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B+History
History · Unalaska

Unalaska dates to 1774, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 73% of U.S. towns · #2 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it

Most of Unalaska was built recently: 0.9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them 3 National Historic Landmarks and a historic district with 8 buildings. Below: 20 old photos and papers, maps from 1990 on, and the census since 1880.

1774founded
3on the National Register
0.9%homes built before 1940
20old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Unalaska’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Unalaska began

When was Unalaska founded?

1774

Unalaska dates its founding to 1774 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 406 in 18802020 census: 4,254252 years

How historic is Unalaska?

B+

More historic than 73% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Unalaska’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Unalaska is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #2 of 41 in Alaska. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Unalaska’s overall grade.
Founding era1774, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19400.9% of homes (±0.8) · typical AK town 0.3% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register3 listings, 10 historic buildings, 21.9 per 10,000 residents · typical AK town 3.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 73%
NewerOlder
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)Ahead of 98%

Alaska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Alaska town has 3.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Unalaska’s 21.9 sits above most of its state (90% of Alaska towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1774.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A+. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Unalaska’s past

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

Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1900 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.A town in old photos20 old photos, postcards and papers, 1816–1995.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Unalaska, and 3 old place names are still on the map.A National Historic Landmark3 places on the National Register, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks.
★ What stands out · People over time

Unalaska, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,50018801900192019401960198020002020428 in 1900Low: 173

Lost half of its people between 1900 and 1950, then grew more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

By decade

Unalaska, decade by decade

8 decades in the archive, from the 1810s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1810s1 item
Port of Unalaska, Alaska, between 1816 and 18171816Port of Unalaska, Alaska, between 1816 and 1817Document
1880s–1890s6 items
Unalaska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1880-19001880Unalaska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1880-1900Ililuliuk [i.e., Iliuliuk] Unalaska Island, Bering Sea1894Ililuliuk [i.e., Iliuliuk] Unalaska Island, Bering SeaSailors standing in line on boardwalk with a group of local women and men standing nearby observing the ceremony, possi…1894Sailors standing in line on boardwalk with a group of…Body of water with mountains in background1899Body of water with mountains in backgroundBarrabara at Unalaska1899Barrabara at UnalaskaBody of water with mountains in background1899Body of water with mountains in background
1900s7 items
Town and mountain scene1900Town and mountain sceneA barabaras, which was once an Aleut home1900A barabaras, which was once an Aleut homeDog team1900Dog teamTown of Unalaska, Alaska, June 19061906Town of Unalaska, Alaska, June 1906Unalaska, Alaska as seen from across the bay, circa 1906c. 1906Unalaska, Alaska as seen from across the bay, circa 1…Unalaska, Alaska showing the Holy Ascension Russian Orthodox Cathedral at left and Iliuliuk Bay in background, 1906-19081906Unalaska, Alaska showing the Holy Ascension Russian O…U.S. Revenue cutter "Manning"1908U.S. Revenue cutter "Manning"
1910s–1920s4 items
Unalaska, Alaska, circa 1910c. 1910Unalaska, Alaska, circa 1910Clara Ellen Tarte Davenport and her students1910Clara Ellen Tarte Davenport and her studentsThe Town Crier, v.10, no.51, Dec. 18, 19151915The Town Crier, v.10, no.51, Dec. 18, 1915Douglas World Cruiser "Seattle" aircraft being serviced by men in rowboat1924Douglas World Cruiser "Seattle" aircraft being servic…
1930s–1960snothing 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
1970s–1990s2 items
Unalaska 11972Unalaska 1Alaska's Marine Highway - Unalaska's History and Scenery1995Alaska's Marine Highway - Unalaska's History and Scen…
Today2 recent
Airmen Memorial2017Airmen MemorialUnalaska2014Unalaska
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Unalaska’s post office has been open since 1898. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Ounalaska
1888–1898
Dutch Harbor
1894–1941
Unalaska
1898–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dutch HarborImagneeUknodok
Gone or out of use
Dutch Harbor Naval Operating BasemilitaryFort BrumbackmilitaryFort LearnardmilitaryFort MearsmilitaryFort Schwatkamilitary
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Unalaska
Holy Ascension Cathedral ChurchUnalaska City

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

The story

How Unalaska came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Unalaska.

Read it all →

The island of Unalaska was first inhabited by the Aleut people.

Unalaska and Amaknak islands contained 24 settlements with more than 1,000 Aleut inhabitants in 1759, when the first Russian group under Stepan Glotov came and started trading for three years on Umnak and Unalaska. Between 1763 and 1766, a conflict between the Russian fur traders and the Unalaska Natives occurred; the Aleuts destroyed four Russian ships and killed 175 hunters/traders. In the 1760s, Unalaska was temporarily used as a Russian fur trading post. The post was permanently established in 1774, and was eventually incorporated into the Russian-American Company. It was there that Captain James Cook encountered the navigator Gerasim Izmailov in 1778.

ChaptersRecent history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Unalaska, 1774 to 1985

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1774
    FoundingUnalaska is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1805BuiltSitka Spruce Plantation is built
  5. 1816In the archivePort of Unalaska, Alaska, between 1816 and 1817
  6. 1826BuiltChurch of the Holy Ascension is built
  7. 1880In the archiveUnalaska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1880-1900
  8. 1888Post officeThe Ounalaska post office opens
  9. 1894In the archiveIliluliuk [i.e., Iliuliuk] Unalaska Island, Bering Sea
  10. 1894Post officeThe Dutch Harbor post office opens
  11. 1898Post officeThe Ounalaska post office closes
  12. 1898Post officeThe Unalaska post office opens
  13. 20th century
  14. 1900In the archiveTown and mountain scene
  15. 1910In the archiveUnalaska, Alaska, circa 1910
  16. 1924In the archiveDouglas World Cruiser "Seattle" aircraft being serviced by men in rowboat
  17. 1940BuiltDutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army is built
  18. 1941Post officeThe Dutch Harbor post office closes
  19. 1970LandmarkChurch of the Holy Ascension named a National Historic Landmark
  20. 1978LandmarkSitka Spruce Plantation named a National Historic Landmark
  21. 1985LandmarkDutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army named a National Historic Lan…
On the map

Unalaska on the map in 1990

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

Unalaska on the 1990 USGS map1990Unalaska C-2 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 Unalaska.

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.

Unalaska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1880-1900
Retake this viewUnalaska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1880-1900, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 10 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 3 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
3
Church of the Holy Ascension
historic buildings protected
10
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Church of the Holy Ascension
Church of the Holy Ascension, built 1826★Sitka Spruce Plantation, built 1805★Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army, built 1940★
BuildingsDistrictsSites★ landmark
★ Landmark
Church of the Holy AscensionBuilt 1826
★ Landmark
Sitka Spruce PlantationBuilt 1805
★ Landmark
Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. ArmyBuilt 1940

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

Help out

Finish Unalaska’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
5 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewUnalaska, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 188…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Unalaska’s history

What year was Unalaska founded?

In 1774, according to Wikidata. Unalaska’s post office opened in 1888, and the census of 1880 counted 406 people here.

How does Unalaska rank for history?

Unalaska is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns, #2 of 41 in Alaska. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Unalaska?

Three places: the Church of the Holy Ascension (listed 1970), the Sitka Spruce Plantation (1978) and the Dutch Harbor Naval Operating Base and Fort Mears, U.S. Army (1985).

How old are the homes in Unalaska?

0.9% of Unalaska’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.3% for an Alaska town; the median home was built in 1992.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (9), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.