Cordova, AK - Enjoy a Hand and Cheese Sandwich at the Fish Poetry Jam

Small Town News

Welcome to Cordova, Alaska, "the crossroads of Alaska!" The town is located in southern Alaska on Orca Inlet. The town was first claimed by Spanish explorers in 1790 and named Puerto Cordova. Spain's claim was short-lived. By 1799, Russia had claimed Alaska, which it then sold to the US in 1867. Cordova retained it's Spanish name when it was reorganized in 1906 (although Peurto was dropped). It was purchased by Michael James Heney to build a terminus for a railroad in the area after high grade copper was discovered nearby. The town was once known as the" Razor Clam Capital of the World." Between 1916 and the last 1950s, the annual harvest reached up to 3.5 million pounds. Harvesting declined in the late 1950s due to overharvesting and a large die-off. The industry was destroyed in 1964 by the Good Friday Earthquake, the strongest earthquake ever recorded in North America and second strongest in the world. The town has never been connected by road to the rest of Alaska, and with the destruction of the railway, is not connected at all by land. The town can only be accessed by boat or plane. We home you enjoy our trip to Cordova!

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