List of ghost towns in Alaska

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This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in Alaska. Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. Some sites no longer have any trace of civilization and have reverted to wilderness. Other sites are unpopulated but still have standing buildings. Some sites may even have a sizable, though small population, but there are far fewer citizens than in its grander historic past.

Classification[edit]

A 1907 photo of Chena, the remains of which are buried beneath a suburb of Fairbanks with nothing visible today

Barren site[edit]

  • Sites no longer in existence
  • Sites that have been destroyed
  • Covered with water
  • Reverted to pasture
  • May have a few difficult to find foundations/footings at most
One of the few remaining structures in Dyea

Neglected site[edit]

  • Only rubble left
  • Roofless building ruins
  • Buildings or houses still standing, but majority are roofless
The historic copper mine complex at Kennecott. Tourists visit the many remaining buildings, but many caretakers live in nearby McCarthy.

Abandoned site[edit]

  • Building or houses still standing
  • Buildings and houses all abandoned
  • No population, except caretaker
  • Site no longer in existence except for one or two buildings, for example old church, grocery store

Semi-abandoned site[edit]

  • Building or houses still standing
  • Buildings and houses largely abandoned
  • Few residents
  • Many abandoned buildings
  • Small population
Chatanika is still inhabited, but has not appeared on the census since 1940.

Historic community[edit]

  • Building or houses still standing
  • Still a busy community
  • Smaller than its boom years
  • Population has decreased dramatically, to one fifth or less.

Table[edit]

Name Other names Borough/census area Location Settled Abandoned Current status Remarks
Afognak Kodiak Island Borough ~5,500 B.C.E.[1] March 27, 1964 A native Alutiiq village, first settled by Russia in 1784, the community never recovered from the 1964 Good Friday earthquake.
Akulurak Kusilvak Census Area 62 ° 33' 8" N, 164 ° 33' 10" W An Alaska Native village which has been largely abandoned due to runoff from a nearby mountain pass.[2]
Amalga Juneau Borough 1902 1927 mining stopped for good at the Eagle River Mine, and the town of Amalga was abandoned. Many of the buildings were dismantled, and, along with some of the lighter pieces of equipment, hauled out on the seven-mile long horse tram.
Attu Aleutians West Census Area 1880 U.S. Census Location of the only land battle to be fought in the United States during World War II.[3]
Aurora Kenai Peninsula Borough At Kachemak Bay near Homer 1901 Barren An elaborate failed hoax built by wealthy businessman Thomas C. Dunn.[4]
Ayak Ahyak, Ayaaq, Asaaq Nome Census Area Sledge Island c. 1918 Abandoned during the 1918 flu pandemic.[citation needed]
Belkofski Selo Belkovskoe[5] Aleutians East Borough 12 miles southeast of King Cove 1823 1980s Barren[6] Many of the villagers emigrated to King Cove and the village was completely abandoned about 1990.
Bettles Old Bettles Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area 1898 1997 Neglected The Palm Sunday Avalanche
Big Port Walter A former fishing community.[7]
Biorka Aleutians West Census Area Vicinity of Unalaska 1900 Barren A native Aleut village.[8]
Former mining town
Caniliaq [8]
Cape Fanshaw August 14, 1794 1937 [9]
Caro 1907 (post office opened) 1912 (post office closed) Historic [10]
Chatanika Fairbanks North Star Borough 1904 Historic A former gold rush boom town, the population of Chatanika is sparse.
Chena Fairbanks North Star Borough 1903 Barren A boom town that was never properly surveyed, the exact location of Chena was lost until it was found buried beneath a suburb of Fairbanks.[11]
Chenega Chugach Census Area 1964 The old village was destroyed in a Tsunami caused by the Good Friday earthquake in 1964 and was resettled at a different location as Chenega Bay.[12]
Chernofski Aleutians West Census Area Vicinity of Unalaska 1928 A native Aleut village.[8]
Chisana Copper River Census Area
Chisna [citation needed]
Chomly [citation needed]
Coldfoot A mining boom town until the mines ran dry in 1912[13]
Copper City [citation needed]
Coppermount [citation needed]
Council Nome Census Area
Curry Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Dickson Nome Census Area
Dunbar Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area 64.759093, -148.787643 Barren A former railroad town Dunbar, Ak (site)

Wikimapia[14]

