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History · Tanacross

Tanacross’ post office opened in 1934

Most of Tanacross was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1920.

1934first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Tanacross began

When was Tanacross founded?

1934

The Tanacross post office opened in 1934, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Saint Timothys (1920), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 101 in 19202020 census: 14492 years
Founding year: the first Tanacross post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Tanacross’ 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 Tanacross are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Tanacross’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Tanacross’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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The story

How Tanacross came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tanacross.

Read it all →

Tanacross, initially founded as a telegraph station called Tanana Crossing (also known as St. Timothy's). The name was shortened to Tanacross before 1940. The village was initially located on the north bank of the Tanana River. An airstrip was built on the south bank during the mid-1930s and upgraded for military use during World War II in 1941–42. Thousands of troops deployed through Tanacross during the period. The airfield was closed after the war. In 1972, the town itself relocated south across the river due to water contamination. In 1979, the old village burned due to an uncontrolled grass fire.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tanacross, 1920 to 1964

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1920Post officeThe Saint Timothys post office opens
  3. 1934Post officeThe Saint Timothys post office closes
  4. 1934Post officeThe Tanacross post office opens
  5. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1964Post officeThe Tanacross post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Tanacross on the map, 1948 to 1952

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

Tanacross on the 1948 USGS mapTanacross on the 1952 USGS map1948Tanacross B-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 Tanacross.

People over time

Tanacross, census by census

0100192019401960198020002020Peak: 144

Between 80 and 144 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Tanacross had its own post office from 1934 to 1964. Another post office, Saint Timothys, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Saint Timothys
1920–1934
Tanacross
1934–1964
19201970today

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

TokIts storyD−

Questions about Tanacross’ history

What year was Tanacross founded?

The Tanacross post office opened in 1934, 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 →
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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 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.