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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Alaska, you might get a feel for it by knowing that the earliest mention that we've 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<3>

While the community is gone, the present day location for Alaska is 1,100 feet [335 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: The area where Alaska was located is in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

The Area Codes where Alaska was located: 304 & 681<5>

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)
  • Oak Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Fayetteville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Hinton
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Rainelle
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Ansted
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Mount Hope
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Mabscott
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mabscott is located in Raleigh County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabscott
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,251 people
  • Sophia
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Rupert
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)

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 (so far) for Alaska was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Alaska.

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>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.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alaska - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 304 code has been Overlayed with the 681 area code. New phone numbers in the Alaska area will be assigned with one of these codes: 304 or 681. As a result, placing a call in the Alaska area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.