Castle Hill Sitka

Two officials stood near a flagstaff on October 18, 1867, with Russian and American troops assembled beside the governor's residence. At Castle Hill in Sitka, the Russian flag came down and the United States flag went up. A brief exchange completed the formal transfer of Russian America. The ceremony marked a change of government on a hill with a much longer history.

For the Kiks.ádi clan of the Tlingit, this was Noow Tlein, a fortified village site. Its position above the harbor made it valuable long before Russian officials wanted it. Clan houses occupied the height, and the water around its base once separated it more sharply from the surrounding land than today's filled shoreline suggests.

Alexander Baranov sought a trading site in the Sitka area but initially established a settlement several miles away. Tlingit fighters destroyed that post in 1802. When Russian forces returned in 1804, the Kiks.ádi defended a different fort near what is now Sitka National Historical Park. After the fighting, the Russians developed their settlement at Castle Hill.