Cape Pole

Cape Pole is a ghost town on the eastern shore of Fishermans Harbor, along the southwest coast of Kosciusko Island in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska. Its history centers on logging, which sustained the camp from 1954 until a federal court ruling shut operations down in 1978. A post office had briefly served the community earlier, operating from 1949 to 1953, suggesting a small resident population even before the logging era peaked.

By 1980 the townsite had stopped reporting a separate population, and today visitors will find only scattered remnants — some structures still stood as of 2019, but this is a place reclaimed by time and coastal Alaska wilderness rather than a living community. Access to a remote island site like this requires planning around boat or floatplane travel, and the damp Southeast Alaska climate means summer and early fall offer the most practical window for a visit.