Frank Murkowski Port Named in Wrangell for Former Senator and Governor

Wrangell Votes to Name New Port for Former Senator Frank Murkowski

In a unanimous vote on Oct. 27, the Wrangell borough assembly officially named its developing deepwater port after former Sen. and Gov. Frank Murkowski. The 42-acre site, formerly home to a sawmill, will now be known as the Frank H. Murkowski Deepwater Port of Wrangell, Alaska. The decision marks a significant moment for the small Southeast community and a testament to a decades-long connection between Murkowski and the region.

This isn’t just about a name. For Wrangell, the port represents a multi-million-dollar bet on its future. The municipality purchased the property more than four years ago for $2.5 million, aiming to replace the jobs and economic activity lost when the mill and logging industry started shutting down in the 1990s. With about $30 million in federal grants from the U.S. Economic Development Administration already secured for site preparation, the stakes are high. Borough Manager Mason Villarma called the funding “a most opportune time” to attract investment and create some additional buzz for the project.

From Wrangell to Washington, and Back Again

The naming is deeply personal for Murkowski. The 93-year-old Republican got his start in Alaska in Southeast in Ketchikan and Wrangell 70 years ago. He arrived with the U.S. Coast Guard in the mid-1950s, later managed the National Bank of Alaska Wrangell branch from 1963 to 1966, and served on the school board. His journey from this small community to becoming a U.S. Senator in 1980 and then governor from 2002 to 2006 began in Wrangell and nearby Ketchikan.

Frank Murkowski Port Named in Wrangell for Former Senator and Governor — Photo: sitkasentinel.com

In introducing the naming resolution at the Oct. 27 assembly meeting, Borough Manager Mason Villarma spoke to Murkowski’s long-term contributions to the state and the community, adding, “he has been an advocate of the site for a long, long time.”

In a show of humility, Murkowski himself reacted to the honor with characteristic pragmatism. “That’s very thoughtful of them,” he said in an interview the day after the vote. But he noted, “That Polish name doesn’t sound very Southeast.” His comment overlooks a piece of local history: the region is already home to Kosciusko Island, named in 1879 after Polish citizen Tadeusz Kościuszko, who fought in the American Revolutionary War as a volunteer engineer, a fact noted in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Dictionary of Alaska Place Names.

A Deepwater Hub for a New Economy

The port’s development is more than just symbolic; it’s an active economic engine taking shape. The borough has already secured tenants and is pursuing major projects. Alaska Marine Lines is working to move its barge landing and freight operations to the site, while Tideline Construction runs its scrap metal recycling and Southeast Alaska construction business from the site. The most ambitious plan involves a partnership with the Ketchikan shipyard operator, JAG Marine Group, to look for state and federal funding to build a multi-hundred-million-dollar large-scale shipyard to work on government vessels.

This push for industrial diversification is critical for a town that felt the decline of its mill and logging industry firsthand. The assembly last month adopted an ordinance, setting out requirements for naming public property after an individual, and the port is the first use of that new ordinance. Murkowski’s advocacy for the site spans back to his earliest days in public service, making the port a full-circle moment for him and the community where his career began.

For Wrangell, the naming of the Murkowski Deepwater Port is a statement of intent—a declaration that it intends to build a future as strong as its past was rooted in timber.

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