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Saint George
St. George is located on the northeast
shore of St. George Island, the southern-most of five islands in the
Pribilofs. Over 210 species of birds nest on the cliffs of St. George
Island. It lies 47 miles south of St. Paul Island, 750 air miles west of
Anchorage and 250 miles northwest of Unalaska. It lies at approximately
56° 36' N Latitude, 169° 32' W Longitude (Sec. 29, T041S, R129W, Seward
Meridian). The community is located in the Aleutian Islands Recording
District. The area encompasses 35 sq. miles of land and 27 sq. miles of
water.
 St.
George was discovered in 1786 by Gavrill Pribilof of the Russian Lebedov
Lastochkin Company while looking for the famed northern fur seal
breeding grounds. The island was named Sveti Georgiy, and its larger
neighbor to the north was originally called St. Peter and St. Paul
Island. The Russian American Company enslaved Aleut hunters from
Siberia, Unalaska and Atka and relocated them to St. George and St. Paul
to harvest the fur seal. Between 1870 and 1910, the U.S. Government
leased the Pribilof Islands to private companies, who provided housing,
food and medical care to the Aleuts in exchange for work in the fur seal
plant. In 1910, the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries took control of the
Islands, but poverty conditions ensued due to over-harvesting of the
seals.
During World War II, residents were
moved to Funter Bay in Southeast Alaska as part of the areawide
evacuation. Unlike other Aleutian residents, they were confined in an
abandoned cannery and mine camp at Funter Bay. In 1979, the Pribilof
Aleuts received $8.5 million in partial compensation for the unfair and
unjust treatment they were subjected to under federal administration
between 1870 and 1946.
In 1983, the U.S. government ended the
commercial seal harvest and withdrew from the Islands, providing $20
million to help develop and diversify the local economy - $8 million for
St. George and $12 million for St. Paul. Today, residents are working to
develop commercial fisheries and tourism.
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