What the record shows
The federal survey describes the site: site of Eskimo village on coast of Chukchi Sea, near mouth of Kukpowruk River, 10 mi. S of Point Lay, Arctic Plain.
"In 1884 Brower (1944, p. 25) wrote: ""we fairly ran to a village called Kukpowruk on a river of the same name. Nobody was home."" In 1918 Archdeacon Stuck (1920, p. 182) referred to a single dwelling called ""Sing""i""too""rok,"" at the mouth of the ""Ku=pou=ruk"" River. The 11th Census of 1890 (p. 158) lists a population of 52 Eskimo called ""Kukpaurungmiut"" on the Kukpowruk River."
Kukpowruk appears in the U.S. Geological Survey's place-name archive as a historical populated place — a settlement that once carried a name and no longer does. Our editors are verifying its full story against census records, newspaper archives, and county histories; this record will grow as sources are confirmed.
Before you visit
Unverified sites may sit on private land, and coordinates from historical records can be imprecise. Verify land status and access before traveling. Take photographs, leave nails — removing artifacts from federal land is a crime.
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From the field
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What the federal record holds within five miles of Kukpowruk
Within five miles the record maps 0 mine shafts, adits and prospect pits, 0 named mineral sites, 1 lost places and 0 cemeteries. Pro puts them on the map with the 1879–1919 survey underneath and a swipe to today.