Description
The Alaska Packers Association Logbooks (HDC 115, SAFR 14033) also includes miscellaneous papers including memoranda to ship
captains, position reports, rules and procedures. The logbooks date from a voyage made by the SANTA CLARA (ship) in 1876 to
one made by the BERING (freighter) in 1945. The collection is available for research use without restriction.
Background
The Alaska Packers Association (APA) began with a prospecting mission by the schooner NEPTUNE to Bristol Bay in 1883. The
Bering Sea's first modern cannery was established near Nushagak by the then Arctic Packing Company. On September 2, 1891 a
meeting was held of several Alaska independent canners and the concept of an industrial association was approved. Incorporation
of this association came on January 13, 1892. That year, 15 vessels were chartered for use. The next year, on February 9,
1893, the association reincorporated under the formal name of Alaska Packers Association, with the main office on Market Street,
in San Francisco, California. Revenues from the sale of company stock were used to buy 28 canneries, 19 fishing stations,
19 steamers, 15 launches and hundreds of acres of land in Alaska.