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History · Tanana

Tanana was first counted by the census in 1880, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Tanana was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Tanana’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Tanana began

When was Tanana founded?

1880

Tanana first appears in the census in 1880.

First census: 27 in 18802020 census: 246146 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Tanana’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 406 in 1970; 246 people lived here in 2020.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · People over time

Tanana, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 406

Peaked at 406 in 1970; 246 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

By decade

Tanana, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s12 items
St. James Mission, Tenana, Alaska, circa 1900c. 1900St. James Mission, Tenana, Alaska, circa 1900Tower House1900Tower HouseTanana building1900Tanana buildingNatives1900NativesTwo men sitting on wood blocks1900Two men sitting on wood blocksMan in front of his cabin1900Man in front of his cabinDan Cadzow1900Dan CadzowJudge Dehn1900Judge DehnWoman and dog outside log cabin1900Woman and dog outside log cabinTwo Eskimo men1900Two Eskimo menIndigenous peoples outside of log building1900Indigenous peoples outside of log buildingWells Fargo & Co. Express1900Wells Fargo & Co. Express
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Tanana came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tanana.

Read it all →

Prior to arrival of settlers in early 1860, the point of land at the confluence of the Tanana and Yukon Rivers (Nuchalawoyyet, spelled differently in historical accounts) was a traditional meeting and trading place used by members of several indigenous groups. There were as many as five different Athabascan languages spoken in the area in 1868 when the French-Canadian François Xavier Mercier established the first fur-trading post in the area. Noukelakayet Station, later known as Fort Adams, was located on the north bank of the Yukon, about 15 miles (24 km) downstream from the mouth of the Tanana River.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tanana, 1892 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Born hereWalter Harper is born here
  3. 1898Post officeThe Tanana post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archiveSt. James Mission, Tenana, Alaska, circa 1900
  6. 1939Born hereMorris Thompson is born here
  7. 1952On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 406
On the map

Tanana on the map in 1952

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

Tanana on the 1952 USGS map1952Tanana A-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 Tanana.

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.

St. James Mission, Tenana, Alaska, circa 1900
Retake this viewSt. James Mission, Tenana, Alaska, circa 1900, c. 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Tanana

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Tanana Mission
Tanana Mission
Districts
Tanana MissionDistrict

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Tanana

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Walter HarperAmerican mountain climber · b. 1892
K
Kathleen Carlo-KendallAmerican artist
Morris ThompsonAlaska Native leader · b. 1939
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Tanana’s post office has been open since 1898.

Gone or out of use
Nuklukayetlocale

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

Help out

Finish Tanana’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewSt. James Mission, Tenana, Alaska, circ…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Tanana’s history

What year was Tanana founded?

The Tanana post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1961.

What is on the National Register in Tanana?

One place: the Tanana Mission (listed 1977).

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 (11), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.