Founded 1949 / Uninciorporated                                                            Photo by Carl Hernandez

Population est.63 / Community Association

907-489-2214

 

 

Port Protection is nestled in a quiet cove three miles from the nortern tip of Prince of wales Island, 98 miles from Ketchikan. It's not connected to roads.

 

Wooden Wheel Johnson became the first resident in the early 1900s and gave his name to the cove where the town sits. In 1946, Buckshot Woolery opened the B. S. Trading Post and ran it for a quarter-century. The business grew with a warehouse, rental cabins, dock and float facilities and fuel sales. State land disposal programs enabled permanent settlement.

 

Commercial fishing is the principal industry. Gillnetters and trollers home-port there. Artists in the community produce drawing, painting, carving wooden boxes and writing. Full-service  and self-service fishing lodges operate in the summer and halibut fishers work nearby waters. A boardwalk in the forest provides charming access to residents'homes. The so-called Stairway to Heaven is a series of steps to a ridge overlooking the cove, affording a great view of the town, forest and shoreline. A state seaplane dock is available,as are boat harbor and launch ramp.