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History · Newtok

Half of Newtok’s homes were built after 1974

Most of Newtok was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1950.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Ernie Tyler from Ramona, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0

What stands out about Newtok’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Newtok are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 354 in 2010; 209 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newtok’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Newtok, census by census

01002003001960198020002020Peak: 354

Peaked at 354 in 2010; 209 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

The story so far

Newtok, in brief

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

Newtok (Central Yupik: Niugtaq) is a small village on the Ningliq River in the Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population is 0 as of late 2024, down from 321 in 2000, and the village has been abandoned. Climate change and river erosion forced the primarily Central Yup'ik Alaska Native village to consider relocation. Residents moved to the new village of Mertarvik.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 354 to 209 (-41%).

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

By decade

Newtok, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Newtok 1974 0032012Newtok 1974 003Newtok 1974 0022012Newtok 1974 002Newtok 1974 0012012Newtok 1974 001Jimmy Tom with native drum2012Jimmy Tom with native drumUSMC-100629-M-3355L-0162010USMC-100629-M-3355L-016AKMap-doton-Newtok2004AKMap-doton-Newtok
On the map

Newtok on the map in 1954

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

Newtok on the 1954 USGS map1954Baird Inlet D-8 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 Newtok.

Famous people

Famous people close to Newtok

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

See all →
J
John AngaiakYupik singer-songwriter · b. 1941
R
Rita Pitka BlumensteinYup'ik traditional healer · b. 1936

Questions about Newtok’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 and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.