Seldovia, Alaska

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Seldovia is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 286 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Seldovia History
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Seldovia is located at 59°26′20″N, 151°42′45″W (59.438827, -151.712377)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²). 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (33.33%) is water.

[edit] Seldovia History

Seldovia was founded in modern times as a small village by Russians working the fur trade in the early 1800's. Although there has been little definitive archeological evidence of human habitation at Seldovia prior to the 1800s, it is said the early Russian St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, started in 1820, was built on top of an older aboriginal Inuit village site. The town's original Russian name, Seldevoy, translates to "Herring Bay", as there was a significant herring population prior to rampant overfishing early in the 20th century.

The Good Friday Earthquake on March 27 of 1964 changed Seldovia forever. After the 9.2 earthquake the areas landmass dropped four feet, allowing the high tide to wash over the boardwalk and into the houses and stores along the waterfront. The land was raised using fill from surrounding areas and much of the town, including a new boardwalk, was rebuilt on higher ground. Until the development of a more complete road system in Alaska, Seldovia was an important "first stop" for ships sailing from Seward, Kodiak and other points outside Cook Inlet. At its maximum, Seldovia was home to over 2000 residents, but today fewer than 300 persons year round. Seldovia has been home to many industries, including fox farming, berry picking and commercial fishing. Logging and mining have also featured in the history of Seldovia, but today the school, Seldovia Village Tribe, and tourism service businesses are the dominant economic forces.

School: The Susan B. English Grade 1-12 School, opened on August 30, 1972.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 286 people, 134 households, and 71 families residing in the city. The population density was 290.6/km² (749.9/mi²). There were 232 housing units at an average density of 235.7/km² (608.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.43% White, 1.05% Black or African American, 17.48% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.35% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 6.64% from two or more races. 2.10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 134 households out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.0% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 21.0% from 25 to 44, 37.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $45,313, and the median income for a family was $58,000. Males had a median income of $41,250 versus $33,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,669. About 3.0% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 3.4% of those sixty five or over.

	State of Alaska Juneau (capital)
Regions	Aleutian Islands \| Arctic Alaska \| Bush Alaska \| Interior \| Kenai Peninsula \| Mat‑Su Valley \| North Slope \| Panhandle \| Seward Peninsula \| Southcentral \| Southwest \| Tanana Valley \| Yukon‑Kuskokwim Delta
Largest cities	Anchorage \| Barrow \| Bethel \| Fairbanks \| Homer \| Juneau \| Kenai \| Ketchikan \| Kodiak \| Kotzebue \| Nome \| Palmer \| Petersburg \| Seward \| Sitka \| Unalaska \| Valdez \| Wasilla
Boroughs	Aleutians East \| Anchorage \| Bristol Bay \| Denali \| Fairbanks North Star \| Haines \| Juneau \| Kenai Peninsula \| Ketchikan Gateway \| Kodiak Island \| Lake and Peninsula \| Matanuska‑Susitna \| North Slope \| Northwest Arctic \| Sitka \| Yakutat
Census areas	Aleutians West \| Bethel \| Dillingham \| Nome \| Prince of Wales‑Outer Ketchikan \| Skagway‑Hoonah‑Angoon \| Southeast Fairbanks \| Valdez‑Cordova \| Wade Hampton \| Wrangell‑Petersburg \| Yukon‑Koyukuk \| (see also) Unorganized Borough