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History · Akiak

Akiak was first counted by the census in 1880

Most of Akiak was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Akiak’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Akiak began

When was Akiak founded?

1880

Akiak first appears in the census in 1880.

First census: 175 in 18802020 census: 462146 years
Founding year: the first census.

What stands out about Akiak’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1890, then grew 4-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Akiak’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Akiak’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAKI-b: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Akiak, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020175 in 1880Low: 97

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1890, then grew 4-fold.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Akiak’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Akiak, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Akiak yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Akiak (ACK-ee-ack) (Central Yupik: Akiaq) is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 462 at the 2020 census, up from 346 in 2010. It is the home of the Akiak Native Community.

Its first post office opened in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 346 to 462 (+34%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Akiak, 1916 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1916Post officeThe Akiak post office opens
  3. 1920Born hereNora Guinn is born here
  4. 1945Born hereIvan Ivan is born here
  5. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1996In the archiveAKI-b
  7. 21st century
  8. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 462
By decade

Akiak, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
AKI-b1996AKI-b
Today1 recent
AKMap-doton-Akiak2004AKMap-doton-Akiak
On the map

Akiak on the map in 1954

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Akiak.

Akiak on the 1954 USGS map1954Bethel D-6 sheet · 1:63,360

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Akiak.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Akiak

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
N
Nora GuinnAmerican judge · b. 1920
I
Ivan IvanAmerican politician · b. 1945

Questions about Akiak’s history

What year was Akiak founded?

The Akiak post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1970.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.