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History · Lake Louise

Half of Lake Louise’s homes were built after 1984

Most of Lake Louise was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lake Louise’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Lake Louise’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Louise’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAgent cross and Piper Pacer float-plane…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Lake Louise, in brief

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

Lake Louise (Sasnuu’ Bene’ in Ahtna) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. Although it is an isolated settlement and is close to Glennallen, it is considered part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Area, like all other locations in the Mat-Su Borough. At the 2020 census the population was 15, down from 46 in 2010 and 88 in 2000. The first recorded name of Lake Louise was Shosubenich, which means "great flat water with many islands". When Lieutenant Joseph Castner first arrived at the lake on August 6th 1898, he named it "Lake Adah" after a pretty girl he knew. However, when Captain Edwin Glenn arrived sometime later, he convinced Castner to chang…

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 46 to 15 (-67%).

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

By decade

Lake Louise, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1950s1 item
Agent cross and Piper Pacer float-plane at1953Agent cross and Piper Pacer float-plane at
1960s–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
Today5 recent
Lakelouiseisland2009LakelouiseislandLakelouise2009LakelouiseBearmailbox2009BearmailboxLAKE LOUISE, EMBARCADERO2008LAKE LOUISE, EMBARCADEROAKMap-doton-LakeLouise2004AKMap-doton-LakeLouise
On the map

Lake Louise on the map in 1950

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Louise.

Lake Louise on the 1950 USGS map1950Gulkana B-6 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 Lake Louise.

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.

Agent cross and Piper Pacer float-plane at
Retake this viewAgent cross and Piper Pacer float-plane at, 1953

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Lake Louise, census by census

020002020Peak: 88

Between 15 and 88 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Lake Louise

Nobody well known was born in Lake Louise itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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

Old corners

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Tyone Village

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Lake Louise’s history

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), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.