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History · Buckland

Buckland was first counted by the census in 1920

Most of Buckland was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1920.

1920first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Buckland’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Buckland began

When was Buckland founded?

1920

Buckland first appears in the census in 1920.

First census: 52 in 19202020 census: 550106 years
Founding year: the first census.

What stands out about Buckland’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Buckland’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Buckland’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 viewBuckland Alaska aerial view: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Buckland, in brief

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

Buckland (Inupiaq: Nunatchiaq) is a city in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census, Buckland had a population of 550. It takes its English name from the Buckland River, which in turn takes its name from Oxford University professor William Buckland.

Its first post office opened in 1920. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 416 to 550 (+32%).

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

Timeline

Buckland, 1936 to 1999

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1936Post officeThe Buckland post office opens
  3. 1940Post officeThe Buckland post office closes
  4. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1962Post officeThe Buckland post office opens
  6. 1999In the archiveBuckland Alaska aerial view
By decade

Buckland, decade by decade

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

1990s1 item
Buckland Alaska aerial view1999Buckland Alaska aerial view
Today1 recent
Buckland AK2012Buckland AK
On the map

Buckland on the map in 1951

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

Buckland on the 1951 USGS map1951Candle D-5 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 Buckland.

People over time

Buckland, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020550

Grew from 52 people in 1920 to 550 in 2020, more than tenfold.

10 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Buckland had its own post office from 1936 to 1940.

Buckland
1936–1940
Buckland
1962–today
19301980today
Gone or out of use
Buckland Post Officepost office

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Buckland’s history

What year was Buckland founded?

The Buckland post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1966.

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), 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.