Galena, Alaska
Encyclopedia
Galena is the largest city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
in the U.S. state of Alaska
. At the 2000 census
the population was 675.
to fish for salmon. There were 12 summer fish camps located on the Yukon River between the Koyukuk River
and the Nowitna River
. Galena was established in 1918 near an Athabascan fish camp called Henry's Point. It became a supply and point for nearby lead ore mines that opened in 1918 and 1919.
In 1920, Athabascans living upriver at Louden began moving to Galena to sell wood to steamboats and to work hauling freight for the mines. A school was established in Galena in the mid-1920s.
from the United States Army
, which occurred as a result of the National Security Act of 1947
. During the 1950s, the construction of additional military facilities at Galena and the nearby Campion Air Force Station
, in support of Galena's mission as a forward operating base
under the auspices of the 5072nd Air Base Group, headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base
, near Anchorage, provided improvements to the airport and the local infrastructure, causing economic growth for the area.
Following the end of the Cold War
, in 1993 operation of Galena Air Force Station was turned over to a contractor, and all military personnel were withdrawn. It remains in use effectively as a forward operating location that is used occasionally by the military. This use has recently come under scrutiny by the Base Realignment and Closure
Committee http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2005/050702-brac-galena.htm.
Galena Air Force Base was completely closed on October 1, 2008. All of the equipment and facilities were given to the City of Galena or the Galena Interior Learning Academy. The F-15 hangar was considered as a housing site for aircraft of the Alaska State Troopers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and possibly a new squadron of the Alaska Wing, Civil Air Patrol. Galena also houses a seasonally-operated base camp on the former Air Force Base for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, where firefighters stage to fight brush fires throughout Alaska and elsewhere.
to build the Galena Nuclear Power Plant
, a small self-contained nuclear power plant
. The demonstration plant, the prototype for a line which Toshiba hopes to sell to similar communities in the U.S. and Canada, would (if built) be the first civilian nuclear plant in Alaska; Fort Greely, Alaska
, had a small military SM-4 reactor until the early 1970s.
Galena is located on the north bank of the Yukon River
, 72 km (44.7 mi) east of Nulato
. The Innoko National Wildlife Refuge
is southwest of Galena.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 24 square miles (62.2 km²), of which, 17.9 square miles (46.4 km²) of it is land and 6.1 square miles (15.8 km²) of it (25.41%) is water.
The City of Galena, as a first class city, operated a full-time police department and other vital services.
, 0.30% Black
or African American
, 63.41% Native American
, 1.04% Asian
, 0.30% Pacific Islander
, 0.30% from other races
, and 4.44% from two or more races. 1.93% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 216 households out of which 49.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the city the age distribution of the population shows 37.5% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 121.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 123.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $61,125, and the median income for a family was $70,250. Males had a median income of $46,563 versus $37,000 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $22,143. About 1.3% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
There is a public library located in the Sidney C. Huntington School. Galena has a volunteer Rescue Squad composed of Alaska Emergency Trauma Technicians (ETT) and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and a volunteer fire department which recently received new advanced firefighting apparatus from the U.S. Air FOrce upon the closure of Galena Air Force Base. The city also has Nollner Health Clinic operated by Tanana Chiefs Council, a Native Health Clinic that offers 24-hour emergency care and routine health and dental services.
There is an Alaska State Troopers post in Galena with two troopers and a trooper-pilot.
The headquarters for the Koyukuk/Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge is located in Galena.
The Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA) is located on the site of the former Galena Air Force Base and is one of three public boarding high schools in Alaska; the second in size behind Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka. The third is the Nenana Living School in Nenana. GILA uses the former barracks as a dorm, the former PX and headquarters buildings as class rooms and the dining hall as a cafeteria, along with the gym and other facilities. GILA provides educational and vocational training to young men and women from all over Alaska, grades 9-12, with most students coming from remote Native Alaskan villages from the Interior, North Slope and Aleutian Islands. GILA hosts various traiing and regional conferences throughout the year. GILA student enrollment grew from 110 to 180 in the 2009-10 school year.
Trivia: One of the action hero GI Joe's colleagues is an Athabascan Indian from Galena Alaska. The Iditarod annual dogsled race goes through Galena on even years, while the Iron Dog trans-Alaska snowmobile race and the The Yukon 800 annual summer speedboat race on the Yukon River from Fairbanks and back both go through Galena. Galena is home of Sidney C. Huntington (born: 1914), author of "Shadows on the Koyukuk" and after whom Sidney C. Huntington School in Galena is named.
