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History · Toksook Bay

Toksook Bay was first counted by the census in 1970

Most of Toksook Bay was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1954 on, and the census since 1970.

1970first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Toksook Bay’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Toksook Bay began

When was Toksook Bay founded?

1970

Toksook Bay first appears in the census in 1970.

First census: 257 in 19702020 census: 65856 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Toksook Bay’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Toksook Bay’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewOOK-c: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Toksook Bay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Toksook Bay.

Read it all →

The community was chosen as the site of first enumeration of the 2020 U.S. census, due to the remoteness of the Alaskan Bush and the necessity of collecting census data early from remote sites. The enumeration started on January 21, 2020.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Toksook Bay, decade by decade

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

1990s1 item
OOK-c1996OOK-c
Today17 recent
Alaska National Guard2022Alaska National GuardAlaska National Guard2022Alaska National GuardAlaska National Guard2022Alaska National GuardAlaska National Guard2022Alaska National GuardAlaska National Guard2022Alaska National GuardAlaska National Guard2022Alaska National GuardAlaska National Guard2022Alaska National GuardAlaska National Guard2022Alaska National GuardWind turbine in2015Wind turbine inToksook Bay P10106942012Toksook Bay P1010694Toksook Bay P10106582012Toksook Bay P1010658Toksook Bay P10106552012Toksook Bay P1010655Toksook Bay2009Toksook BayToksook Bay2009Toksook BayToksook Bay (3901721742) (cropped)2009Toksook Bay (3901721742) (cropped)Toksook Bay2009Toksook BayAKMap-doton-ToksookBay2004AKMap-doton-ToksookBay
On the map

Toksook Bay on the map in 1954

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Toksook Bay.

Toksook Bay on the 1954 USGS map1954Nunivak Island C-1 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 Toksook Bay.

People over time

Toksook Bay, census by census

0100200300400500600700198020002020658

Grew from 257 people in 1970 to 658 in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Toksook Bay

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

See all →
J
John AngaiakYupik singer-songwriter · b. 1941
R
Rita Pitka BlumensteinYup'ik traditional healer · b. 1936
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Umkumiute
Gone or out of use
Nunakolaklocale
1cemetery inside Toksook Bay
Toksook Bay Native

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Toksook Bay’s history

What year was Toksook Bay founded?

The Toksook Bay post office opened in 1970, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1972.

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) 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.