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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

St. Michael Island

island in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ3468150 ↗
Source-derived summary

St. Michael Island is an island on the southeast side of the Norton Sound in Alaska. The island is about 9.3 miles (15.0 km) long and 6.2 miles (10.0 km) wide.

St. Michael Island contains two settlements, St. Michael, on the island's east side, and Stebbins, on the northwest side.

The population today is largely Yup'ik. Many residents are also descendants of the Russian traders

History

Redoubt St. Michael was founded in 1833 by traders of the Russian-American Company, as a trading post for trade with the Yup'ik people of the area. The trading settlement and the island were named after the archangel Michael.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “St. Michael Island” as island in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Michael, Island and island.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1833—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Michael, Island and island providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “St. Michael Island”, the useful work is to connect “island in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3468150. Authority coordinates are 63.475, -162.162. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1833.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “St. Michael Island”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow St. Michael Island primary sources, St. Michael Island archive and Michael research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “St. Michael Island”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “St. Michael Island” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.