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History · Edna Bay

Edna Bay’s post office opened in 1943

Most of Edna Bay was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1951 on and the census since 1950.

1943first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Photo: User:Rldipaolo · Public domain
Quick answers

How Edna Bay began

When was Edna Bay founded?

1943

The Edna Bay post office opened in 1943, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 2014.

First census: 41 in 19502020 census: 2583 years
Founding year: the first Edna Bay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 2014.

What stands out about Edna Bay’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Edna Bay are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 135 in 1960; 25 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Edna Bay’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Edna Bay, census by census

01001960198020002020Peak: 135

Peaked at 135 in 1960; 25 people lived here in 2020.

7 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

The story so far

Edna Bay, in brief

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

Edna Bay is a city on Kosciusko Island in the unorganized borough, and for census purposes in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. The community was officially incorporated on October 13, 2014, and has a population of 51 permanent residents and 12 part-time residents as of January 2024. Edna Bay is the only populated town on Kosciusko Island, and has both year-round and part-time residents. Year-round residents are either retired or work primarily in the fishing and logging industries. Some permanent residents also work seasonally off-island in various industries. Due to the very remote location of Edna Bay and the subsequent difficulty and expense of traveling…

Its first post office opened in 1943. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 42 to 25 (-40%).

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

Timeline

Edna Bay, 1943 to 1960

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1943Post officeThe Edna Bay post office opens
  3. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1960Post officeThe Edna Bay post office closes
  5. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 135
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Edna Bay on the map, 1951 to 1993

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

Edna Bay on the 1951 USGS mapEdna Bay on the 1993 USGS map1951Craig 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 Edna Bay.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Edna Bay had its own post office from 1943 to 1960.

Edna Bay
1943–1960
19401980today

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

Questions about Edna Bay’s history

What year was Edna Bay founded?

The Edna Bay post office opened in 1943, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2014.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 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.