Robert King, Englishman, settled on the lagoon in the late 1800’s that became known as King’s Cove. in Alaska He was a trapper and a sea otter hunter before becoming a fisherman Pan American Fisheries in 1911 built a salmon cannery where the current city is located today.

The cannery started King Cove’s early population growth as Aleut and Yupik Alaskans came there to work with Scandinavian/European fisherman – Aleuts have lived in the area for over 3,000 years.

In 1962 the P. E. Harris Company, Inc. changed the company's name to Peter Pan Seafoods, Inc. Today the plant remains home to Peter Pan’s largest processing facility, and still has the largest salmon canning capacity of any plant in Alaska.

Peter Pan has had a slew of owners since its establishment. The first major ownership change was the sale to the Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC), which acquired the company from the family of Seattle industrialist Nick Baz in 1975 for $8 million.

BBBNC sold the group four years later to Nichiro, which merged with rival Maruha in 2007.

The source of Peter Pan's demise directly stretches back to 2020, when owners Maruha Nichiro put the business up for sale, citing operating losses due to intensified competition.

In November of 2020, Peter Pan was sold to a group of investors that includes Rodger May, a seafood business owner, who at the time was operating supplier Northwest Fish; the Na’-Nuk Investment Fund, managed by Alaska-based McKinley Capital Management; and the RRG Global Partners Fund, managed by RRG Capital Management.

In January of 2024 Peter Pan closed as part of attempt to restructure the company's finances, and by April, Peter Pan entered receivership, owing Wells Fargo $60 million (€72 million).

The plant in October was sold to Rodger May with other remaining assets for $37 million (€34 million) as part of a court-approved bid.

Alaska town reeling from Peter Pan collapse unlikely to survive without plant reopening, officials say