York, Alaska
York was a mining settlement in the U.S. state of Alaska during the late 19th- and early 20th-century.
The mining camp was located at the mouth of Anikovik River, at Cape York on the Seward Peninsula, about 80 miles (130 km) north-west of Nome and 45 miles (72 km) north-west of Port Clarence. Wales, the westernmost settlement on the mainland United States, is 15 miles (24 km) north-west of York at Cape Prince of Wales.[1]
In the spring of 1900, York promised to be a place of importance and a post office was established in April, but in the early fall, its population had been reduced to about 20–30. The settlement included a number of log cabins and half a dozen substantial frame buildings. It was a distributing point[clarification needed] for the region to the north, but during the stormy months of the fall, landing at York was difficult.[2] The post office was closed in 1902[3] and the settlement's entire population died during the influenza epidemic of 1918. The disease reached Wales from York where it killed 170 of Wales's 310 residents.[4][5]
References
[edit]- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: U.S. Geological Survey's "Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900" (1901)
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: M. Baker's "Geographic dictionary of Alaska" (1906)
- ^ Geological Survey (U.S.); Alfred Hulse Brooks; Arthur James Collier; Walter Curran Mendenhall; George Burr Richardson (1901). Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay regions, Alaska, in 1900. Government Printing Office. pp. 69–. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ^ Geological Survey (1901), p. 138
- ^ Baker, Marcus (1906). Geographic dictionary of Alaska (Public domain ed.). Govt. Print. Off. pp. 686–. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ^ Lynette Iezzoni's Influenza 1918: The Worst Epidemic In American History, pg 167.
- ^ "Ghost towns scattered across Alaska map | Geophysical Institute". www.gi.alaska.edu. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
65°29′38″N 167°41′02″W / 65.494°N 167.684°W