Flat, Alaska

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Flat is a census-designated place located in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population of the CDP is 4. According to the United States Census Bureau, it is one of only 6 places in the United States with a population of four people. The others are Blacksville, Georgia, Northwest Hancock, Maine, Township 157-30, Minnesota, Victory Township, Minnesota, and Bean's Purchase, New Hampshire.

1 Geography
2 History
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Flat is located at 62°27'15" North, 158°0'30" West (62.454135, -158.008284)^GR1, 7 miles SE of Iditarod, Alaska.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 417.2 km² (161.1 mi²). 417.2 km² (161.1 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.

[edit] History

Prospectors John Beaton and W.A. Dikeman discovered gold on Otter Creek on 25 December 1908. News of the discovery spread slowly, but a small rush of miners arrived in the summer of 1909 and built a small camp they called Flat City. More gold was discoverd on nearby Flat Creek and a massive stampede arrived in 1910.^[1] Peter Miscovich, Lars Ostnes, and David Strandberg were prominent early arrivals that, like Beaton, successfully mined long after the initial "boomtown" had faded. By 1914, the community had expanded to about 6,000 people, complete with an elementary school, a telephone system, two stores, a hotel, restaurant, pool hall, laundry and jail. However, by 1930, the population had declined to 124. Flat was never officially townsited and sits on mining claims, making its existence illegal, but an official U.S. Post Office served the few residents until it was closed in 2000. As of 2005, there are no permanent residents, but a few mining families operate there seasonally.