Galena
Galena is located on the north bank of the
Yukon River, 45 miles east of Nulato and 270 air miles west of
Fairbanks. It lies northeast of the Innoko National Wildlife Refuge. It
lies at approximately 64° 44' N Latitude, 156° 56' W Longitude (Sec. 06,
T009S, R010E, Kateel River Meridian). The community is located in the
Nulato Recording District. The area encompasses 17 sq. miles of land and
6 sq. miles of water.
The
area's Koyukon Athabascans had spring, summer, fall, and winter camps,
and moved as the wild game migrated. In the summer many families would
float on rafts to the Yukon 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 old Athabascan
fish camp called Henry's Point. It became a supply and trans-shipment
point for nearby lead ore mines.
In 1920, Athabascans living 14 miles
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 the
mid-1920s, and a post office opened in 1932. The Galena Air Field was
constructed in World War II. In 1945, the community suffered a major
flood. During the 1950s, military facilities at the Galena and Campion
Air Force Stations, airport and road developments, sparked growth in the
community.
Due to another severe flood in 1971, a
new community site was developed at Alexander Lake, about 1 1/2 miles
east of the original townsite. City offices, the health clinic, schools,
washeteria, store, and more than 150 homes were constructed at "New
Town."
In 1993, the Air Force Station went
into a caretaker status. It is being maintained and operated under
contract for the Air Force by the Chugach Development Corporation, and
supports daily military activities, including Air Force, Army and Marine
training missions, North American Air Defense (NORAD) missions and US
Coast Guard law enforcement and search and rescue missions. As well, the
Galena Charter School is using several buildings on the base.
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