Galena hosted a regional energy conference for the Alaskan Interior in the spring of 2009 and is considering starting a wood-pellet fuel boiler system of heat for the city as a cost-effective method of providing energy to residents.
The City of Galena has a city council and the Mayor is Russ Sweetsir, who has served since 1987. The Louden Tribal Council is elected to represent the local Athabascan Native community and the Tribal Chief is Chris Sommer.
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,588. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat...
in the U.S. state of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. At the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
the population was 675.
History
The Koyukon Athabascans had seasonal camps in the area and moved as the wild game migrated. In the summer many families floated on rafts to the Yukon RiverYukon River
The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
to fish for salmon. There were 12 summer fish camps located on the Yukon River between the Koyukuk River
Koyukuk River
The Koyukuk River is a principal tributary of the Yukon River, approximately 500 mi long, in northern Alaska in the United States.It drains an area north of the Yukon on the southern side of the Brooks Range...
and the Nowitna River
Nowitna River
The Nowitna River is situated in central Alaska west of Tanana. The river runs almost entirely through Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge. Part of the river is a designated National Wild and Scenic River...
. Galena was established in 1918 near an Athabascan fish camp called Henry's Point. It became a supply and point for nearby lead ore mines that opened in 1918 and 1919.
In 1920, Athabascans living upriver at Louden began moving to Galena to sell wood to steamboats and to work hauling freight for the mines. A school was established in Galena in the mid-1920s.
Military Air Base
In 1941-42 during World War II, a military air field was built adjacent to the civilian airport, and the two facilities shared the runway and flight line facilities. This air field was designated Galena Air Force Station shortly after the split of the United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
from the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, which occurred as a result of the National Security Act of 1947
National Security Act of 1947
The National Security Act of 1947 was signed by United States President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1947, and realigned and reorganized the U.S. Armed Forces, foreign policy, and Intelligence Community apparatus in the aftermath of World War II...
. During the 1950s, the construction of additional military facilities at Galena and the nearby Campion Air Force Station
Campion Air Force Station
Campion Air Force Station is a closed United States Air Force General Surveillance Radar station. It is located east-southeast of Galena, Alaska....
, in support of Galena's mission as a forward operating base
Forward Operating Base
A forward operating base is any secured forward military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support tactical operations. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, or other facilities. The base may be used for an extended period of time. FOBs are traditionally supported...
under the auspices of the 5072nd Air Base Group, headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base
Elmendorf Air Force Base
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a United States military facility adjacent to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the former United States Air Force Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army Fort Richardson, which were merged in 2010.-Overview:The...
, near Anchorage, provided improvements to the airport and the local infrastructure, causing economic growth for the area.
Following the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, in 1993 operation of Galena Air Force Station was turned over to a contractor, and all military personnel were withdrawn. It remains in use effectively as a forward operating location that is used occasionally by the military. This use has recently come under scrutiny by the Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
Committee http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2005/050702-brac-galena.htm.
Galena Air Force Base was completely closed on October 1, 2008. All of the equipment and facilities were given to the City of Galena or the Galena Interior Learning Academy. The F-15 hangar was considered as a housing site for aircraft of the Alaska State Troopers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and possibly a new squadron of the Alaska Wing, Civil Air Patrol. Galena also houses a seasonally-operated base camp on the former Air Force Base for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, where firefighters stage to fight brush fires throughout Alaska and elsewhere.
Floods
There were floods in 1945 and 1971. Because of the floods, a new townsite, called New Town, was chosen at Alexander Lake, about 2½ km (1½ miles) east of the original townsite. The city offices, the health clinic, schools, store, and more than 150 homes were constructed at New Town.Nuclear Power Station
Galena is inaccessible by road, relying on river cargo in the brief summer for the bulk of its needs. This means the city must store large volumes of fuel oil. In 2004 Galena's City Council tentatively accepted a proposal from Toshiba CorporationToshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
to build the Galena Nuclear Power Plant
Galena Nuclear Power Plant
The Galena Nuclear Power Plant is a proposed nuclear power plant to be constructed in the Yukon River village of Galena in the U.S. state of Alaska...
, a small self-contained nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
. The demonstration plant, the prototype for a line which Toshiba hopes to sell to similar communities in the U.S. and Canada, would (if built) be the first civilian nuclear plant in Alaska; Fort Greely, Alaska
Fort Greely, Alaska
Fort Greely is a census-designated place in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. It is home to the Fort Greely military installation. At the 2000 census the population was 461.-Geography:...
