Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1900.
The Skagway post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Skagway is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Alaska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Alaska town has 3.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Skagway’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Alaska towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost two-thirds of its people between 1900 and 1930, then more than doubled.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Skagway’s Wikipedia page.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
![Looking toward Tiaih now Dyhia [i.e., Dyea] & Skagway](https://images.townratings.com/story/35811/c8690e0341edbe1de0ed-s.jpg)
1894Looking toward Tiaih now Dyhia [i.e., Dyea] & Skagway
c. 1897Asahel Curtis and companion on Skagway Trail, ca. 1897
c. 1897Bird's-eye view of Skagway, ca. 1897
1897Landing supplies by lighter on the beach at Skagway, …
1897Loading supplies on to steamer in Skagway harbor, Ala…
1897Logging operation at Skagway, August 7, 1897
1897Muddy street scene with Klondikers and tents along Br…
1897Muddy street scene, Skagway, Alaska, October 1897
1897Skagua (sic), Alaska
1897Shoeing horses in the woods, Skaguay (sic), Alaska
1897Skaguay (sic), Aug. 12th, 1897
1898Bark MERCURY wrecked in Skagway harbor, April 1898From Wikipedia’s history of Skagway.
Skagway is the English adaptation of sha-ka-ԍéi, a Tlingit idiom which figuratively refers to rough seas in the Taiya Inlet, that are caused by strong north winds. Literally, sha-ka-ԍéi is a verbal noun which means pretty woman. The verbal noun was derived from the Tlingit finite verb theme -sha-ka-li-ԍéi, which means, in the case of a woman, to be pretty.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveLooking toward Tiaih now Dyhia [i.e., Dyea] & Skagway
Born hereHoratio Nelson Lay is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Skagway. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Skagway.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
![Looking toward Tiaih now Dyhia [i.e., Dyea] & Skagway](https://images.townratings.com/story/35811/c8690e0341edbe1de0ed-l.jpg)
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Skagway’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
The Skagway post office opened in 1897, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Skagway is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
16% of Skagway’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 0.3% for an Alaska town; the median home was built in 1982.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (4), Wikipedia, 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.
