Haines

Haines has the flavor of a real isolated town!  It sprang up originally as Fort Seward which was intended to maintain a US presence to avoid take-over by Canada.   The distance to the Canadian border is a mere 20 miles and initially there was a great concern by the US that no presence of people here would gradually lead to its assimilation to Canada simply by squatting.

The orderly square in the background of this photo is the ring of the officers quarters where the US military resided.  The foundation ruins of the soldiers barracks were still present but they were destroyed in a fire and not restored. 

When this picture was taken, it was close to low tide and the height of the dock above water is obvious as well as the exposed beach.  Tidal variations can range over 30 feet in some areas and the proper mooring of vessels is a big deal unless one owns a submarine.