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History · Eareckson Station

The history of Eareckson Station

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1960.

0on the National Register
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eareckson Station’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Eareckson Station’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,131 in 1970; 232 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Eareckson Station’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewTACAN Antenna Shemya: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Eareckson Station, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001960198020002020Peak: 1,131

Peaked at 1,131 in 1970; 232 people lived here in 2020.

4 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

The story

How Eareckson Station came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eareckson Station.

Read it all →

On 28 May 1943, a small detachment of Alaskan Scouts began reconnaissance of Shemya, a small, flat, uninhabited island 35 miles to the east of Attu. The following day, United States Army Engineers came ashore to begin construction of a runway suitable for B-29 Superfortress bombers. Tents were erected, a rudimentary electrical system, radios and some rough streets were laid down. A 10,000-foot runway was constructed, along with two 5,000-foot cross runways. The 404th Bombardment Squadron flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers along with one Beechcraft AT-7, which was used for navigator training. The 344th Fighter Squadron flew both P-40 Warhawks and P-38 Lightnings. In addition, a North American AT-6 was utilized for pilot training. One RB-34, a UC-64A and numerous TB-26s were flown by the 15th Tow Target Squadron that was stationed on Shemya. The Navy assigned one squadron of Consolidated P…

ChaptersWorld War IIPostwar eraAirline serviceCold WarFrom 1992Major commands to which assignedMajor units assigned

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eareckson Station, 1952 to 1986

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,131
  4. 1986In the archiveTACAN Antenna Shemya
By decade

Eareckson Station, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
TACAN Antenna Shemya1986TACAN Antenna Shemya
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
Date unknown3 to date
Eareckson Air Station towerDate?Eareckson Air Station towerShemya Island-colorDate?Shemya Island-colorShemyaDate?Shemya
Today1 recent
Cobra Dane radar, Eareckson Air Station, Shemya, Alaska2017Cobra Dane radar, Eareckson Air Station, Shemya, Alas…
On the map

Eareckson Station on the map in 1952

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Eareckson Station.

Eareckson Station on the 1952 USGS map1952Attu 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 Eareckson Station.

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.

TACAN Antenna Shemya
Retake this viewTACAN Antenna Shemya, 1986

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Eareckson Station’s history

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 (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.