Founded more than a century ago by Norwegian fishermen, Petersburg Borough bills itself Alaska's "Little Norway." The county's namesake, Peter Buschmann, was a Norwegian immigrant who arrived here in the 1890s and set about building a cannery, sawmill and dock at the north end of Mitkof Island. The cannery has been in continuous operation since that time and today Petersburg is one of Alaska's most vibrant fishing communities. The current cannery operator, Petersburg Fisheries, employs over 500 people and processes seafood products like Alaskan King crab, Dungeness crab, halibut, herring and salmon for shipment to markets throughout the world. A total of around 1,000 acres were listed for sale in Petersburg Borough recently; the overall value of all Petersburg Borough land for sale was almost $5 million. Petersburg Borough ranks seventh out of zero counties in Alaska for the total number of acres of land currently advertised for sale. Of all locations in Petersburg Borough with farms and rural real estate for sale, Petersburg had the most land for sale.