, had a small military SM-4 reactor until the early 1970s.
Geography
Galena is located at 64°44′26"N 156°53′8"W (64.740643, -156.885462).Galena is located on the north bank of the Yukon River
Yukon River
The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
, 72 km (44.7 mi) east of Nulato
Nulato, Alaska
Nulato is a city in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 336.-Geography:Nulato is located at ....
. The Innoko National Wildlife Refuge
Innoko National Wildlife Refuge
The Innoko National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge in western Alaska in the United States. It consists of 3,850,481 acres of which 1,240,000 acres is designated a wilderness area. It is the fifth-largest National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. The refuge is administered from offices...
is southwest of Galena.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 24 square miles (62.2 km²), of which, 17.9 square miles (46.4 km²) of it is land and 6.1 square miles (15.8 km²) of it (25.41%) is water.
The City of Galena, as a first class city, operated a full-time police department and other vital services.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 675 people, 216 households, and 149 families residing in the city. The population density was 37.8 people per square mile (14.6/km²). There were 259 housing units at an average density of 14.5 per square mile (5.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 30.22% WhiteRace (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.30% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 63.41% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.04% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.30% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.30% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 4.44% from two or more races. 1.93% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 216 households out of which 49.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.44.
In the city the age distribution of the population shows 37.5% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 4.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 121.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 123.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $61,125, and the median income for a family was $70,250. Males had a median income of $46,563 versus $37,000 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $22,143. About 1.3% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Schools
Galena has three schools. Galena City School is primarily for local K–12 students, and the vocational Galena Interior Learning Academy is a boarding school which draws students from around the state. The Galena boys' and girls' basketball teams were regional champions from 2004 to 2007. The boy's basketball team won the state championship in 2008. Galena's third school is Interior Distance Education of Alaska, a state-wide homeschool support program that serves 3,500 students across the state. It is the biggest school (of any kind) in Alaska.Other
Galena's Edward Pitka Sr. Airport (Code GAL) is the former Galena Air Force Base field and with a paved runway of over 8000 feet is the largest public, state-maintained airport in the Interior of Alaska. The control tower was demolished when the Air Force vacated the facility in 2007. The Airport is also the home of the "Yukon Squadron" of the AK Wing, Civil Air Patrol (CAP), which covers much of lp the interior region to the Bering Sea for Search and Rescue (SAR). A CAP Cessna-172 aircraft is stationed at Galena.There is a public library located in the Sidney C. Huntington School. Galena has a volunteer Rescue Squad composed of Alaska Emergency Trauma Technicians (ETT) and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and a volunteer fire department which recently received new advanced firefighting apparatus from the U.S. Air FOrce upon the closure of Galena Air Force Base. The city also has Nollner Health Clinic operated by Tanana Chiefs Council, a Native Health Clinic that offers 24-hour emergency care and routine health and dental services.
There is an Alaska State Troopers post in Galena with two troopers and a trooper-pilot.
The headquarters for the Koyukuk/Nowitna National Wildlife Refuge is located in Galena.
The Galena Interior Learning Academy (GILA) is located on the site of the former Galena Air Force Base and is one of three public boarding high schools in Alaska; the second in size behind Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka. The third is the Nenana Living School in Nenana. GILA uses the former barracks as a dorm, the former PX and headquarters buildings as class rooms and the dining hall as a cafeteria, along with the gym and other facilities. GILA provides educational and vocational training to young men and women from all over Alaska, grades 9-12, with most students coming from remote Native Alaskan villages from the Interior, North Slope and Aleutian Islands. GILA hosts various traiing and regional conferences throughout the year. GILA student enrollment grew from 110 to 180 in the 2009-10 school year.
Trivia: One of the action hero GI Joe's colleagues is an Athabascan Indian from Galena Alaska. The Iditarod annual dogsled race goes through Galena on even years, while the Iron Dog trans-Alaska snowmobile race and the The Yukon 800 annual summer speedboat race on the Yukon River from Fairbanks and back both go through Galena. Galena is home of Sidney C. Huntington (born: 1914), author of "Shadows on the Koyukuk" and after whom Sidney C. Huntington School in Galena is named.
Galena hosted a regional energy conference for the Alaskan Interior in the spring of 2009 and is considering starting a wood-pellet fuel boiler system of heat for the city as a cost-effective method of providing energy to residents.
The City of Galena has a city council and the Mayor is Russ Sweetsir, who has served since 1987. The Louden Tribal Council is elected to represent the local Athabascan Native community and the Tribal Chief is Chris Sommer.