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History · Eek

Eek was first counted by the census in 1920

Most of Eek was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1954 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 Eek’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Eek began

When was Eek founded?

1920

Eek first appears in the census in 1920.

First census: 119 in 19202020 census: 404106 years
Founding year: the first census.

What stands out about Eek’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 Eek’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Eek’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 viewEEK-b: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Eek, in brief

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

Eek (; Central Yupik: Iik) is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census there were 404 residents, the majority being Alaska Natives.

Its first post office opened in 1920. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 296 to 404 (+36%).

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

Timeline

Eek, 1949 to 1996

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1949Post officeThe Eek post office opens
  3. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1996In the archiveEEK-b
By decade

Eek, decade by decade

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

1990s1 item
EEK-b1996EEK-b
Today1 recent
Eek, AK from a bush plane2012Eek, AK from a bush plane
On the map

Eek on the map in 1954

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

Eek on the 1954 USGS map1954Baird Inlet A-1 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 Eek.

People over time

Eek, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020404

Grew from 119 people in 1920 to 404 in 2020, 3 times over.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Questions about Eek’s history

What year was Eek founded?

The Eek post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1970.

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.