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History · Alaska

Alaska’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Alaska. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Alaska Township is a township in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 195 as of the 2020 census. Alaska Township was named by settlers who had recently returned from a trip to Alaska.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 217 to 195 (-10%). Half of its homes were built before 1984.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Alaska yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Alaska’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from AlaskaWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Alaska.Meet them →
By decade

Alaska, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Alaska is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Alaska has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is District No. 132 School in Roosevelt, 4.9 miles away.

Alaska and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Alaska. Tap a dot.
District No. 132 SchoolLake Bemidji State Park CCC/NYA/Rustic Style Historic ResourcesVirginia City HallDavid Park HouseBeltrami County CourthouseSaum Schools

Closest to Alaska

District No. 132 SchoolRoosevelt · Built 19144.9miLake Bemidji State Park CCC/NYA/Rustic Style Historic ResourcesNorthern · District19.5miVirginia City HallShevlin · Built 192420.3miDavid Park HouseBemidji · Building21.7miBeltrami County CourthouseBemidji · Building22mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. District No. 132 School’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Alaska?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Alaska’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Maple Ridge📜 Roosevelt📜 Nebish📜 Liberty
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Alaska, MNBeltrami CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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