Seldovia

The small town of Seldovia makes a good day trip from Homer. Photo by Doug Loshbaugh

Before the Sterling Highway was built, Seldovia was the social and economic heart of lower Cook Inlet and one of Alaska's busiest seaports. Many of the state's pioneers took their first steps in Alaska along its wandering, half-mile boardwalk, past the bustling canneries. Boats carrying mail and supplies to the sleepy farming community of Homer were little noticed in the wild city of Seldovia.

Now, thanks in part to the 1964 earthquake, the roles are reversed and Seldovia is a quiet fishing village. Nestled among the craggy mountains on the south side of Kachemak Bay and isolated from the road system, Seldovia is in some ways a holdover from earlier times. Residents rely on their natural surroundings for livelihood and the pace of life is easier than in today's mechanized cities.

The town is scaled to the pedestrian and oriented to the water. The houses are old and the setting spectacular. Seldovia is the best of what Alaska was. Yet for the visitor, Seldovia is more than a quaint atmosphere. Fishing, clamming, berry picking and hiking are a few steps away from any street in this secluded, charming town.

Seldovia has overnight accommodations, including hotels, bed and breakfast homes; restaurants, bars grocery/drug store and Laundromat.

Numerous charter vessels and water taxis serve Seldovia, as does the Alaska ferry Tustumena.

A visitor information center is located in Synergy Artworks, across the street from the small boat harbor. Visitors can enjoy pottery, jewelry, books, paintings, prints, leather goods, craft items, and more at these stores.

Seldovia is considered to be one of the oldest settlements in the Cook Inlet area. Russians opened what may have been the first coal mine in Alaska 8 miles from Seldovia in the late 1700s. Later they used Seldovia as a year-round harbor and as a source of timber to repair vessels and build houses for the crews that were engaged in procuring and processing of large quantities of fish and other seafood, and limited amounts of fur and minerals.

By the 1890s, Seldovia was becoming an important shipping service and supply center for the region. A new Russian Orthodox church replaced the original log one and in 1989 a post office opened.

Salmon canning, fur farming and a few years of a booming herring industry in the 1920s provided a solid economy. A large chromite deposit some 10 miles north of Seldovia yielded thousands of tons of ore.

The 1964 earthquake resulted in changes in the physical appearance of Seldovia. The land subsided almost 4 feet, causing flooding along the waterfront. An urban renewal project then renovated the area. Most of the beloved boardwalk was torn out and "Cap's Hill" was leveled to provide fill material.