Anvik

Quick Facts

  • Pronunciation: (AN-vick)
  • Current Population: 85 (2012 Alaska Department of Labor Estimate)
  • Legislative Districts:
    • Senate District R
    • House District 36
    • Judicial District 4
  • Latitude:62.6561 Longitude: -160.2067


Location

Anvik is located in Interior Alaska on the Anvik River, west of the Yukon River, 34 miles north of Holy Cross.

Climate

The climate of Anvik is continental. Temperatures range from -60 to 87 °F. Total precipitation averages 21 inches per year, and snowfall averages 110 inches per year. The Yukon River is ice-free from June through October.

History

Anvik has historically been an Athabascan Indian village. It has been known as American Station, Anvic, Anvick, Anvig, Anvig Station, and Anwig. The Russian Glazanov reported it as having100 people in 1834. Originally, it was on other side of the river to the northeast, at a place called “The Point.” Residents gradually moved across the river with the establishment of an Episcopal mission and school in 1887. A post office opened in 1897.

After the flu epidemic of 1918-19 and another in 1927, many orphans became wards of the mission. Some children came from as far away as Fort Yukon. Sternwheelers carried supplies to the village in the early 1920s. Some residents had contracts to cut wood for the sternwheeler’s fuel, and fish and furs were sold to traders. The early 1930s brought the first arrival of a plane on skis. The city was incorporated in 1969.

Culture

Subsistence and home gardening are actively pursued by the local Athabascan. Many families travel to fish camps during the summer.