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History · Togiak

Togiak was first counted by the census in 1920

Most of Togiak was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1954 on and the census since 1920.

1920first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Togiak began

When was Togiak founded?

1920

Togiak first appears in the census in 1920.

First census: 91 in 19202020 census: 817106 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Togiak’s 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 Togiak are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1920 and 1940, then grew more than tenfold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Togiak’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Togiak, census by census

020040060080019201940196019802000202091 in 1920Low: 10

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1920 and 1940, then grew more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Togiak came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Togiak.

Read it all →

Togiak is the successor village of two earlier Inuit villages, Togiagamute (Togiagamiut) & Togiak Station (also known as Togiak or Owens). The prior two villages were on the eastern side of Togiak Bay. By the early 20th century, heavy winter snowfalls made wood gathering difficult, so residents began to relocate to the west side of the bay to the new village of Togiak, which first appeared on the 1920 census. The earlier village of Togiagamute is now within the adjacent Twin Hills CDP, and the old site is still occupied. Togiak Station, about 7 miles south of the former Togiagamute, is now a ghost.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Togiak, 1954 to 2010

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1954On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1959Post officeThe Togiak post office opens
  4. 21st century
  5. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 817
By decade

Togiak, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2772016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-277Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2762016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-276Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2752016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-275Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2732016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-273Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2722016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-272Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2712016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-271Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2702016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-270Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2692016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-269Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2682016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-268Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2672016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-267Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2662016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-266Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2652016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-265Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2642016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-264Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2632016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-263Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2622016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-262Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-2612016Operation Santa Claus (Togiak) 161115-Z-NW557-261Alaska Governor Bill Walker greets Togiak elders2016Alaska Governor Bill Walker greets Togiak eldersClose up of ice on lake shore with village in background2013Close up of ice on lake shore with village in backgro…
On the map

Togiak on the map in 1954

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

Togiak on the 1954 USGS map1954Goodnews Bay A-4 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 Togiak.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Togiak’s post office has been open since 1959.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Ekiligamut
1cemetery inside Togiak
Togiak

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.

Twin HillsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Togiak’s history

What year was Togiak founded?

The Togiak post office opened in 1920, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1969.

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 (18), 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.