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History · Coldfoot

Coldfoot’s post office opened in 1902

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 2000.

1902first post office
0on the National Register
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Coldfoot’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Coldfoot began

When was Coldfoot founded?

1902

The Coldfoot post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 13 in 20002020 census: 34124 years
Founding year: the first Coldfoot post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
The story so far

Coldfoot, in brief

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

Coldfoot is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 34 at the 2020 census. It is said that the name was derived from travelers getting "cold feet" about making the 240-some-mile journey north to Deadhorse. Coldfoot primarily serves as a truck stop on the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay. North of Coldfoot, there are no services for 240 miles (400 km), until Deadhorse. It has a restaurant and a small number of overnight accommodations (converted pipeline construction camp quarters). Bus tours along the highway typically take two days, with passengers spending the night in Coldfoot. The BLM, USFWS, and NPS jointl…

Its first post office opened in 1902. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 10 to 34 (+240%).

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

Timeline

Coldfoot, 1902 to 1973

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902Post officeThe Coldfoot post office opens
  3. 1908In the archiveColdfoot, the Koyukuk Mining Camp
  4. 1910In the archiveMining claim, Slate Creek, Coldfoot, 1910
  5. 1912Post officeThe Coldfoot post office closes
  6. 1933In the archiveFRONT AND SOUTH SIDE, LOOKING NORTHEAST - James Minano Cabin, Slate Creek at Koyukuk Rive…
  7. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1973In the archiveCOLDFOOT CAMP. VIEW SOUTHWEST. ROUTE RUNS ACROSS LOWER LEFT CORNER AS IT CROSSES SLATE CR…
By decade

Coldfoot, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s4 items
Coldfoot, the Koyukuk Mining Camp1908Coldfoot, the Koyukuk Mining CampMining claim, Slate Creek, Coldfoot, 19101910Mining claim, Slate Creek, Coldfoot, 1910FRONT AND SOUTH SIDE, LOOKING NORTHEAST - James Minano Cabin, Slate Creek at Koyukuk River, Bettles Vicinity, Coldfoot,…1933FRONT AND SOUTH SIDE, LOOKING NORTHEAST - James Minan…FRONT, LOOKING EAST - James Minano Cabin, Slate Creek at Koyukuk River, Bettles Vicinity, Coldfoot, Yukon-Koyukuk Censu…1933FRONT, LOOKING EAST - James Minano Cabin, Slate Creek…
1940s–1960snothing 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
1970s1 item
COLDFOOT CAMP. VIEW SOUTHWEST. ROUTE RUNS ACROSS LOWER LEFT CORNER AS IT CROSSES SLATE CREEK IN THE FOREGROUND1973COLDFOOT CAMP. VIEW SOUTHWEST. ROUTE RUNS ACROSS LOWE…
1980s–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
Today1 recent
Coldfoot Airport2008Coldfoot Airport
On the map

Coldfoot on the map, 1951 to 1975

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

Coldfoot on the 1951 USGS mapColdfoot on the 1964 USGS mapColdfoot on the 1975 USGS map1951Wiseman sheet · 1:250,000

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

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.

Coldfoot, the Koyukuk Mining Camp
Retake this viewColdfoot, the Koyukuk Mining Camp, 1908

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Coldfoot, census by census

02000202034

Grew from 13 people in 2000 to 34 in 2020.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Coldfoot had its own post office from 1902 to 1912.

Coldfoot
1902–1912
19001960today

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

Help out

Finish Coldfoot’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewColdfoot, the Koyukuk Mining Camp: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Coldfoot’s history

What year was Coldfoot founded?

The Coldfoot post office opened in 1902, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (6), 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.