Flat, Alaska

Flat, Alaska
CDP

Flat City, 1911

Location of Flat, Alaska
Coordinates: 62°27′15″N 158°0′30″W / 62.45417°N 158.00833°WCoordinates: 62°27′15″N 158°0′30″W / 62.45417°N 158.00833°W
Country United States
State Alaska
Census Area Yukon-Koyukuk
Area
 • Total 161.1 sq mi (417.2 km2)
 • Land 161.1 sq mi (417.2 km2)
 • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation 292 ft (89 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 0
Time zone Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9)
 • Summer (DST) AKDT (UTC-8)
ZIP codes 99584
Area code(s) 907
FIPS code 02-25880
GNIS feature ID 1402165

Flat is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the CDP was 0. Its post office closed in January 2004.[1]

History

Prospectors John Beaton and W.A. Dikeman discovered gold on Otter Creek on 25 December 1908. News of the discovery spread slowly, but some miners arrived in the summer of 1909 and built a small camp they called Flat City. More gold was discovered on nearby Flat Creek and more miners arrived in 1910.[2] Beaton, Peter Miscovich, Lars Ostnes, and David Strandberg were prominent early arrivals who mined successfully long after the initial "boomtown" faded. By 1914, the community had grown 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. No plat was filed for Flat, and the town site rests on mining claims, so the existence of Flat may contravene the law, but the U.S. Post Office acknowledged the community and served its few residents with an office until the year 2000.

Between 1986 and 2000, the primary year-round residents were a family of five who worked together to maintain the area in the winter for mining in the summer.

Wiley Post 1933 airplane crash

In July 1933, pioneering aviator Wiley Post undertook the first solo flight around the world. On July 20, en route to Fairbanks from a stop in Khabarovsk, Siberia, Post nosed over his high-wing, single-engine Lockheed Vega, the Winnie Mae, in Flat. Local residents helped him right the aircraft. The only damage was a broken propeller. After another was brought to Flat by pioneer Alaska flier Joe Crosson, Post continued to Fairbanks, then on to Edmonton and New York, completing his solo flight around the world in under 8 days.[3]

Geography

Flat is located at 62°27′15″N 158°0′30″W / 62.45417°N 158.00833°W (62.454135, -158.008284),[4] 7 miles southeast of Iditarod.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 161.1 square miles (417 km2), all of which of is land and none of it is covered by water.

Demographics

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 4 people in 1 household (a married couple with children, in this case) and in 1 family residing in the town. The population density was 0.0 people per square mile (0.0/km²). There were 3 housing units at an average density of 0.0/sq mi (0.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 100.00% White.

In the CDP the population was evenly spread out over the age categories under-18, 18 to 24, 25 to 44 and from 45 to 64. The median age was 33 years. There were as many males as there were females, but apparently the only person below 18 was a girl.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postmasterfinder/welcome.htm
  2. ↑ Chuck Hawley, "Alaska Mining Hall of Fame Introduction of John Beaton (1875-1945) of Flat, Alaska" Alaska Miner 29 no.12 (Dec 2001) 10-11 + 14.
  3. ↑ "Wiley Post crash at Flat, Alaska, July 20, 1933". ExploreNorth.com. Retrieved 2014-05-08. (Includes photograph)
  4. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  5. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links