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History · Kwethluk

Kwethluk was first counted by the census in 1880, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Kwethluk was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Its Register listing is the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Kwethluk’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Kwethluk began

When was Kwethluk founded?

1880

Kwethluk first appears in the census in 1880.

First census: 75 in 18802020 census: 812146 years
Founding year: the first census.

What stands out about Kwethluk’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Kwethluk’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kwethluk’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 viewPhillip Guy: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Kwethluk, in brief

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

Kwethluk ( KWEETH-luuk; Central Yupik: Kuiggluk) is a city in Bethel Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, Kwethluk had a population of 812. It is the birthplace of Saint Olga of Alaska.

Its first post office opened in 1880. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 721 to 812 (+13%).

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

Timeline

Kwethluk, 1916 to 1996

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1916Born hereOlga Michael is born here
  3. 1947Post officeThe Kwethluk post office opens
  4. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1973In the archivePhillip Guy
  6. 1996In the archiveKWT-a
By decade

Kwethluk, decade by decade

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

1970s–1990s3 items
Phillip Guy1973Phillip GuyPhillip Guy 19771977Phillip Guy 1977KWT-a1996KWT-a
Today5 recent
Jim Nordlund, USDA-RD, and Xenia Nikoli, a resident of the village of2014Jim Nordlund, USDA-RD, and Xenia Nikoli, a resident o…Jim Nordlund (cropped)2014Jim Nordlund (cropped)Kuskokwim River2012Kuskokwim RiverOperation Arctic Care DVIDS1569082009Operation Arctic Care DVIDS156908Kwethluk2007Kwethluk
On the map

Kwethluk on the map in 1954

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

Kwethluk on the 1954 USGS map1954Bethel D-7 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 Kwethluk.

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.

Phillip Guy
Retake this viewPhillip Guy, 1973

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Kwethluk

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church
St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church
Buildings
All 1 listings
St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox ChurchBuilding · listed 1991

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Kwethluk, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020812

Grew from 75 people in 1880 to 812 in 2020, more than tenfold.

10 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Kwethluk’s post office has been open since 1947.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Nunapitsinchak

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

Questions about Kwethluk’s history

What year was Kwethluk founded?

The Kwethluk post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1975.

What is on the National Register in Kwethluk?

One place: the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church (listed 1991).

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 (8), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.