On N shore of Skowl Arm on SE coast of Prince of Wales I., Alex. Arch.
Former Haida Indian village possibly established before 1800. "Chat-chee-nie" shown in John Work's list of 1836-41 may represent the Haida name for the town. The Tlingit Indian name, Kasaan, derived from "Kasi-an" meaning "pretty town," came into local usage, pronounced "GAsa'n" by the Haida (Hodge, 1907, p660), and so named because of the large number of ornate totems located in the village. Listed by Ivan Petroff in the 1880 Census as Kasaan (and "Skowl"), population 173, which decreased to 46 in 1890. With the establishment in the 1890's of a salmon-packing plant on Kasaan Bay eight miles to the north, this place was abandoned. The Haida settlement, that grew around the cannery, was known as "Kasaan," especially after the Kasaan post office was established in 1900, and the earlier site became "Old Kasaan." In 1916, this village site was part of Old Kasaan National Monument. The National Monument status was abolished in 1955 and the village site is now part of Old Kasaan Village Historical Area, administered by the U.S. Forest Service.