Loring, Alaska Ghost Town

You’ll find Loring as a ghost town on Alaska’s Revillagigedo Island, where one of Southeast Alaska’s earliest salmon canneries once thrived. From its 1883 beginnings as a saltery, this multicultural hub grew to house 200 residents, including Tsimshian natives, Chinese laborers, and white cannery workers. Though competition from nearby Ketchikan led to its decline by 1930, Loring’s scattered landmarks and deteriorating structures tell a rich story of Alaska’s industrial heritage.

Table of Contents hide

1 Key Takeaways

2 The Rise of a Cannery Town

3 A Multicultural Frontier Community

4 Economic Glory Days and Downfall

5 Historic Buildings and Landmarks

6 Life Among the Remnants

7 Legacy of Alaska’s Industrial Past

7.1 Pioneering Cannery Town Influence

7.2 Multicultural Labor Relations

8 Frequently Asked Questions

8.1 Are There Any Guided Tours Available to Visit Loring’s Historic Sites?

8.2 How Accessible Is Loring by Boat or Seaplane Today?

8.3 What Wildlife Can Visitors Commonly Encounter in the Loring Area?

8.4 Is Overnight Camping or Accommodation Permitted in Loring’s Remaining Structures?

8.5 Are There Any Underwater Ruins Visible From Loring’s Former Cannery Operations?

9 References

Key Takeaways

Loring was a prominent Southeast Alaskan cannery town that peaked with 200 residents before becoming abandoned by the 1930s.
The town’s economy centered around the Alaska Packers Association cannery, which employed a diverse workforce of Native, Asian, and White workers.

Competition from nearby Ketchikan, coupled with transportation challenges and limited infrastructure, led to Loring’s eventual abandonment.
Today, deteriorating structures, remnants of segregated housing zones, and original cannery architecture remain as evidence of the ghost town.
The site represents early Alaskan industrial heritage, showcasing the rise and fall of Southeast Alaska’s pioneering salmon cannery operations.

The Rise of a Cannery Town

While Southeast Alaska’s fishing industry was still in its infancy, the settlement of Loring emerged as one of the region’s earliest cannery towns.

Originally an Indian fishing camp along Naha Bay, about 25 miles north of Ketchikan, Loring quickly transformed after 1875 into a bustling industrial hub centered around salmon processing.

The town established a saltery by 1883, marking the beginning of its significant role in commercial fish processing.

In 1890, Richard Stack arrived to rebuild the Alaska Packing and Fur Co. cannery after a devastating fire.

A Multicultural Frontier Community

As one of Southeast Alaska’s earliest multicultural settlements, Loring brought together a diverse mix of Tsimshian natives, white cannery workers, Chinese laborers, and Filipino seasonal workers in a compact townscape along Naha Bay.

While cultural integration wasn’t perfect, with distinct ethnic neighborhoods and some social tensions, the community found ways to coexist and cooperate. Like many Alaskan towns of its era, Loring’s fate was tied to the natural resources boom, which eventually led to its decline.

Despite cultural divides and neighborhood segregation, Loring’s diverse ethnic groups developed workable patterns of daily coexistence and collaboration.

The town’s ethnic diversity shaped daily life in fascinating ways:

Eagle and Wolf clans of the Tlingit people maintained traditional practices, including salmon traps and grave houses.
Chinese workers established their own camps, bringing cultural touches like pig farming.

The waterfront’s narrow boardwalks became shared spaces where children played and families socialized across cultural lines.

Despite Father Duncan’s opposition to intermarriage, unions between Tsimshian and white residents occurred, gradually weaving new cultural bonds in this frontier community.

The construction of the Fortmann Hatchery in 1901 brought new employment opportunities and further diversified the workforce in this remote Alaskan outpost.

Economic Glory Days and Downfall

During the late 1800s, Loring’s fish cannery established itself as the economic powerhouse of Southeast Alaska, transforming the remote settlement into a bustling hub of commerce and industry.

You’d find the Alaska Packers Association driving production with modern equipment and a diverse workforce of Tsimshian, Chinese, and Filipino laborers who’d arrive seasonally.

The town’s economic fluctuations mirrored the ebb and flow of salmon seasons, but competition from neighboring Ketchikan eventually spelled trouble. Along with Ketchikan, former governor Swineford promoted Revilla as a competing settlement. The situation intensified when Mike Martin established a saltery and trading post in Ketchikan in 1885.

When Ketchikan secured government customs houses and developed superior infrastructure, you could see the writing on the wall.

Loring’s cannery faced mounting cannery competition, and businesses began shifting operations to its rival port.

The town’s decline accelerated as transportation challenges and limited infrastructure development took their toll, ultimately leading to its abandonment.

Historic Buildings and Landmarks

The physical remains of Loring tell a compelling story through its scattered landmarks and deteriorating structures.

Similar to the ghost forest remnants near Portage, fallen timbers and weathered buildings dot the landscape.

