the first library.

In 1895 the Sorenson/Tupper Home was built.

  The fir logs were salvaged from fish traps.  Barnacles on the interior attest to their salt cure.  At one time it was used as a parsonage for the Ninilchik Chapel.  A recent addition extended this home on the riverside and now houses the Village President and his family.

In 1901 the Russian Orthodox Church was constructed and dedicated at its current site

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It still serves as an active house of worship.  The American Legion cemetery adjoins the Russian Orthodox cemetery atop the bluff overlooking the Old Village.  Many coal veins are visible along the northern bluffs overlooking the beaches.

Following the footpath up to the church you may notice many holes in the bank that are old root cellars.  In 1912 the frame dwelling (The Bud Dietz Home)   was built as a grocery store with a dance hall upstairs. 

 It underwent several changes to a post office, a hardware store, an electrical supply, and is now a fisherman’s home.

In the early 1900’s the Old Red House, was built, (reportedly from packing crates washed up on the beaches.

This was first a home for the Miller family then a restaurant, and now a summer home in much need of repair. In 1925 a post office was established.

In the late 1920’s the Nadia Oskolkoff Home was built.  Underneath the exterior siding is a log cabin like many others in the village.  A lifetime member of the Russian Orthodox Church, Nadia left her land and buildings to the Church which plans to use the home as a parsonage for a resident priest.

Also in the early to late 1900’s other historical buildings were constructed.

 The Melania Curtis Home, One of the only early homes not built of logs.

The frame building on the point, which housed many a family including, the Village Babushka or elder woman of great respect and influence.

The Bishop log home  and the Kvasnikoff family home on the river. The Fisherman’s Log Cabin with its unique dormers was floated across the river to its present location directly across from the Village Cache.

 All of these homes are still standing along with a wooden sailing boat used by generations of Ninilchik residents for commercial fishing.

Now retired, used as a playground of local children and a focal point of thousands of  photographs taken by visitors to our village. 

The 1940s brought homesteaders to the area.

In 1949 the Berman Packing Company began fish canning operations 

In 1950 the Sterling Highway was completed through Ninilchik.

In 1951 the current Ninilchik School was built.

King salmon, silver salmon, pink salmon, and Dolly Varden fishing lure thousands of fishermen to the Ninilchik River and Deep Creek areas in the summer months.

  Saltwater fishing for salmon in Cook Inlet off Deep Creek, and halibut fishing in the Cook Inlet area serve as the basis for a number of charter businesses operating in the Ninilchik area.

In 2003 there were 30 U.S. Coast Guard licensed charter boat captains and 52 Alaska State limited entry commercial fishing permit holders residing in Ninilchik.

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Between 1996 and 2002, there were between 8,000 and 10,000 private and charter boats launched each fishing season off the Ninilchik/Deep Creek beaches.

The Ninilchik Harbor, located in the mouth of the Ninilchik River, is a state-owned facility designed to provide moorage for 32 vessels.

  The Army Corps of Engineers dredges the harbor and entrance each year in May.  The ADOT&PF highway maintenance personnel place floats in the water and then removes the floats in mid-September each year. 

There are no reserved spaces, no slips, and boats generally raft alongside each other at no charge.  The harbor is overcrowded during the fishing season, used at time by 75 or more vessels.  The majority of the vessels using the facility are salmon drift net vessels in the 20- to 40- foot range. 

The harbor is inaccessible at low tide due to a shallow sill at the entrance.

The narrow spit leading to the harbor used to be very  wide  with pastures and a landing strip until the 1964 earthquake.

Public facilities in the Ninilchik area include the school, public library, post office, senior center, community clinic, fairgrounds, churches, and a wide variety of businesses.  Also, there are a number of seasonal state parks and campgrounds that include the Deep Creek recreation area, Ninilchik Beach, Ninilchik River, Ninilchik Scenic Overlook, and Ninilchik View.  The Ninilchik Community Clinic operated by the Ninilchik Traditional Council, provides local health services.  Ninilchik Emergency Services provides emergency medical services and fire protection for a 25-mile area.  Auxiliary health care is available at the South Peninsula General Hospital in Homer or at Central Peninsula General Hospital in Soldotna.

The Ninilchik area climate is affected by both maritime and continental influences.  Ninilchik lies in the transitional climatic zone, which has more pronounced temperature variations throughout the day and year, less cloudiness, lower precipitation, and lower humidity than the maritime climatic zone.  Surface winds are generally light and the mean annual temperature is generally 25 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit.  Elevations range from sea level to about 250 feet near the airport.

Climate Statistics

·        Average Summer Temperature                    52.5 F

·        Extreme High Temperature             87.0 F (1953)

·        Average Winter Temperature                      15.7 F

·        Extreme low Temperature                           -45 F (1970)

·        Annual Mean Precipitation              17.39 Inches

·        Highest Annual Precipitation                        24.9 Inches (1945)

·        Annual Mean Snowfall                                51.7 Inches

·        Highest Annual Snowfall                             98.4 inches (1955)

·        Note: Data source is WRCC, 2004.  “F” is degrees Fahrenheit.

A line of recently active volcanoes extends up the western side of Cook Inlet.

Mt. Augustine volcano at 4,025 feet high the most frequently active volcano, is an island lying approximately 80 miles southwest of Ninilchik.  When it erupted in 1986 it sent ash 8 miles high.  Last year, 2006, it spewed smoke and ash for several weeks and was clearly visible from Ninilchik.  Mt. Iliamna at 10,016 feet high, a sacred site to the indigenous peoples of Cook Inlet, continues to spout steam even today.

Mt Redoubt at 10,197 elevation,  erupted in December of 1989 and again April of 1990 blowing ash and smoke 45,000 feet into the air

 Both are approximately 50 miles to the west and northwest across Cook Inlet and are clearly visible from Ninilchik.  

Mt Spur standing at 11,070 elevation is just 65 miles north of Ninilchik and erupted in June, August and September of 1992.  It was also active as late as 2004 spewing ash and lava but no major eruptions of note.

These series of active volcanoes are visible to the west across Cook Inlet, and the Kenai Lowlands are the offshore and onshore parts of the Cook Inlet sedimentary basin, which contains significant oil, gas, and coal resources.

 The recently proposed Pebble Gold mine on the shores of Lake Iliamna is receiving a great deal of resistance from the residents and others because of the extreme danger of polluting the spawning streams of all the fisheries in the Cook Inlet area and the Bearing Sea.

Promoters of this enterprise should take fair warning from our elders who warn that this is not only a sacred site but also well protected by Mother Earth and she will not allow her body or her children to be disrespected in this manner.

Data Source: ADF&G,2004 –. USFWS, 2004  - and  NMFS, 2004.   State of Alaska Endangered Species and State of Alaska Species of Special Concern.  Species of concern that  may be found in the Ninilchik area – listed below.    Currently the Species of Concern in the Ninilchik Area are the Short-tailed albatross, Steller’s eider, Steller sea-lion, Fin whale, Humpback whale, Cook Inlet beluga whale, Sea otter, Chinook salmon, Sockeye salmon, Steelhead, American peregrine falcon, Arctic peregrine falcon, Northern goshawk, Olive-sided flycatcher, Gray-cheeked thrush, Townsend’s warbler, Blackpoll warbler, Kenai Peninsula brown bear and Harbor seals

 What would happen if she removed her hand and allowed Mt Iliamna to blow her top?  What about the fabled Monster of Lake Iliamna?  Would she rise up and swallow their barges carrying their plunder across the lake?