Dyea Municipality of Skagway Borough Neglected Known for containing "The Slide", a cemetery in which almost everyone interred died in the same avalanche on April 3, 1898.[15]
Flat Flat City Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area `1909 2004 A gold rush town that never recovered from a large fire in 1924.
Fort Egbert Southeast Fairbanks Census Area [16]
Funter Bay
Gilmore [citation needed]
Hamilton Nunapiggluugaq [8]
Iditarod Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
Independence Mines Matanuska-Susitna Borough Historic
Kaguyak [citation needed]
Kalakaket [citation needed]
Kashega Aleutians West Census Area Vicinity of Unalaska A native Aleut village.[8]
Katalla Valdez-Cordova Census Area 1943
Katmai Kodiak Island Borough 1912 Buried in ash by the 1912 eruption of Mount Katmai.[12]
Kauwerak Nome Census Area An Inupiat village abandoned when most of the residents left for Mary's Igloo.[citation needed]
Kennicott Copper River Census Area 4.5 miles from McCarthy 1938 Abandoned/historic [17]
Kern Kenai Peninsula Borough
Kijik Lake Clark Village, Nijik, Nikhkak, Nikhak, Old Keegik Lake and Peninsula Borough 1909 A native Athabascan village.[18]
King Island Ugiuvak Nome Census Area 1970 Abandoned Once home to a tribe of Inupiat people known as the Ugiuvaŋmiut, the Bureau of Indian Affairs closed the island's school in the mid 20th century, forcing the children to move to the mainland for school and leaving the adults and elders unable to maintain their lifestyle.
Knik K'enakatnu, Old Knik Townsite Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Loring Ketchikan Gateway Borough Semi-abandoned
Makushin Aleutians West Census Area Vicinity of Unalaska A native Aleut village.[8]
Mary's Igloo Aukvaunlook Nome Census Area
Meehan [citation needed]
Mumtrak Bethel Census Area Repeat flooding caused the residents to abandon the site for Goodnews Bay.[12]
Ohagamiut Bethel Census Area
Old Minto Old Minto was abandoned due to repeat flooding.[12]
Olnes [citation needed]
Ophir Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
Otter Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area A former mining village near Flat and Iditarod.[19]
Pastuliq [8]
Pedro [citation needed]
Pilgrim Springs Pilgrim Hot Springs, Kruzgamepa[16] A mission that once contained an orphanage for children orphaned by the Influenza epidemic of 1918.[12]
Poorman Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
Port Alexander Historic[7]
Port Wakefield Kodiak Island Borough
Portage Anchorage
Portlock Kenai Peninsula Borough
Prospect Creek Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
Seaside [citation needed]
Snettisham Juneau Borough
Speel River [citation needed]
Sulzer Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area
Three Saints Bay Kodiak Island Borough
Tikigaq Point Hope Tikigaq, the Tikigagamiut village which existed before the current settlement of Point Hope, was abandoned due to erosion.
Tin City Nome Census Area
Toklat [citation needed]
Treadwell Juneau [16]
Unga Aleutians East Borough
White Eye Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area [12]
York Nome Census Area West of Wales Every resident of York died during the Influenza epidemic of 1918.[12]

Gallery[edit]

  • Ugiuvak, abandoned Inupiat stilt village, in 2010. The large white building near the bottom of the slope is the former Bureau of Indian Affairs school.
    Ugiuvak, abandoned Inupiat stilt village, in 2010. The large white building near the bottom of the slope is the former Bureau of Indian Affairs school.
  • One of three graveyards at Dyea, this one composed almost entirely of victims of a single Avalanche in 1898
    One of three graveyards at Dyea, this one composed almost entirely of victims of a single Avalanche in 1898
  • Flat, August 1, 1911
    Flat, August 1, 1911
  • The waterfront at Dyea during the Klondike Gold Rush
    The waterfront at Dyea during the Klondike Gold Rush

References[edit]

  1. ^ Native Village of Afognak. Native Village of Afognak, n.d. Web. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  2. ^ "Akulurak". Alaska Guide. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  3. ^ "Battle of the Aleutian Islands". history.com. June 30, 2020. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  4. ^ "Aurora - Ghost Town". www.ghosttowns.com. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  5. ^ "Domestic Names".
  6. ^ "Historic Alaskan village destroyed by fire". May 2013.
  7. ^ a b KCAW Staff (December 3, 2010). "Port Alexander museum preserves coastal history". KCAW. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Dunham, Mike (July 1, 2015). "Alaska ghost villages are recalled by Native elders and scholars in two new books". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "CBJ Cover Letter and Responsive Brief" (PDF). commerce.alaska.gov. p. 34.
  10. ^ "William Sulzer". alaskamininghalloffame.org. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  11. ^ Gutoski, Martin (2013). "Where is Chena?" (PDF). The American Surveyor. 10.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "Ghost towns scattered across Alaska map | Geophysical Institute". www.gi.alaska.edu. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  13. ^ Alaska almanac, 1909. The Harrison Publishing Company. 1909. p. 39.
  14. ^ "Dunbar, Ak (site)". wikimapia.org. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  15. ^ "The Slide Cemetery". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c "12 Ghost Towns In Alaska You May Have Never Heard Of". September 11, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  17. ^ "Kennicott Ghost Town". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  18. ^ Vanstone, James; Townsend, Joan (January 16, 1970). "Kijik: An Historic Tanaina Settlement". Fieldiana: Anthropology. 15: 1–202. JSTOR 29782443.
  19. ^ "Geological Survey Professional Paper". U.S. Government Printing Office. January 20, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2019 – via Google Books.

External links[edit]

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