You’ll find fragments of the original cannery architecture repurposed throughout private properties, while an old graveyard stands as a solemn reminder of the seamen and indigenous people who once called this place home.

The town’s layout reveals its segregated past through:

Distinct housing zones that separated Tsimshian, white, Chinese, and Filipino workers
Beach houses dotting the shoreline where cannery workers lived
Trail-marked camps that connected residential areas to the main cannery site

Much like nature’s reclaiming force seen in other Alaskan ghost towns, vegetation slowly engulfs the remaining structures.

Ghost stories still circulate among locals who explore these weathered buildings, adding another layer to Loring’s rich historical tapestry.

While many structures have vanished, the remaining landmarks serve as silent witnesses to a once-thriving fishing community.

Life Among the Remnants

Life among Loring’s remnants reveals both the resilience and vulnerability of abandoned Alaskan communities.

You’ll find evidence of strong community bonds in the weathered structures where residents once gathered, sharing resources and support to survive the harsh environment. These buildings tell stories of how people adapted to extreme isolation and environmental challenges through innovative solutions and mutual aid. Like many ghost town sites, the buildings stand as testament to Alaska’s rich mining and settlement history.

Today, nature steadily reclaims the town, with wildlife making homes in deteriorating buildings and vegetation pushing through cracked foundations. The challenges mirror current coastal villages where record water levels have devastated homes and infrastructure.

You can still sense the spirit of determination that once defined this place, even as the structures slowly decay.

While most residents have long since departed, their legacy lives on in the creative ways they overcame difficulties and maintained their tight-knit community in this remote Alaskan outpost.

Legacy of Alaska’s Industrial Past

You’ll find Loring’s pioneering role as a cannery town reflected in how it shaped southeast Alaska’s early industrial labor practices, particularly in bringing together diverse ethnic workforces.

Through its multicultural workforce of Native Alaskans, Chinese, Japanese, and European immigrants, Loring established patterns of labor relations that would influence other Alaskan industries for decades to come.

The town’s approach to organizing its seasonal workers and managing cultural differences became a model for other cannery operations along Alaska’s coast, even as the industry itself began to fade.

Pioneering Cannery Town Influence

Pioneer spirit and industrial innovation converged in Loring, establishing Southeast Alaska’s first successful salmon cannery in 1886, a full 14 years before Ketchikan entered the industry.

You’ll find a rich history of cannery innovations that transformed this remote outpost into a thriving industrial hub, attracting ships, workers, and commerce to its bustling shores.

The town’s influence on regional development is evident through:

A peak population of 200 residents who mastered industrial-scale salmon processing
Strategic infrastructure development, including specialized worker housing and advanced machinery
Economic dominance that challenged Ketchikan’s early growth and shaped labor dynamics

The Alaska Packers Association’s acquisition in the 1890s further cemented Loring’s position as a cornerstone of Southeast Alaska’s maritime economy, though this golden age would eventually fade by 1930.

Multicultural Labor Relations

Behind Loring’s industrial facade lay a complex web of multicultural labor relations that shaped Alaska’s early cannery operations. You’d find indigenous peoples working alongside Asian immigrants and White laborers, each bringing their own cultural practices to the workplace.

The Alaska Packers Association records reveal how this diverse workforce navigated cultural integration challenges through distinct management approaches addressing language barriers and social differences.

The labor dynamics often reflected the era’s occupational segregation, with specific ethnic groups assigned to particular roles. Yet within these industrial communities, workers formed unique social hierarchies and informal relationships that transcended cultural boundaries.

Despite the occasional tensions, these multicultural interactions at Loring’s cannery contributed to a rich tapestry of shared experiences that would define Alaska’s industrial heritage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are There Any Guided Tours Available to Visit Loring’s Historic Sites?

You’ll find guided exploration tours available from Ketchikan, taking you by boat to discover Loring’s historical significance. Tours include expert narration and must be booked ahead, especially during summer months.

How Accessible Is Loring by Boat or Seaplane Today?

You can reach Loring by boat (2-hour trip from Ketchikan) or seaplane (40-minute flight), though you’ll need to arrange private transportation. Limited docking facilities exist, and weather conditions affect accessibility.

What Wildlife Can Visitors Commonly Encounter in the Loring Area?

Looking to spot Alaska’s incredible wildlife? You’ll find excellent photography opportunities of bald eagles, sea otters, seals, and bears around Loring’s shores, while moose and caribou roam the nearby forests.

Is Overnight Camping or Accommodation Permitted in Loring’s Remaining Structures?

You can’t legally stay overnight in Loring’s remaining structures. Local camping regulations prohibit unauthorized accommodation in abandoned buildings, and the poor structure conditions make them unsafe for overnight shelter.

Are There Any Underwater Ruins Visible From Loring’s Former Cannery Operations?

You won’t find many visible underwater ruins near the cannery today. While underwater exploration might reveal scattered cannery artifacts and the 1889 Ancon shipwreck remnants, most historical remains lie on land.