Presbyterian mission work in Alaska began informally in 1877 when Sheldon Jackson visited there, returning to raise money and recruit mission workers. He convinced the PCUSA Board of Home Missions to assume responsibility for the Alaska field in 1878.
Rev. S. Hall Young established the first Protestant church for native Alaskans in 1879 at Fort Wrangell and a mission among the Chiclat Indians, later named Haines Mission. The first missionary family arrived in 1881 and established Haines House, a boarding school for children and youth. From 1878 to 1923, the work was supported by two boards, the Board of Home Missions and the Woman's Executive Committee on Missions called, after 1897, the Woman's Board of Home Missions. The Woman's Board supported some of the medical work and administered Haines House. After the reorganization of 1923 that consolidated the various boards, the Board of National Missions administered the work in Alaska. The work of the former Board of Home Missions was continued by the Department of Town and Country Work of the BNM, and later the Office/Department of Work in Alaska, and the work that had been established by the Woman's Board came under the direction of the Division of Schools and Hospitals. In 1972, the presbyteries of Alaska and Yukon assumed responsibility for the work in Alaska.
From the description of Records, 1874-1972 [microform] (Presbyterian Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 82903247
