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History · Yakutat

Yakutat’s post office opened in 1892, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Yakutat was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1959 on, and the census since 1880.

1892first post office
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Yakutat’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Yakutat began

When was Yakutat founded?

1892

The Yakutat post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1992.

First census: 300 in 18802020 census: 657134 years
Founding year: the first Yakutat post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1992.The full story ↓

What stands out about Yakutat’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 1890 and 1920, then grew 4-fold.A National Historic Landmark1 place on the National Register, including New Russia Site, a National Historic Landmark.
★ What stands out · People over time

Yakutat, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020308 in 1890Low: 165

Lost half of its people between 1890 and 1920, then grew 4-fold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Yakutat

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmark
1
New Russia Site
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
New Russia Site
New Russia Site, built 1795★
Sites★ landmark
All 1 listings
New Russia SiteSite · listed 1972

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

The story

How Yakutat came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Yakutat.

Read it all →

The original settlers in the Yakutat area are believed to have been Eyak-speaking people from the Copper River area. Tlingit people migrated into the region and the Eyak were assimilated into the tribe before the arrival of Europeans in Alaska. Yakutat was only one of a number of Tlingit and mixed Tlingit-Eyak settlements in the region. The others have been depopulated or abandoned.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Yakutat, 1795 to 2000

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1795BuiltNew Russia Site is built
  3. 19th century
  4. 1890In the archiveGlacier below Yakutat, Alaska, circa 1890-1900
  5. 1892Post officeThe Yakutat post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1903In the archiveThree native girl curio venders at Yakutat, Alaska - Miles Bros
  8. 1909Born hereElmer E. Rasmuson is born here
  9. 1929Born hereElaine Abraham is born here
  10. 1943Born hereByron Mallott is born here
  11. 1951Post officeThe Lost River post office opens
  12. 1955Post officeThe Lost River post office closes
  13. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1971Born hereDebra Lekanoff is born here
  15. 1978LandmarkNew Russia Site named a National Historic Landmark
  16. 21st century
  17. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 808
By decade

Yakutat, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s5 items
Glacier below Yakutat, Alaska, circa 1890-19001890Glacier below Yakutat, Alaska, circa 1890-1900FMIB 388491899FMIB 38849Village of Yakutat, Yakutat Bay, Alaska, June 18991899Village of Yakutat, Yakutat Bay, Alaska, June 1899Three native girl curio venders at Yakutat, Alaska - Miles Bros1903Three native girl curio venders at Yakutat, Alaska - …Man seated in front door of house, probably Yakutat, Alaska, circa 1906c. 1906Man seated in front door of house, probably Yakutat, …
1910s–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
On the map

Yakutat on the map, 1959 to 1996

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

Yakutat on the 1959 USGS mapYakutat on the 1987 USGS mapYakutat on the 1996 USGS map1959Yakutat C-5 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 Yakutat.

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.

Glacier below Yakutat, Alaska, circa 1890-1900
Retake this viewGlacier below Yakutat, Alaska, circa 1890-1900, 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

4 famous people were born in Yakutat

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Byron MallottAmerican politician · b. 1943
D
Debra LekanoffAmerican politician from Washington state · b. 1971
E
Elaine AbrahamTlingit elder, registered nurse and educator · b. 1929
Elmer E. RasmusonAmerican banker and politician · b. 1909
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Yakutat’s post office has been open since 1892. Another post office, Lost River, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Yakutat
1892–today
Lost River
1951–1955
18901960today

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

Help out

Finish Yakutat’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGlacier below Yakutat, Alaska, circa 18…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Yakutat’s history

What year was Yakutat founded?

The Yakutat post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1992.

What is on the National Register in Yakutat?

One place: the New Russia Site (listed 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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.