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History · South Naknek

South Naknek’s post office opened in 1937, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 50 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1880.

1937first post office
2on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From South Naknek’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How South Naknek began

When was South Naknek founded?

1937

The South Naknek post office opened in 1937, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 192 in 18802020 census: 6789 years
Founding year: the first South Naknek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about South Naknek’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe APA's Diamond NN Cannery takes in 50 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Naknek’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSouth-Naknek-Airport-FAA-photo: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

2 listings protect 51 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
51
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Elevation of Holy Cross Church
Elevation of Holy Cross ChurchAPA's Diamond NN Cannery
BuildingsDistricts
Elevation of Holy Cross ChurchBuilding
All 2 listings
APA's Diamond NN CanneryDistrict · listed 2021

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

The story so far

South Naknek, in brief

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

South Naknek (Central Yupik: Qinuyang) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 67, down from 79 in 2010.

Its first post office opened in 1937. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 79 to 67 (-15%).

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

Timeline

South Naknek, 1937 to 1997

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1937Post officeThe South Naknek post office opens
  3. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1997In the archiveSouth-Naknek-Airport-FAA-photo
By decade

South Naknek, decade by decade

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

1990s1 item
South-Naknek-Airport-FAA-photo1997South-Naknek-Airport-FAA-photo
Date unknown1 to date
Elevation of the Holy Cross Russian Orthodox ChurchDate?Elevation of the Holy Cross Russian Orthodox Church
On the map

South Naknek on the map, 1952 to 1964

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of South Naknek. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

South Naknek on the 1952 USGS mapSouth Naknek on the 1964 USGS map1952Naknek sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of South Naknek.

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.

Elevation of the Holy Cross Russian Orthodox Church
Retake this viewElevation of the Holy Cross Russian Orthodox Church

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

South Naknek, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 192

Between 67 and 192 people in every census since 1880.

9 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to South Naknek

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

See all →
M
Matthew BurtnerAmerican composer · b. 1970
A
Adelheid HerrmannAmerican politician · b. 1953
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

South Naknek’s post office has been open since 1937.

Gone or out of use
Diamond N Cannery AirportairportPaf Cannery Airportairport
1cemetery inside South Naknek
Naknek

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

Questions about South Naknek’s history

What year was South Naknek founded?

The South Naknek post office opened in 1937, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in South Naknek?

Two places: the Elevation of Holy Cross Church (listed 1980) and the APA's Diamond NN Cannery (2021).

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 (1), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.