Church at Sunset

The Holy Family Catholic Church stands as a reminder of how the village of Holy Cross was established. The village was formerly called “Koserefsky.” It developed around a Catholic mission and school established in the 1880s by a Jesuit priest who came to Alaska across the Chilkoot Trail. In 1912, the name of the town was changed to “Holy Cross” after the name of the mission ("Mission of the Holy Cross"). It is one of many villages in remote Alaska that were established around a religious mission - Baptist, Catholic, Russian Orthodox, and others. Photo © copyright by Carl Johnson.