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History · Wiseman

Wiseman dates to 1908

Most of Wiseman was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1951 on, and the census since 1930.

1908founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Wiseman’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Wiseman began

When was Wiseman founded?

1908

Wiseman dates its founding to 1908 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 58 in 19302020 census: 5118 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1909.

What stands out about Wiseman’s past

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

Mystery photos6 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Wiseman’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo6 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPioneers of Alaska Igloo No. 8, Koyukuk…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Wiseman, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Wiseman yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Wiseman is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. The full time resident population is 12 as of 2022. Wiseman is a small mining community along the Middle Fork Koyukuk River in the Brooks Range. It was founded by gold miners who abandoned the Slate Creek (later Coldfoot) settlement around 1908. Another small mining village (Nolan, on Nolan creek - to the north) survived into the 1970s. Robert Marshall, who became a prominent American forester, preservation activist, and a co-founder of The Wilderness Society, wrote the bestselling book, Arctic Village, about his 15-month stay in this frontier town around the year 1930. Marshall described Wiseman…

Wiseman was established in 1908. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 14 to 5 (-64%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Wiseman, 1908 to 1956

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1908
    FoundingWiseman is established
  3. 1909Post officeThe Nolan post office opens
  4. 1923Post officeThe Nolan post office closes
  5. 1923Post officeThe Wiseman post office opens
  6. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1956Post officeThe Wiseman post office closes
By decade

Wiseman, decade by decade

Date unknown6 to date
Pioneers of Alaska Igloo No. 8, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Creek, Bettles VicinityDate?Pioneers of Alaska Igloo No. 8, Koyukuk River at Wise…Town of Wiseman, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Creek, Bettles VicinityDate?Town of Wiseman, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Creek, Bett…Northern Commercial Company Store, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Creek, Bettles VicinityDate?Northern Commercial Company Store, Koyukuk River at W…Vincent Knorr Homestead, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Creek, Bettles VicinityDate?Vincent Knorr Homestead, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Cre…Heppenstall-Green Cabin, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Creek, Bettles VicinityDate?Heppenstall-Green Cabin, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Cre…Gus Larson Cabin, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Creek, Bettles VicinityDate?Gus Larson Cabin, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Creek, Bet…
On the map

Wiseman on the map, 1951 to 1975

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Wiseman. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Wiseman on the 1951 USGS mapWiseman on the 1964 USGS mapWiseman on the 1975 USGS map1951Wiseman sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Wiseman.

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.

Pioneers of Alaska Igloo No. 8, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Creek, Bettles Vicinity
Retake this viewPioneers of Alaska Igloo No. 8, Koyukuk River at Wiseman Creek, Bettles Vicinity

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Wiseman, census by census

019401960198020002020Peak: 58

Between 5 and 58 people in every census since 1930.

6 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Wiseman had its own post office from 1923 to 1956. Another post office, Nolan, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Nolan
1909–1923
Wiseman
1923–1956
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Nolan

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

Questions about Wiseman’s history

What year was Wiseman founded?

In 1908, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Wiseman’s post office opened in 1909, and the census of 1930 counted 58 people here.

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 the Library of Congress (6), 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.