Fort Ross State Historic Park   
Websites of Cultural and Natural Interest

The staff and volunteers at Fort Ross find these websites to be of interest, as well as of use, to those interested in the activities and education of Russian, Alaskan, and California cultural groups and natural history of the Fort Ross region.

Volunteer of the Year at Fort Ross State Historic Park - Bill Lange is a free-lance digital photographer located in Northern California who uses a documentary, photojournalistic approach to capture images that communicate the essence and spirit of the subject. Bill has been committed to documenting many of the events at Fort Ross State Historic Park.
Visit Bill's web site
 Last year in October, 2005,  Bill documented the harvest festival at Ft. Ross. He took many images, and here is the link to his website for those some of those images. http://www.ltaphotos.com/recentimages.htm

John Salico, a Fort Ross Volunteer for over twenty years, lives in the Tacoma, Washington area providing living history presentations. He is offering educational programs and articles of interest for the preservation of history and cultural heritage. He's offering educational programs in his area, making banjos, doing some Rendezvous trading, Civil War Sutlery and selling patent medicine as "Dr. Hornswoggle".  Be sure to check out his Educational Productions on his website and enjoy some of his stories.

Scheduled in March is a demonstration and training for a new craft that we would like to add to our programs at Fort Ross, Straw Art. Please check out the website for the American Museum of Straw Art in Long Beach. http://www.strawartmuseum.org    To quote Morgyn Owens-Celli, the Director of the Museum: “Wheat has been of tremendous importance to mankind since Neolithic man first included it in his cave drawings and buried it with his dead – important as foodstuff, of course, but more significantly , as a symbol for thousands and thousands of years of people’s hopes and deepest fears. Wheat weaving – an art form with origins almost as old as wheat itself – embodies the grain related beliefs, rituals and customs of many centuries and many cultures.” It will be a wonderful shared experience - Please join us.

Jim Kennedy CHD photos. Jim has taken many wonderful photos of our biggest day of the year.

THE RUSSIAN PRESENCE IN AMERICA - Written by Marco Ramerini. The Russian explorers reached the Pacific through Siberia in 1639. The Tsar sent later two expeditions in 1728 and 1741 under the command of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chorikov, they discovered the Aleutian islands and Alaska. A profitable fur trade was established, Russian temporary settlements in the Aleutians and on Unalaska island began in 1770s. http://www.colonialvoyage.com/russian.html

"The Mission of the Fort Ross Interpretive Association, a State Park Cooperating Association since1976, is to promote, for the benefit of the public, the interpretive and educational activities of Fort Ross State Historic Park. To this end, FRIA operates a museum bookstore in the Fort Ross Visitor Center and keeps the museum and bookstore open daily year-round, continues to build and organize the Fort Ross library and archives, and develops exhibits and displays in the park. FRIA publishes books and brochures about Fort Ross as well as a bi-monthly historical newsletter .... Please visit their website at  www.fortrossinterpretive.org  or email them at fria@mcn.org.
To speak with them directly call 707-847-3437

The Fort Ross educational and volunteer programs will be getting a new brick oven/stove to use in the fort compound. Fort Ross staff is working with several people with interest and knowledge on stoves, masonry work, and Colony brick making. One of our newly enlisted is Alan Scott of Ovencrafters. Alan has built numerous brick stoves and will join us in this project. Read more about Alan Scott, Ovencrafters, and his lifetime work. This project is possible because of the generous donation made by Walt Pack. Please read more about Walt and his gift of $10,000 to Fort Ross State Park. And special thanks to Frank Binney.

More than 1,000 books, studies, and reports are available online courtesy
of the National Park Service's History Program. 

Jim has taken many photos of our Heritage Day in July. To view these photos go to his website at Jim Kennedy CHD photos

There is a Museum of Russian Culture located at 250 Sutter Street in San Francisco. www.russianCentersf.com.

The Alutiiq museum is a wonderful resource. Explore 7,500 years of Kodiak’s cultural history at the Alutiiq Museum & Archaeological Repository.

Sonoma Parks highlights many Sonoma County parks and places of interests.

The Monastery of St. John is located in Point Reyes, California, south of Fort Ross State Historic Park. They offer services in the Chapel on occasion. Contact them for future services in the Fort Ross Chapel     

Science Under Sail: Russia's Great Voyages to America 1728-1867 tells the story of early Russian maritime exploration in the North Pacific. More than two hundred years ago, Russian naturalists, ethnographers, astronomers, cartographers, geographers and artists first described the west coast of America to the rest of the world. To this day, much of our knowledge about the peoples and places of the North Pacific Ocean is based on those Russian reports, artworks and maps. The exhibit showcases a scale model of Bering’s ship and the brilliant, colorful maps made during that expedition’s 7000-mile trek across Siberia, along with portraits of Native Californians and Alaskans, artifacts, and original watercolors of botanical and animal species.www.calacademy.org/exhibits/science_under_sail/sailing.html

The steamship Pomona ran aground on March 17, 1908 while on a routine trip near Fort Ross Cove, 80 miles north of San Francisco. Built in 1888 by the Union Iron Works of San Francisco, the Pomona is perhaps California's best representation of 19th century steam ferry transportation along the Pacific Coast. Indiana University, in cooperation with the California State Park System, is involved in ongoing research and investigation of the SS Pomona shipwreck at Fort Ross State Historic Park.   Archival Photos of the Pomona      Gallery of Field Photos

Pomona Historic Shipwreck Project
Underwater Archaeology
Indiana University worked with California State Park representatives to perform a collaborative survey of submerged cultural resources at
Fort Ross State Historic Park. A particular focus of the survey was the Pomona shipwreck. Project goals: conducting a thorough assessment of
the underwater site, preparing a map of the Pomona, and collecting underwater photos and video documentation.
The field survey (under the direction of Charles Beeker, Director of the Underwater Science Program at Indiana University,
and John Foster, California State Park Senior Archaeologist) ran during August 1-10, 1998.

