Circle, Alaska

Circle, Alaska
CDP
Location of Circle, Alaska
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Census Area	Yukon-Koyukuk
Area
• Total	108.2 sq mi (280.3 km2)
• Land	107.7 sq mi (278.9 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1.4 km2)
Population  (2000)
• Total	100
Time zone	UTC-9 (Alaska (AKST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-8 (AKDT)
Area code	907
FIPS code	02-14880

Circle (also called Circle City) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 100.

Circle is 260 km (162 miles) northeast of Fairbanks at the end of the Steese Highway. Circle was named by miners in the late 1800s who believed that the town was on the Arctic Circle. The Arctic Circle is actually about 80 km (50 miles) north of Circle.

Circle is also the unofficial northern terminus of the Pan-American Highway.

Every February, Circle City hosts a checkpoint for the long-distance Yukon Quest sled dog race.

Geography

Circle is located at 65°50′4″N 144°4′35″W (65.834464, -144.076392)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 108.2 square miles (280.3 km²), of which, 107.7 square miles (278.9 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.4 km²) of it (0.50%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 100 people, 34 households, and 22 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 0.9 people per square mile (0.4/km²). There were 42 housing units at an average density of 0.4/sq mi (0.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 14.00% White, 76.00% Native American, 1.00% from other races, and 9.00% from two or more races. 4.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 34 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 11.8% were married couples living together, 32.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.48.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 30.0% from 45 to 64, and 4.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $11,667, and the median income for a family was $11,250. Males had a median income of $0 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $6,426. There were 50.0% of families and 42.0% of the population living below the poverty line, including 57.9% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

History

Circle was established in 1893 as an unloading point for supplies shipped up the Yukon River from the Bering Sea. The goods were sent overland to gold mining camps. In 1896, before the Klondike Gold Rush, Circle was the largest mining town on the Yukon River, with a population of 700. It had a store, a few dance halls, an opera house, a library, a school, a hospital, an Episcopal church, a newspaper, a United States commissioner, marshal, customs inspector, tax collector and a postmaster.

Circle lost much of its population after gold discoveries in the Klondike, in 1897, and Nome, in 1899. A few miners stayed near Circle and mining in the area continues to the present. Most of the people in Circle today are Athabascan.

Panoramic view of Circle's main street, September 1899.

Panoramic view of Circle, Alaska, on August 6, 2008. At far right is the Yukon River.