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D−History
History · Bear Creek

Half of Bear Creek’s homes were built after 1995

More historic than 3% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Bear Creek was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bear Creek’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Bear Creek’s history

How historic is Bear Creek?

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More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
History grade

What drives Bear Creek’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bear Creek is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bear Creek’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±1.1) · typical AK town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical AK town 3.3 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 3%
NewerOlder

Alaska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Alaska town has 3.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bear Creek’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Alaska towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

The story so far

Bear Creek, in brief

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

Bear Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 2,129 up from 1,956 in 2010. Bear Creek is a few miles north of Seward near the stream of the same name and its source, Bear Lake.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,956 to 2,129 (+9%).

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

By decade

Bear Creek, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s6 items
Bear Creek, near Government Winter Trail, Alaska, September 19141914Bear Creek, near Government Winter Trail, Alaska, Sep…Bear Creek, near Government Winter Trail, Alaska, September 19141914Bear Creek, near Government Winter Trail, Alaska, Sep…Smoke from small fire and packhorse grazing in spruce marsh near Bear Creek, Alaska, September 19141914Smoke from small fire and packhorse grazing in spruce…Landing Fields - Alaska1917Landing Fields - AlaskaLanding Fields - Alaska1917Landing Fields - AlaskaLanding Fields - Alaska1917Landing Fields - Alaska
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Bear Creek on the map, 1950 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bear Creek. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bear Creek on the 1950 USGS mapBear Creek on the 1983 USGS mapBear Creek on the 1997 USGS map1950Seward A-7 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 Bear Creek.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bear Creek, near Government Winter Trail, Alaska, September 1914
Retake this viewBear Creek, near Government Winter Trail, Alaska, September 1914, 1914

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bear Creek’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Bear Creek, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00020002020Peak: 2,129

Between 1,748 and 2,129 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bear Creek

Nobody well known was born in Bear Creek itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
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Chad BentzAmerican baseball player · b. 1980
Robert ErwinAmerican lawyer · b. 1934
Charles Passmore GrahamAmerican Army General · b. 1927
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Woodrow
1cemetery inside Bear Creek
Woodlawn

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Bear Creek’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBear Creek, near Government Winter Trai…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Primrose1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSeward10 historic placesB−

Questions about Bear Creek’s history

How does Bear Creek rank for history?

Bear Creek is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Bear Creek?

0.0% of Bear Creek’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 0.3% for an Alaska town; the median home was built in 1995.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.