Kenai, Alaska
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Kenai is a city located in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 6,942.
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Geography
AKMap-doton-Kenai.PNG
Location of Kenai, Alaska
Kenai is located at 60°33'31" North, 151°13'47" West (60.558738, -151.229616)Template:GR.
Kenai is located on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula near the outlet of the Kenai River to the Cook Inlet of the Pacific Ocean.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 92.0 km² (35.5 mi²). 77.4 km² (29.9 mi²) of it is land and 14.6 km² (5.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 15.85% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 6,942 people, 2,622 households, and 1,788 families residing in the city. The population density is 89.6/km² (232.2/mi²). There are 3,003 housing units at an average density of 38.8/km² (100.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 82.76% White, 0.49% Black or African American, 8.74% Native American, 1.66% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 1.12% from other races, and 5.00% from two or more races. 3.82% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 2,622 households out of which 40.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% are married couples living together, 12.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 31.8% are non-families. 26.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.64 and the average family size is 3.20.
In the city the population is spread out with 32.8% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $45,962, and the median income for a family is $56,856. Males have a median income of $48,371 versus $27,112 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,789. 9.8% of the population and 8.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 12.5% of those under the age of 18 and 4.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
Kenai is named after the Kenai Peninsula. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for the Cook Inlet.
Archaelogical evidence suggests that the area was first occupied by the Kachemak people from 1000 B.C., until they were displaced by the Dena'ina Athabaskan people around 1000 A.D.
Before the arrival of the Russians, Kenai was a Dena'ina village called Shk'ituk't, which means "where we slide down." When Russian fur traders first arrived in 1741, about 1,000 Dena'ina lived in the village. The traders called the people "Kenaitze," or "Kenai people."
In 1791, a Russian trading post, Fort St. Nicholas, was constructed in the middle of the village for the purposes of fur and fish trading. It was the second permanent Russian settlement in Alaska.
Hostilities surfaced between the natives and settlers in 1797 when what is dubbed the battle of Kenai, an incident in which the Dena'ina attacked Fort St. Nicholas, resulting in over one hundred deaths from all involved parties. Later, in 1838, the introduction of smallpox killed one half of the Dena'ina population.
In 1869, after the Alaska Purchase the United States Army established a post called Fort Kenay. It was soon abandoned.
In 1888 a prospector named Alexander King discovered gold on the Kenai Peninsula. The amount of gold was small compared to the later gold finds in the Klondike, Nome and Fairbanks.
In 1894, the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church was built in the village. It is still in use today.
The establishment of shipping companies in the early 1900's broadened Kenai into a port city. Canning companies were established and helped fuel the commercial fishing boom that was the primary activity through the 1920's. In 1937, construction of the Kenai Airport began.
In 1940, homesteads were opened in the area. The first dirt road from Anchorage was constructed in 1951; pavement would not arrive until 1956 with the construction of the Kenai Spur highway.
A military base, Wildwood Airforce Station, was established in 1953 and served as a major communications post. Though now defunct, the building presently serves as the Wildwood Correctional Facility.
In 1957, oil was discovered at Swanson River, 20 miles northeast of Kenai. This was the first major oil discovery in Alaska. In 1965, offshore oil discoveries in Cook Inlet caused a period of rapid growth.
| Regions of Alaska | Missing image Alaska_state_flag.png Flag of Alaska |
|---|---|
| Alaskan Bush | Interior | North Slope | Panhandle | South Central | Tanana Valley | |
| Largest cities | |
| Anchorage | Barrow | Bethel | Fairbanks | Homer | Juneau | Kenai | Ketchikan | Kodiak | Kotzebue | Nome | Palmer | Petersburg | Seward | Sitka | Unalaska | Valdez | Wasilla | |
| Boroughs and census areas | |
| Aleutians East | Aleutians West | Anchorage | Bethel | Bristol Bay | Denali | Dillingham | Fairbanks North Star | Haines | Juneau | Kenai Peninsula | Ketchikan Gateway | Kodiak Island | Lake and Peninsula | Matanuska-Susitna | Nome | North Slope | Northwest Arctic | Prince of Wales - Outer Ketchikan | Sitka | Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon | Southeast Fairbanks | Valdez-Cordova | Wade Hampton | Wrangell-Petersburg | Yakutat | Yukon-Koyukuk |