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History · Noorvik

Noorvik was first counted by the census in 1920

Most of Noorvik was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1920.

1920first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Noorvik’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Noorvik began

When was Noorvik founded?

1920

Noorvik first appears in the census in 1920.

First census: 281 in 19202020 census: 694106 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Noorvik’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 Noorvik’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Noorvik’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 viewUntitled photo: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Noorvik came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Noorvik.

Read it all →

Noorvik means "a place that is moved to" in Inupiaq. The village was established by Kowagmuit Inupiat fishermen and hunters from Deering in the early 1900s. Other settlers came from Oksik, a few miles upriver. The area had previously been inhabited by Kuuŋmuit Inupiaq up until the beginning of the 20th century, whose organized settlements had largely disappeared by the turn of the century due to famine and a flu outbreak. However, the village tribal association has founded itself on "the legacy of the Kuuŋmuit Inuit," including basing their logo on a map of the Kuuŋmuit's former territory.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Noorvik, 1938 to 1998

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1938Post officeThe Noorvik post office opens
  3. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1998In the archiveUntitled photo
By decade

Noorvik, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Untitled photo1998Untitled photo
Today5 recent
Old Noorvik Friends' Church2024Old Noorvik Friends' ChurchNoorvik Native Store and Old Town2024Noorvik Native Store and Old TownNoorvik Friends' Church2024Noorvik Friends' ChurchArctic Care Distinguished Visitor Day 130420-M-QX735-0962013Arctic Care Distinguished Visitor Day 130420-M-QX735-…Noorvik, AK2011Noorvik, AK
On the map

Noorvik on the map in 1955

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

Noorvik on the 1955 USGS map1955Selawik 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 Noorvik.

People over time

Noorvik, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020694

Grew from 281 people in 1920 to 694 in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Questions about Noorvik’s history

What year was Noorvik founded?

The Noorvik post office opened in 1920, 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 (6), Wikipedia, 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.