Mrs. Fine’s Travel Blog

Ketchikan is known as Alaska’s “First City” because it is the first major community travelers come to as they journey north. Located on an island, Ketchikan comes from a Tlingit phrase that means “eagle with spread-out wings,” a reference to a waterfall near town. In the early 1900’s, when gold was Alaska’s claim to fame, fishing and timber industries were established in Ketchikan. The growth of these industries helped make this Inside Passage port Alaska’s fourth largest city. (Princess Patter)