Welcome to Alaska ...
So far, we found very little information about Alaska. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Alaska to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Alaska, please Contact Us.
Alaska would have been located within present day Fayette County<2>.
The location of Alaska has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<3>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Alaska, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.
When the people of Alaska referred to themselves (known as a demonym), they are believed to have used Alaskan<4>
While the community is gone, the present day location for Alaska is 1,100 feet [335 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: The area where Alaska was located is in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Alaska would have been located in the (304) & (681)<6> area codes.
Communities Also Named Alaska ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two West Virginia communities named Alaska: This one is located in Fayette County and the other is located in Mineral County.
Beyond West Virginia, there are 10 communities that are also named Alaska - they are located in Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania (2), Prince Edward Island and Wisconsin (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Alaska.
Communities near Alaska ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alaska.
- Beckley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckley
- Beckley is located in Raleigh County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,805 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beckley <7>
- Oak Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Oak Hill is located in Fayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,028 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Hill <7>
- Fayetteville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Fayetteville is located in Fayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,684 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fayetteville <7>
- Hinton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinton
- Hinton is located in Summers County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,321 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hinton <7>
- Rainelle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainelle
- Rainelle is located in Greenbrier County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,516 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rainelle <7>
- Ansted
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ansted have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansted
- Ansted is located in Fayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ansted <7>
- Mount Hope
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Fayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,259 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Hope <7>
- Mabscott
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Sophia
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sophia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sophia
- Sophia is located in Raleigh County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,219 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sophia <7>
- Rupert
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rupert
- Rupert is located in Greenbrier County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rupert <7>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Alaska. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alaska.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alaska. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alaska.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Alaska. See our Newspapers Page for Alaska.
Adding Alaska to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Alaska in the GNIS. For more information, see the Referenced GNIS Codes section on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Alaska was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Alaska.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for State of West Virginia: https://www.wv.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Alaska, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | If you're interested in how the shape of West Virginia's counties, including Fayette, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <3> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <4> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Alaska refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Alaska may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alaska - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | Area code (681) is an overlay for area code (304). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |