Welcome to Alka ...
So far, we found very little information about Alka. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Alka to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Alka, please Contact Us.
Alka would have been located within present day Dickenson County<2>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Alka, you might consider that their post office opened in 1909.
While the community is gone, the present day location for Alka is 1,790 feet [546 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: The area where Alka was located is in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The Area Code where Alka was located: 276
Communities near Alka ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alka.
- Big Stone Gap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Stone Gap
- Big Stone Gap is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,104 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Stone Gap <4>
- Norton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norton have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Norton is located in Norton City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,985 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norton <4>
- Wise
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wise
- Wise is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,885 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wise <4>
- Jenkins
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
- Jenkins is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,895 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jenkins <4>
- Coeburn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coeburn
- Coeburn is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,835 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coeburn <4>
- Appalachia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appalachia
- Appalachia is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,523 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Appalachia <4>
- Clintwood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintwood
- Clintwood is located in Dickenson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,264 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clintwood <4>
- Pound
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pound
- Pound is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 917 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pound <4>
- Elkhorn City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkhorn City have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn City
- Elkhorn City is located in Pike County (KY)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 874 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkhorn City <4>
- Saint Paul
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Paul
- Saint Paul is located in Wise County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 847 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Paul <4>
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 Alka. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alka.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alka. 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 Alka.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Alka. See our Newspapers Page for Alka.
Adding Alka to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Alka 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 Alka was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
X2X - From that list, the Alka post office opened in 1909.
For more details, see References and Mentions for Alka.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Dickenson County: www.dickensonctyva.com/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.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 Alka, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Dickenson, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alka - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |