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Wales SitePhoto: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain
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History · Wales

Wales was first counted by the census in 1880

Most of Wales was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1880.

1880first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wales’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wales began

When was Wales founded?

1880

Wales first appears in the census in 1880.

First census: 400 in 18802020 census: 168146 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Wales’ past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 488 in 1890; 168 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · People over time

Wales, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 488

Peaked at 488 in 1890; 168 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Wales came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Wales.

Read it all →

A burial mound from the Birnirk culture (500 to 900 AD) was discovered near Wales and is now a National Historic Landmark.

In 1827, a Russian Navy report listed the Inupiat villages of "Eidamoo" near the coast and "King-a-ghe" inland in the area.

In 1890, the American Missionary Association established a mission at the site of present-day Wales. In the 1890s, reindeer (domesticated caribou) were brought to the area and in 1894 a reindeer station was established. Wales became an important whaling center due to its location along whale migratory routes, and it was the region's largest and most prosperous village, with more than 500 residents. Wales is named after Cape Prince of Wales, which itself was named by Captain Cook in 1778.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Wales, 1890 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 488
  3. 20th century
  4. 1901In the archiveBeach scene with houses and structures built inland from coast, Kingegan, Alaska, between…
  5. 1902Post officeThe Wales post office opens
  6. 1917In the archiveAlaska
  7. 1933Born hereRonald Senungetuk is born here
  8. 1941In the archiveAlaska
  9. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1972In the archiveReindeer herding at
By decade

Wales, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1970s5 items
Beach scene with houses and structures built inland from coast, Kingegan, Alaska, between 1901 and 19061901Beach scene with houses and structures built inland f…Human skull from ancient pit resting on ground, Kingegan, Alaska, between 1901 and 19061901Human skull from ancient pit resting on ground, Kinge…Alaska1917AlaskaAlaska1941AlaskaReindeer herding at1972Reindeer herding at
1980s–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
Date unknown1 to date
Wales SiteDate?Wales Site
Today6 recent
Population of2019Population ofPolar bear patrol training in2016Polar bear patrol training inPolar bear patrol training in2016Polar bear patrol training inPolar bear patrol trainees in2016Polar bear patrol trainees inWales Community 22015Wales Community 2AKMap-doton-Wales2004AKMap-doton-Wales
On the map

Wales on the map in 1950

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

Wales on the 1950 USGS map1950Teller C-7 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 Wales.

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.

Beach scene with houses and structures built inland from coast, Kingegan, Alaska, between 1901 and 1906
Retake this viewBeach scene with houses and structures built inland from coast, Kingegan, Alaska, between 1901 and 1906, 1901

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners

Wales’s post office has been open since 1902.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Tarpkwa

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

Help out

Finish Wales’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBeach scene with houses and structures …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Wales’ history

What year was Wales founded?

The Wales post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1964.

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 (12), 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.