The Story of Sitka: The Historic Outpost of the Northwest Coast; The Chief Factory of the Russian American CompanyAndrews, Clarence Leroy
History
The Story of Sitka: The Historic Outpost of the Northwest Coast; The Chief Factory of the Russian American Company
Andrews, Clarence Leroy
Sitka (Alaska)
On reaching the Cathedral a street turns northward along which one
finds, at the right, on the little knoll in the town, among the
scattered spruce trees, the spot where formerly stood the tea houses of
the Russians. They were in the center of the public gardens which
covered the knoll and were approached by beautifully bordered walks.
Farther along, on the left of the walk, is the remaining Russian
blockhouse, the last of three which formerly stood on the line of the
stockade that protected the town from the Kolosh. A little back of the
blockhouse is the grave of the Princess Maksoutoff, marked with a marble
slab lying on the raised mound above her resting place. At the end of
the walk is the modern Russian cemetery, with its forest of Greek
crosses, and in the center, at the highest point, is a platform from
which is had an excellent view of the harbor, islands, Mt. Edgecumbe,
and of the lake and town.
Returning as far as the site of the tea gardens, then going westward
toward the water, at the right is an enclosure in which there is a small
building marking the site of the Koloshian Church, or the Church of the
Resurrection, as it is called in the church records. This was the
building occupied by the natives in 1855 when they made an attack upon
the town. It was on the line of the stockade which formerly ran from the
water front at the end of the "Ranche," east to the lake, then back to
the water at the sawmill. On the line of the stockade were three
blockhouses, the church being between the first and second of these.
Surrounding the site of the church are a number of graves, and among
them are some interesting monuments dating back to the Russian days, for
this is the older of the two cemeteries.
[Illustration: Russian Blockhouse.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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