Fort Raymond (Alaska) (Seward, Alaska)
Seward · Alaska · World War II
History & Significance
The fort was named for Charles W. Raymond, who had served in Alaska as a captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The post was established to protect the dock and railroad facilities in Seward, critical to the buildup of military facilities throughout Alaska, with coastal and anti-aircraft artillery.
The population of Seward was 949 in 1940, but it had major strategic importance to the military planners. It was the largest settlement on the Kenai, the terminus of the Alaska Railroad, an ice free port, the year-round gateway to Interior Alaska.
On March 25, 1942, a Japanese submarine was spotted inside Resurrection Bay, 2,000 yards from the Army's dock. In June the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor and captured two islands in the Aleutian chain.
In addition to Fort Raymond, gun units were built on the approaches to the bay, including Fort McGilvray at Caines Head. By the fall of 1943, America had retaken the Aleutians.
Alaska was no longer deemed to be at risk and Fort Raymond was dismantled in 1944, though a few troops remained until the last year of the war. After the war, Fort Raymond was deactivated, and the Women's Society of Christian Service took it over, operating the facility as a tuberculosis sanitarium. As tuberculosis cases receded, the need for the sanitarium diminished, and it closed in 1957.
Key Facts
Map
View larger map ↗ · © OpenStreetMap contributors
🧳 Visiting
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Raymond_(Alaska)
- https://www.sewardmilitaryresort.com/about-seward/history
- https://www.adn.com/our-alaska/article/veteran-recalls-wwii-duty-remote-alaska-outpost/2012/11/09/
- https://lam.alaska.gov/sled/military-in-alaska/wwii
- https://www.historynet.com/time-travel-fortifying-the-last-frontier/
- https://circletocircle.blog/2018/08/11/fort-raymond/