 The Society of American Archaeology (SAA) is an international organization dedicated to the research, interpretation, and protection of the archaeological heritage of the Americas. With more than 7,000 members, the society represents professional, student, and vocational archaeologists working in a variety of settings including government agencies, colleges and universities, museums, and the private sector.

Russian State Archive of the Navy  The archive was established in 1724 attached to the State Admiralty Collegium for the collection and preservation of the records of the Collegium, its expeditions and offices. RAVMF houses the complete records of the Russian and the Soviet Navies from the eighteenth century through 1940. These include records of central administrative institutions, commands of fleets and flotillas, naval educational establishments and scientific and research institutions, naval ports, shipbuilding and other navy yards, hydrographic and scientific expeditions, as well as personal papers of eminent navigators and naval commanders.

Baranov Museum & the Kodiak Historical Society, Kodiak, Alaska . At the Baranov Museum you can discover the history of Kodiak, Alaska through a variety of permanent and temporary exhibits, educational programs, and special events. Explore Kodiak's rich history, from Alutiiq culture and the Russian colonial period to the early American era, WWII and the present day. The Baranov Museum is located in Kodiak's 200-year-old National Historic Landmark building known as the Erskine House or the Russian American Magazin.

Castle Hill Archaeological Project, Sitka, Alaska With its commanding view of Sitka Sound, Castle Hill has long been a defining landmark of the local landscape. This rocky sixty-foot-high promontory was once the colonial capitol of Russian-America and the location of events which shaped U.S. history. Here, during the summers of 1995, 1997, and 1998, archaeologists from the State of Alaska, assisted by students and volunteers, scientifically excavated early nineteenth century deposits to recover artifacts and information. The Castle Hill Archaeological Project was designed to collect archaeological data from the soil prior to a major renovation project to make the site more accessible to the public. Despite extensive disturbance from past construction, the team discovered the buried ruins of four Russian-American Company buildings with associated floor and trash deposits. Radiocarbon dating of an adjacent midden deposit indicates that Sitka Tlingit Indians were living at Castle Hill by around 1,000 years ago. From the Russian component, archaeologists recovered an astounding 4,100 lbs. of artifacts (represented by about 300,000 pieces) which they are presently studying in Anchorage. Following analysis, the artifacts will be stored at the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks. The information obtained from the archaeological project and analysis of the collection will create a clearer understanding of the industries of the Russian-American Company, and day-to-day lives of the workers (primarily Natives and Creoles).

Sitka National Historical Park and the Russian-built Bishop's House Alaska's oldest federally designated park was established in 1910 to commemorate the 1804 Battle of Sitka. All that remains of this last major conflict between Europeans and Alaska Natives is the site of the Tlingit Fort and battlefield, located within this scenic 113 acre park in a temperate rain forest.

The California Historical Society
678 Mission Street
San Francisco, California 94105

Visit the historic vessels at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and USS Pampanito submarine museum & memorial at Fisherman's Wharf and discover your connection to San Francisco's maritime heritage. Support from our members, generous contributions and visitors to the vessels have enabled us to bring maritime history to life for over 50 years. You can contribute to the preservation of San Francisco's maritime past by joining with us. The San Francisco Maritime National Park Association hosts special events throughout the year; check out our events calendar for details or to purchase tickets. We also offer a wide range of educational programs for all ages, and arrange rentals of Maritime National Park facilities for private events.

San Francisco Maritime National ParkHigh-tech exhibitory tells the story of San Francisco’s colorful and diverse maritime heritage in San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park’s first Visitor Center. A First Order Fresnel lighthouse lens, a magnificent brass structure encasing hundreds of precisely polished prisms, guides visitors through the door. Once inside, they can get a heading from the uniformed Rangers staffing an information desk, or simply sail through the fun and interactive panels and displays.

Meeting of Frontiers Following the early period of Russian exploration of North America, the imperial government was initially content to leave further development of Alaska in the hands of private traders or promyshlenniki. Attracted by the fur-bearing animals of the Aleutian Islands, the promyshlenniki did not settle in the new territory but only hunted seasonally. In 1784, however, Grigorii Shelikhov established the first permanent Russian outpost on Kodiak Island at Three Saints Bay. Eager to eliminate rival Russian companies and gain control of the entire North Pacific fur trade, Shelikhov expanded the sphere of Russian influence along the Alaskan coast and petitioned Empress Catherine the Great to grant him a monopoly. Shelikhov did not live to see his plans implemented, but in December 1799 Catherine's successor, Paul I, decided to issue a charter creating the Russian-American Company. Although its board of directors met in St. Petersburg, the company's business was conducted from the capital of Russian America, New Archangel (founded on Sitka Island in 1804). Despite falling revenues and a changing world order in the Pacific, the Russian-American Company provided Alaska and the Aleutians with a commercial and civil administration until 1867.