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History · Glennallen

Glennallen’s post office opened in 1961

Most of Glennallen was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1950.

1961first post office
0on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Glennallen’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Glennallen began

When was Glennallen founded?

1961

The Glennallen post office opened in 1961, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 142 in 19502020 census: 43965 years
Founding year: the first Glennallen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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

Start Glennallen’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPIPELINE CROSSING AT THE TAZLINA RIVER …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Glennallen, in brief

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

Glennallen (Ahtena: Ciisik’e Na’) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Copper River Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population of the CDP was 439, down from 483 in 2010. It is the most populated community in the census area.

Its first post office opened in 1961. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 483 to 439 (-9%).

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

Timeline

Glennallen, 1950 to 1993

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1950Born hereLarry Martin is born here
  3. 1950Post officeThe Glenallen post office opens
  4. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1957Born hereJohn Harris is born here
  6. 1960Post officeThe Glenallen post office closes
  7. 1961Post officeThe Glennallen post office opens
  8. 1973In the archivePIPELINE CROSSING AT THE TAZLINA RIVER SOUTHWEST OF THE HIGHWAY JUNCTION TOWN OF GLENNALL…
  9. 1993In the archiveGlennallen Quick Stop 1993
By decade

Glennallen, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1970s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s–1990s4 items
PIPELINE CROSSING AT THE TAZLINA RIVER SOUTHWEST OF THE HIGHWAY JUNCTION TOWN OF GLENNALLEN, VISIBLE IN THE UPPER... - …1973PIPELINE CROSSING AT THE TAZLINA RIVER SOUTHWEST OF T…Glennallen Quick Stop 19931993Glennallen Quick Stop 1993Glennallen, Alaska 01(js)1998Glennallen, Alaska 01(js)Glennallen, Alaska 02(js)1998Glennallen, Alaska 02(js)
Today2 recent
Glennallen Alaska downtown2007Glennallen Alaska downtownAKMap-doton-Glenallen2004AKMap-doton-Glenallen
On the map

Glennallen on the map in 1951

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

Glennallen on the 1951 USGS map1951Gulkana A-4 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 Glennallen.

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.

PIPELINE CROSSING AT THE TAZLINA RIVER SOUTHWEST OF THE HIGHWAY JUNCTION TOWN OF GLENNALLEN, VISIBLE IN THE UPPER... - …
Retake this viewPIPELINE CROSSING AT THE TAZLINA RIVER SOUTHWEST OF THE HIGHWAY JUNCTION TOWN OF GLENNALLEN, VISIBLE IN THE UPPER... - …, 1973

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Glennallen, census by census

01002003004005006001960198020002020Peak: 554

Between 142 and 554 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Glennallen

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
John HarrisAmerican politician in Alaska · b. 1957
L
Larry MartinAmerican cross-country skier · b. 1950
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Glennallen’s post office has been open since 1961. Another post office, Glenallen, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Glenallen
1950–1960
Glennallen
1961–today
19501990today
Gone or out of use
Gateway Lodgelocale

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

TolsonaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGulkanaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTazlinaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Glennallen’s history

What year was Glennallen founded?

The Glennallen post office opened in 1961, 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), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.