Ketchikan was originally a fishing camp for Tlingit Indians. Ketchikan came from the word "kitschk-kin" which means "thundering wings of an eagle". This makes sense as there are many eagles in Ketchikan. Since there are so many totem poles, it is the world's site for standing totem poles.

In 1884, it was permanently established by white settlers. In 1885, Mike Martin bought 160 acres of land. The first cannery opened in 1886 near the mouth of Ketchikan Creek. Over the years, Ketchikan brought many canned fish and lumber to the U.S. In 1936, seven new canneries were built, and they produced 1.5 million cans of salmon annually, which was the world's largest producer of canned salmon.

In the gold rush of the Klondike, it got the name of Alaska's First City because that was the first city the miners came to when they were going to the Klondike. By that time, the first pulp mill was built to produce raw materials for paper. It ran for nearly 70 years until it was shut down and imploded in 1997. They opened the pulp mill because there is an abundance of trees on Revillagigado Island where Ketchikan is located.

In the more near future, the Deer Mountain salmon hatchery was built, there were shopping malls, grocery stores, and many more modern conveniences came. Ketchikan has come a long way from a fish camp.