Chatham began in 1900 as a salmon cannery and was active until 1974. A fire destroyed the major buildings but several original buildings in the traditional New England style remained. The owners built a new home in 2012 using the design and many materials from an early 1900’s Mess Hall. They converted an original bunkhouse into a guest house with its own kitchen/dining area while maintaining the traditional maritime New England look and feel.
Several more buildings are on site, such as the historic carpenter shop and tool shop. There is ample room to build additional cabins or even a boathouse.
Fishing, hunting, hiking, and beachcombing are remarkable at Chatham. Salmon, halibut, Dungeness and king crab, prawns, two salmon-spawning streams provide ample recreational fishing opportunity. If fly fishing is your preference, there are two streams in the bay with cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, steelhead, and Dolly Varden. One stream is a 15-minute walk down the beach, the other is just a skiff ride to the head of the bay. Wildlife sightings range from whales such as Pacific humpbacks and orcas, seals, sea lions, Sitka blacktail deer, eagles, and the coveted Alaska brown bear. The owner has ATVs stored across the bay to access 40 miles of former logging roads, a backcountry lake, deer hunting, and countless places for berry picking and foraging for chanterelles.
Pictures do not capture the sounds, smells, and grandeur of Southeast Alaska and Chatham Retreat. Opportunities for this remarkable offering are endless. With its own private dock, bring your floatplane, 28’ foot fishing boat, or your 65’ foot yacht; there is room to park them all. Just a 2.5 – 3-hour boat ride north out of Sitka or a 3–4-hour boat ride south from Juneau. Room to land an R44 or Jet Ranger on the beach at low tide or charter a 206 and land at the dock. The sale includes half ownership of a Subchapter S corporation that provides generator power, caretaker services, and the availability of gas and diesel fuel for sale.
