Fort Saint Michael
A historical populated place in Sitka County, Alaska, recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System.
Location Record
Names and historical notes
Recorded by GNIS. Source wording is retained; these notes have not been independently verified by Forgotten America.
GNIS description
on Baranof I., at Old Sitka, 6 mi. N of Sitka; Alex. Arch.
GNIS historical note
this is the first Russian settlement built in 1799 at Sitka by Alexander Baranov, first governor of Russian American colonies, who named it "Fort Archangel Gabriel." from the Tlingit Indians. the fort and killed or captured most of its inhabitants. captives were released after an ultimatum was issued by the officer aboard a British ship in the harbor (Bancroft, 1886, p. 405-406). a new fort called "Fort Archangel Michael" at a new location 5 miles to the south which developed into the present city of Sitka.
Also recorded as
- Archangel Michael
- Fork Mikhailovsky
- Fork Svyatty Mikhail
- Fort Archangel Gabriel
- Mikhailovsk
- New Archangel
- Novo Arkhangelsk
- Redoubt Saint Gabriel
Source editions and recorded citations
Feature ID 1894404. Description/History extract: August 28, 2026. All Names extract: September 30, 2026. Retrieved October 22, 2026. Only populated fields are displayed.
GNIS citation text may identify a source series rather than a specific page. It is reproduced below without implying that its underlying documents were inspected.
- Text Orth, Donald J. Dictionary of Alaska Place Names. Washington, DC: GPO, 1967. This work is an alphabetical list of the geographic names generally including feature descriptions and often name origin information that are now applied and have been applied to places and features in Alaska. GNIS Library.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), Historical Features.