Port Alsworth Improvement Corporation (PAIC)
Supporting our community, sustaining our future.
PAIC is a not-for-profit community association serving the residents of Port Alsworth, Alaska. We provide essential services, manage local projects, and act as a hub for community affairs. Guided by a seven-member Board of Directors, PAIC uses grants, resources, and collaboration to enhance life in Port Alsworth and keep our community thriving.
More information about the corporation, including governance, bylaws, and board responsibilities, can be found under the Governance tab.
Early Roots
Port Alsworth traces its beginnings to Tanalian Point, Lake Clark’s first Euro-American settlement. In the late 1880s, prospectors were drawn by nearby copper deposits and abundant timber for cabins and fuel. Dena’ina Athabaskan families lived alongside them, and the settlement became a hub for the Telaquana Trail and regional mining activity. By the 1920s, big game hunters were arriving, drawn to the area’s wilderness and experienced local guides.
Exploration of the region began even earlier. In 1881, Charles Leslie McKay documented Lake Clark for the Smithsonian Institution. A decade later, Alfred B. Schanz and John W. Clark of the Alaska Commercial Company traveled through the area. Though they knew the Dena’ina called the lake Qiz’jeh Vena—“the lake where many people gather”—they renamed it Lake Clark. The Dena’ina presence and heritage remain central to the region’s history.
Aviation and the Founding of Port Alsworth
Aviation transformed life in Lake Clark. In 1930, a Waco 10 biplane on floats became the first aircraft to land on the lake, linking the remote area to the outside world. By the early 1940s, Floyd Denison, a resident of Tanalian Point, had radio contact with Star Airlines in Anchorage, further connecting the region.
In 1950, Leon “Babe” Alsworth, a missionary and bush pilot, and his wife Mary, the area’s first postmistress, founded the settlement that became Port Alsworth. Babe established the first air taxi service in the region, helping the community grow and connecting residents, miners, hunters, and visitors to Anchorage and beyond.
Port Alsworth Today
Today, Port Alsworth is the most populated community in the Lake and Peninsula Borough, with 186 residents as of the 2020 census. The town hosts fishing lodges, serves as the field headquarters for Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, and supports programs such as Tanalian Bible Camp and the Tanalian School, which underwent a major expansion in 2013–2014.
Geography
Port Alsworth sits on the south shore of Lake Clark, at the mouth of the Tanalian River, about 165 miles southwest of Anchorage by air. The CDP covers 22.7 square miles, nearly all land, surrounded by the dramatic peaks and pristine wilderness of Lake Clark National Park.