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History · Golovin

Golovin was first counted by the census in 1890

Most of Golovin was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1890.

1890first census
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Golovin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Golovin began

When was Golovin founded?

1890

Golovin first appears in the census in 1890. Another post office, Chennik (1899), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 38 in 18902020 census: 175136 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Golovin’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1900 and 1960, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · People over time

Golovin, census by census

01001900192019401960198020002020140 in 1900Low: 59

Lost half of its people between 1900 and 1960, then more than doubled.

12 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Golovin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Golovin.

Read it all →

Golovin was named for Captain Vasily Golovnin of the Russian Navy, who visited Alaska to inspect the workings of the Russian-American Company in 1807–1809, in the Diana, and in 1817–1819, in the Kamchatka, while circumnavigating the world. Lt. Lavrenty Zagoskin, from the Imperial Russian Navy sent to Alaska to scout locations for trading posts, reported the village as "Ikalikguigmyut" in 1842. In 1867, the Mission Covenant of Sweden established a church and school south of the current site of Golovin. Around 1890, John Dexter established a trading post that became the center for swapping prospecting information for the entire Seward Peninsula. Gold was discovered in 1898 at Council and Golovin became a supply point for the gold fields. Supplies were unloaded from ships at Golovin and shipped across Golovnin Lagoon and up the Fish and Niukluk Rivers to Council.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Golovin, 1899 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1899Post officeThe Chennik post office opens
  3. 1899Post officeThe Golovin post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900Post officeThe Chennik post office closes
  6. 1904In the archiveTown of Golovin with village of White Mountain on far shore, ca. 1904
  7. 1917In the archiveLanding Fields - Alaska
  8. 1933In the archiveFRONT - Iditarod Trail Shelter Cabins, Dexter Roadhouse, Golovin, Nome Census Area, AK
  9. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1958Post officeThe Golovin post office closes
  11. 21st century
  12. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 175
By decade

Golovin, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s10 items
Town of Golovin with village of White Mountain on far shore, ca. 1904c. 1904Town of Golovin with village of White Mountain on far…Landing Fields - Alaska1917Landing Fields - AlaskaLanding Fields - Alaska1917Landing Fields - AlaskaFRONT - Iditarod Trail Shelter Cabins, Dexter Roadhouse, Golovin, Nome Census Area, AK1933FRONT - Iditarod Trail Shelter Cabins, Dexter Roadhou…GENERAL VIEW OF TOWN, ROADHOUSE TO LEFT, DEXTER'S TOMBSTONE TO RIGHT - Iditarod Trail Shelter Cabins, Dexter Roadhouse,…1933GENERAL VIEW OF TOWN, ROADHOUSE TO LEFT, DEXTER'S TOM…GENERAL VIEW, FROM SOUTH - Iditarod Trail Shelter Cabins, Portage Shelter Cabin, Golovin, Nome Census Area, AK1933GENERAL VIEW, FROM SOUTH - Iditarod Trail Shelter Cab…HABS AK,9-SEW,2-C- (sheet 2 of 4) - Iditarod Trail Shelter Cabins, Portage Shelter Cabin, Golovin, Nome Census Area, AK1933HABS AK,9-SEW,2-C- (sheet 2 of 4) - Iditarod Trail Sh…HABS AK,9-SEW,2-C- (sheet 2 of 4) - Iditarod Trail Shelter Cabins, Portage Shelter Cabin, Golovin, Nome Census Area, AK1933HABS AK,9-SEW,2-C- (sheet 2 of 4) - Iditarod Trail Sh…HABS AK,9-SEW,2-C- (sheet 4 of 4) - Iditarod Trail Shelter Cabins, Portage Shelter Cabin, Golovin, Nome Census Area, AK1933HABS AK,9-SEW,2-C- (sheet 4 of 4) - Iditarod Trail Sh…HABS AK,9-SEW,2-C- (sheet 4 of 4) - Iditarod Trail Shelter Cabins, Portage Shelter Cabin, Golovin, Nome Census Area, AK1933HABS AK,9-SEW,2-C- (sheet 4 of 4) - Iditarod Trail Sh…
1940s–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 unknown1 to date
Esaguk, Gust [1932-33]Date?Esaguk, Gust [1932-33]Book
Today1 recent
Mongolian Armed Forces Lt. Ichinkhorloo Erdene Ochir, a dentist, plays with dogs treated by veterinarians in Golovin, A…2012Mongolian Armed Forces Lt. Ichinkhorloo Erdene Ochir,…
On the map

Golovin on the map in 1950

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

Golovin on the 1950 USGS map1950Solomon C-3 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 Golovin.

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.

Town of Golovin with village of White Mountain on far shore, ca. 1904
Retake this viewTown of Golovin with village of White Mountain on far shore, ca. 1904, c. 1904

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Golovin had its own post office from 1899 to 1958. Another post office, Chennik, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Chennik
1899–1900
Golovin
1899–1958
18901960today

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

Help out

Finish Golovin’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewTown of Golovin with village of White M…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Golovin’s history

What year was Golovin founded?

The Golovin post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1971.

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 (12), Wikipedia, 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.