More historic than 13% of U.S. towns · #26 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it
Most of Kotzebue was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1880.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kotzebue is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #26 of 41 in Alaska. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kotzebue’s overall grade.
Alaska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Alaska town has 3.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Kotzebue’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Alaska towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±0.4 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: the first census (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Owing to its location and relative size, Kotzebue served as a trading and gathering center for the various communities in the region. The Noatak, Selawik and Kobuk Rivers drain into the Kotzebue Sound near Kotzebue to form a center for transportation to points inland. In addition to people from interior villages, inhabitants of far-eastern Asia, now the Russian Far East, came to trade at Kotzebue. Furs, seal oil, hides, rifles, ammunition, and seal skins were some of the items traded. People also gathered for competitions like the current World Eskimo Indian Olympics. With the arrival of the whalers, traders, gold seekers, and missionaries, the trading center expanded.
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.
The Kotzebue post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1958.
How does Kotzebue rank for history?
Kotzebue is more historic than 13% of U.S. towns, #26 of 41 in Alaska. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Kotzebue?
0.3% of Kotzebue’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.3% for an Alaska town; the median home was built in 1985.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, 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.
1929
1929
1929
