Seward, Alaska: A Railroad Port Named for Seward
Seward, Alaska, is named for William H. Seward, the secretary of state who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia. The men who picked the name wanted something else from the spot, though: a harbor for a railroad.
A harbor at the end of the line
People lived at the head of Resurrection Bay long before the town. The state’s Office of History and Archaeology says Alutiiq people, Russians and an American-Native family had all lived there earlier. But the town of Seward was founded in 1903, when John and Frank Ballaine “selected the site for the terminus of the railway they planned to build to interior Alaska.” They named it for William H. Seward.
The railroad took a while. “After several private companies failed to build the railroad,” the state history says, “the federal government completed it from Seward to Fairbanks in 1923.” For the town at the far end of the line, see Fairbanks. Anchorage grew up along the same railroad.
Who William H. Seward was
Donald Orth’s Dictionary of Alaska Place Names, published by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1967, gives the short version. The town is “named for William Henry Seward, 1801-72, U.S. Secretary of State, 1861-69, who negotiated the purchase of Alaska.” The Board on Geographic Names made the name official in 1906.
His name is on the map in other states, too. Henry Gannett’s 1905 list of American place names includes a county in Kansas, a county and city in Nebraska, and a mountain and town in New York, all named for “William H. Seward, the American statesman.” So if you’ve been to Seward, Nebraska, you’ve already met the namesake.
1902 or 1903?
The sources don’t quite agree on the founding year. Orth quotes a 1950 reference work that says “The town was founded in 1902 by surveyors for The Alaska RR,” and the Geological Survey’s GNIS record repeats that date. The state’s history office says 1903, and so does the post office record Orth cites: an office opened at the site in 1895, closed in 1896, and was “reestablished in 1903.” Either way, the town came with the railroad.
It grew slowly at first. Orth counts 534 people in 1910 and 2,114 in 1950. Seward incorporated in 1912, the state says, and in 1926 a 13-year-old from the town’s Jesse Lee Home for Children, John “Benny” Benson, won the contest to design Alaska’s flag. The 1964 earthquake, “particularly the tsunami it generated,” destroyed much of the town and changed the waterfront for good. Seward rebuilt, and if you visit today, you’ll find the harbor busy again.
Quick answers
Who is Seward, Alaska, named after?
William Henry Seward, U.S. secretary of state from 1861 to 1869, who negotiated the purchase of Alaska. John and Frank Ballaine gave the town his name, by the state’s account.
When was Seward, Alaska, founded?
In 1903, according to the Alaska Office of History and Archaeology. A 1950 source quoted in Orth’s dictionary says 1902.
Why was Seward built?
As a port for a railroad. The Ballaines chose the site as the terminus of a railway to interior Alaska, which the federal government finished to Fairbanks in 1923.
Is Seward, Nebraska, named for the same person?
Yes. Gannett’s 1905 list says the Nebraska county and city are named for William H. Seward too.
Key dates
- 1895A post office opens at the site; it closes in 1896.
- 1903John and Frank Ballaine found Seward as the terminus of their planned railroad, and the post office reopens.
- 1912Seward incorporates.
- 1923The federal government finishes the railroad from Seward to Fairbanks.
- 1926Benny Benson, 13, of the town's Jesse Lee Home, wins the contest to design Alaska's flag.
- 1964The earthquake and its tsunami destroy much of the town.
Getting there
Open Seward in Google Maps
Opens in a new tab. The pin is the center of Seward in the USGS place-name record.
The closest airports, Amtrak stations and intercity bus stops, measured in a straight line from the center of Seward.
Airports
- Kenai Municipal (ENA) 70 mi 112 km
- Ted Stevens Anchorage International (ANC) 76 mi 123 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not by road. We don't list schedules or fares because they change; check with the airline, Amtrak or the bus company before you go. Official data (FAA commercial service airports (2025), FAA airport locations, Amtrak stations and Intercity Bus Atlas) from the FAA and the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, checked Nov 6, 2026.
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Historical Sources & References
- Donald J. Orth, Dictionary of Alaska Place Names (U.S. Geological Survey, 1967). The entry “Seward: town”: named for William Henry Seward, the 1906 decision of the Board on Geographic Names, the 1950 quotation that dates the founding to 1902, the post office of 1895, 1896 and 1903, and the population from 1910 to 1950.
- Alaska Office of History and Archaeology, “Seward, Certified Local Government.” “A Brief History”: earlier residents, the 1903 founding by John and Frank Ballaine, the railroad finished to Fairbanks in 1923, incorporation in 1912, Benny Benson’s flag and the 1964 tsunami.
- Henry Gannett, The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States (1905). The Kansas and Nebraska Sewards, named for “William H. Seward, the American statesman.”
- GNIS feature 1414598 (U.S. Geological Survey). The national gazetteer’s page for Seward, which repeats Orth’s history.
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