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History · Koyuk

Koyuk was first counted by the census in 1930

Most of Koyuk was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1930.

1930first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Koyuk’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Koyuk began

When was Koyuk founded?

1930

Koyuk first appears in the census in 1930.

First census: 110 in 19302020 census: 31296 years
Founding year: the first census.

What stands out about Koyuk’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Koyuk’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Koyuk, in brief

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

Koyuk (Inupiaq: Kuuyuk) is a city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census, Koyuk had a population of 312.

Its first post office opened in 1930. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 332 to 312 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Koyuk, 1850 to 1950

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Alaska - Second Judicial Division County …
  3. 20th century
  4. 1946Post officeThe Koyuk post office opens
  5. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Koyuk, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Alaska - Second Judicial Division County - ED 2-16, ED 2-1718501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Alask…
Date unknown1 to date
100804-G-5176S-335-Arctic-Crossroads-2010Date?100804-G-5176S-335-Arctic-Crossroads-2010
Today2 recent
Koyuk Alaska - Drone2018Koyuk Alaska - DroneKoyuk whale hunter rescue DVIDS10960182010Koyuk whale hunter rescue DVIDS1096018
On the map

Koyuk on the map in 1950

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

Koyuk on the 1950 USGS map1950Norton Bay 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 Koyuk.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Alaska - Second Judicial Division County - ED 2-16, ED 2-17
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Alaska - Second Judicial Division County - ED 2-16, ED 2-17, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Koyuk, census by census

010020030019401960198020002020Peak: 332

Between 100 and 332 people in every census since 1930.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Koyuk’s post office has been open since 1946.

Gone or out of use
Koyuk Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Koyuk’s history

What year was Koyuk founded?

The Koyuk post office opened in 1930, 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 (4), 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.